Evening star., 1926-04-25


and peered at us wonderingly.
The seaplane was making heavy
weather. She groan med and strained in
| the trough of the waves. Ellis "a Id
that she could not stand such buff
fetinG for long. We put on our life
jackets and inflated them. Mine
caught on the Jagged edge OF one OF
our paddles and was useless.
| We still had on the seaplane some
parts of the wireless apparatus and
! the copper wiring of the circuit. At
one period ] heard quite distinctly the
call signs Of the Polar Bjorn being re
peated. do not think that this was
| imaginat tion. 1t was cheering. any
way But for the stress. the violent
motion of the seaplane would have
made bo.h OF MS seasick. A strong
emotion like fear obsesses the mind
and excludes such semi-phrsical and
sentimental condition as seasickness
| * *kx
WHEN We approached ooade Hook
we were certainly not more thai
a mile from land We could see the
small hut clearly. We could see a
| boat and logs on the shore. We
! thought we saw man standing erect
and looking at us, but it was merely a
/ rock
We drifted bv into the mouth of
Kings Bay, vainly seeking the aid
which was not forthcoming. Ellis sug-
! gested swimming for it. But we stood
no earthly chance. Here We were in
! the turmoil of the open sea. The
clouds were heavy. the waves leaden
gray.
The machine trembled under the
strain and mrched ominously. Five
foot waves were breaking over the
lower planes and there was a soggi-
ness about her movement which left
| little to the ina agination.
And all the time the wind was driv-
| ing us out to sea beyond the course of
the Polar Bjorn. which would he
securing the Goa astline. Our spirits
| were at a low ebh We had encour-
aged one another: we had supported
one anothers hopes: we had joked
lamely hut with good intent. Finally
We had to face the situation-that our
| cha noes of rescue were very slender
! indeed.
Another six hours OF this sea would
break up the stoutest seaplane. and
even Supposing she remained afoat
we should he adrift in the Arctic Ocea T
somewhere between SpitZbergen AND
| II
| sealers Then. again. We had nC
water. and we were beginning seri
| ouSly to feel the want OF it.
To the north Of us lay Cape Mitre
on the summit OF which Admira
Scoresby sat in 1912. with one leg
dangling on either side! We coulC
see the surf breaking against the
rocks at it's base. We had given W
all hope of saving the seaplane. and
would have been we'll satisfied to have
been dashed against the rocks of the
| cape and to have taken our chance II
| the wreckage.
! helpless Helplessness induced iner
tia. We lay in our sleeping bags. com
paratively warm. and talked of sucf
| things as one would talk Of at such 8
moment There was no mental iner
| tia: II was as II the mind was quite de
tached from the body.
I took a pencil out to write. but the
physical effort was too great. Ellis
was much less affected In this way
than / was He had had two previou.
miShaps of this nature In the Nortf
Sea during the war. Our thoughts
were with the Polar Bjorn and the
Oiland. and we pictured their anxiety
! ignorant as they were OF our rate.
The more desperate our plight. the
more cheerful was Ellis. Perhap:
cheerful Is the wrong word the more
resolute both mentally and physically
| like a man pausing the moment before
| he takes high dive.
| At about IL: AS he said he was tiret
. and intended to sleep. Good night
mate, I'm going to turn in" As Ii
man could sleep under these circum
stances. with the seaplane groaning II
her agony, at times almost standing
on end. and the waves breaking lik'
the report Of pistol on her lower
wings.
After a brief doze. Ellis thought II
necessary to cut the petrol pipes
partly to relieve the seaplane Of th'
| heavy overhead weight. and partly t.
! tranquilliZe the water round the ma
chine and stop the waves from break
ing over her. For the time being TIT
oil mastered the waves. and we hat
a lull from the incessant lurching.
HALF an hour later Ellis, who wa
IA observing the effect Of the petrol
said quietly: There is boat follow
ing us. We have been sighted. l
was very difficult to believe him. w
had had so many false alarms Blu
there, sure enough. to the southwee
| we espied the bow or a little Doa l
Now she was completely hidden in t.
trough of the waves; now her tOv
reared far out of the water
When we had persuaded ourselvA
beyond all manner of doubt that
was boat. and that 1t was makini
for us, we both tina nked God ferventiy
For we had given ourselves up 70
lost. Then we smoked our two cigar
cites and we dra nix what was left o
the bra ndy, a strange serenity in ou
hearts after the stress and conflict O
the last IA hours. Soon we should b.
again with those whose anxiety on ou
behalf we very well knew.
AT this stage the Oiland was som
40 miles to the south of us, and tn
Polar Bjorn 20 miles north. We wer
beyond the limit of the Ola nd's searcl
kings Bay-and by the time tn
Polar Bjorn passed Cape Mitre q
hours later). had the seaplane still
been afioat. we should have drifte'
many miles out into the wastes of tn
Arctic Ocean.
Slowly but surely the motor-boa
drew nearer. We could see three mel
In her. One was steering. while tn
second tended the engine and the thir