Wild, Worsley, and Hurley accompanied me on an inspection of our beach before getting into the tents.  I almost wished then that I had postponed the examination until after sleep, but the sense of caution that the uncertainties of polar travel implant in one’s mind had made me uneasy.  The outlook we found to be anything but cheering.  Obvious signs showed that at spring tides the little beach would be covered by the water right up to the foot of the cliffs.  In a strong north-easterly gale, such as we might expect to experience at any time, the waves would pound over the scant barrier of the reef and break against the sheer sides of the rocky wall behind us.  Well-marked terraces showed the effect of other gales, and right at the back of the beach was a small bit of wreckage not more than three feet long, rounded by the constant chafing it had endured.  Obviously we must find some better resting-place.  I decided not to share with the men the knowledge of the uncertainties of our situation until they had enjoyed the full sweetness of rest untroubled by the thought that at any minute they might be called to face peril again.  The threat of the sea had been our portion during many, many days, and a respite meant much to weary bodies and jaded minds.

The accompanying plan will indicate our exact position more clearly than I can describe it.  The cliffs at the back of the beach were inaccessible except at two points where there were steep snow-slopes.  We were not worried now about food, for, apart from our own rations, there were seals on the beach and we could see others in the water outside the reef.  Every now and then one of the animals would rise in the shallows and crawl up on the beach, which evidently was a recognized place of resort for its kind.  A small rocky island which protected us to some extent from the north-westerly wind carried a ringed-penguin rookery.  These birds were of migratory habit and might be expected to leave us before the winter set in fully, but in the meantime they were within our reach.  These attractions, however, were overridden by the fact that the beach was open to the attack of wind and sea from the north-east and east.  Easterly gales are more prevalent than western in that area of the Antarctic during the winter.  Before turning in that night I studied the whole position and weighed every chance of getting the boats and our stores into a place of safety out of reach of the water.  We ourselves might have clambered a little way up the snow-slopes, but we could not have taken the boats with us.  The interior of the island was quite inaccessible.  We climbed up one of the slopes and found ourselves stopped soon by overhanging cliffs.  The rocks behind the camp were much weathered, and we noticed the sharp, unworn boulders that had fallen from above.  Clearly there was a danger from overhead if we camped at the back of the beach.  We must move on.  With that thought in mind I reached my tent and fell asleep on the rubbly ground, which gave a comforting sense of stability.  The fairy princess who would not rest on her seven downy mattresses because a pea lay underneath the pile might not have understood the pleasure we all derived from the irregularities of the stones, which could not possibly break beneath us or drift away; the very searching lumps were sweet reminders of our safety.