Evening star., 1926-05-14

Continued from Page Twenty.twol
working day and night on the run
way. packing down the snow and
leveling humps. This was a colossal
lob and the men worked until they
could hardly drag one foot after an
other. Certel brought food to them
and they ate under the midnight sun
in the snow and cold. Several times
! tried to make them sleep, but they
would not give up. They knew we
must take advantage of the good
weather. 1t was long tramp to the
TOP of the incline, and great energy
is reuuired to transport gasoline and
supplies to the plane. But nothing
was too much for these brave chaps.
To make the skis safe | asked
Neville to place plankS of small spare
skis on top of the runners of our
large skis, thus really doubling their
strength Again Neville and Chips
worked all night. This time we were
Joined by the chief engineer. Null
roy, and the third assistant engineer,
Gray.
The next afternoon we were ready
for the big take-off. We had decided
to head straight for the Pole and
return via Morris Jessup, as we felt
we would want better designed skis
to put down at the base at Jessup
with the load as heavy as We had
originally planned. We would not
get our base down. but we would
see thousands of miles of uneXplored
polar area. So we decided to put off
the exploration by advanced bases
until the next trip. have learned
lot about skis. | think. that
did not know before.
Loaded for % Hours Flying.
We loaded up the plane TO- a
minimum of % hours of flying. The
total weight of plane and equipment
was about 10000 pounds. Members
of the crew and almost the entlfe
Kings Bay colony of NorWeSlans
crowded around for good -bNeS. l was
not so keen for that, as never
thought much of goodbye cere-
monies. Furthermore. we were not
sure we would not smash our skis In
the attempted take-off.
I was most anxious to take Novllle,
hut had finally decided to leave him
behind, for with the food necessary
to take for him about 800 pounds
would have been added to the weight
to be carried by the plane.
Finally. the engines roared and We
We're un0er way. MY WIloIe dNtSH-
tion was riveted on those skis. Would
they stand the strain? Would we
crash and break up the plane. as
well as ourselves?
The snow was hard. but ] saw the
skis digging in dangerously. Our
speed did not pick up, but even so
We were going almost as fast as
racing automobile. Those few sec
onds seemed like an epoch of time.
Finally We reached the end Of the
smooth ice, and with our motors cut
out dashed into the softer and more
rolling snow. There was a series Of
terrific bumps that nearly upset us
several times. Finally we halted in
a deep DRIFT Bennett looked at me,
his face as white as snow.
Comma nder.' he said, "She just
wouldn't do 1t
Bennett and | have been through
a great many rough experiences to-
gether. l never saw him show more
perturbation.
All Were Disappointed.
l climbed to the ground and exam
ined the skis and the landing gear.
II had stood the terrific strain. l
never saw such disappointed lot of
men. They had given every ounce
of their energy to get us into the
air; their hearts were entirely wrap.
ped up with the success of the eXpe
ditiOn. Some of them could scarcely
stand up. None was more concerned
than Muroy, the chief engineer. |
smiled at hm to cheer him up. but
he could not quite bring up the cor
uerS of his mouth. so he turned his
head and walked away. | liked him
for il. But he was typical of ALL l.