The Ross Sea was found to be frozen over as far as the horizon. When the
party got back to their shelter two eggs had burst and saturated
Cherry-Garrard's mitts. This optimistic young man found good even in
this, for he said that on the way home to Cape Evans his mitts thawed out
far more easily than Bowers's did, and attributed the little triumph to
the grease in the broken egg! That night they slept for the first time in
the stone hut; perhaps it was fortunate that they did so for it was
blowing hard and the wind developed into a terrific storm.

One of the hurricane gusts of wind swept the roof of the hut away, and
for two days the unfortunate party lay in their bags half smothered by
fine drifting snow. The second day was Dr. Wilson's birthday; he told me
afterwards that had the gale not abated when it did all three men must
have perished. They had not dared to stir out of the meagre shelter
afforded by their sleeping-bags. Wilson prayed hard that they might be
spared. His prayer was answered, it is true, but before another year had
passed two of this courageous little band lost their lives in their eager
thirst for scientific knowledge.

When the three men crept out of their bags into the dull winter gloom
they groped about and searched for their tent, which had blown away from
its pitch near the stone hut. By an extraordinary piece of good fortune
it was recovered, scarcely damaged, a quarter of a mile away.
Cherry-Garrard describes the roar of the wind as it whistled in their
shelter to have been just like the rush of an express train through a
tunnel.

Wilson, Bowers, and Cherry-Garrard started home after this, but were
caught by another blizzard, which imprisoned them in their tent for