Page:Scott's Last Expedition, Volume 2.djvu/100

how helpless I believe we were to help ourselves, and how we were brought out of a very terrible series of experiences.

When we started back I had a feeling that things might change for the better—and this day I had a distinct idea that we were to have one more bad experience and that after that we could hope for better things. Bill, I know, has much the same feeling about a divine providence which was looking after us.]

We then got on well and soon reached safe land ice, having sounded for and found all the cracks in our path in time to avoid or cross them safely.

We next got on to a very long upward incline, and made good going till we had to camp, having covered 7¼ miles in the day.

The temp. varied from −45° to −47° during the day, but the weather was calm and clear enough later on for us to see something of where we were going.

Friday, July 28, 1911.—We were away before daylight and found ourselves still on the upward slope of a very long gradient facing a gentle breeze, which as usual was flowing down the slope. The Bastion Crater was on our right with the Conical Hill surmounting it, a landmark visible from Observation Hill.

We went on and on up this slope until at last we found ourselves in a calm on the divide with a magnificent view of the Western Range, Mt. Discovery and the Hut Point Peninsula and all the other familiar landmarks showing very clearly in the dim daylight. [I cannot describe what a relief the light was to us.] We then knew we