, and we were rendered uncomfortable in our cramped sleeping
quarters by the unaccustomed warmth. Our feelings towards our
neighbours underwent a change. When the temperature was below 20°
Fahr, we could not get too close to one another--every man wanted to
cuddle against his neighbour; but let the temperature rise a few
degrees and the warmth of another man's body ceased to be a blessing.
The ice and the waves had a voice of menace that night, but I heard it
only in my dreams.
The bay was still filled with ice on the morning of Saturday, May 13,
but the tide took it all away in the afternoon. Then a strange thing
happened. The rudder, with all the broad Atlantic to sail in and the
coasts of two continents to search for a resting-place, came bobbing
back into our cove. With anxious eyes we watched it as it advanced,
receded again, and then advanced once more under the capricious
influence of wind and wave. Nearer and nearer it came as we waited on
the shore, oars in hand, and at last we were able to seize it. Surely
a remarkable salvage! The day was bright and clear; our clothes were
drying and our strength was returning. Running water made a musical
sound down the tussock slope and among the boulders. We carried our
blankets up the hill and tried to dry them in the breeze 300 ft.
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