26 THE HOME OF THE BLIZZARD

The next morning, December 15, they set off again, this time finding Caroline Cove without further difiiculty. Harris- son remained on the broW of the hill overlooking the cove, and there captured some prions and their eggs. Hurley and his companion recovered the lost lens and returned to Harrisson, securing a fine albatross on the Way. This solitary bird Was descried sitting on the hillside, several hundreds of feet above sea-level. Its plumage Was in such good condition that they could not resist the impulse to secure it for our collection, for the moment not considering the enormous Weight to be carried. They had neither fire- arms nor an Ancient Mariner’s cross-boW, and no stones Were to be had in the vicinity—When the resourceful Hurley suddenly bethought himself of a small tin of meat in his haversack, and With a fortunate throW, hit the bird on the head, killing the majestic creature on the spot.

Shouldering their prize, they trudged on to Lusitania Bay, camping there that night in an old dilapidated hut; a remnant of the sealing days. Close by there Was a large rookery of King penguins, a variety of penguin With richly tinted plumage on the head and shoulders, and next in size to the Emperor--the sovereign bird of the Antarctic regions. The breeding season Was at its height, so Harrisson secured and preserved a great number of their eggs. Hutchinson kindly volunteered to carry the albatross in addition to his original load. If they had skinned the bird, the Weight Would have been materially reduced, but With the meagre appliances at hand, it Would undoubtedly have been spoiled as a speci- men. Hurley, very ambitiously, had taken a heavy camera, in addition to a blanket and other sundries. During the rough and Wet Walking of the previous day, his boots had Worn out and caused him to tWist a tendon in the right foot, so that he Was not up to his usual form, While Harrisson Was hampered With a bulky cargo of eggs and specimens.

Saddled With these heavy burdens, the party found the return journey very laborious. Hurley’s leg set the pace, and so, later in the day, Harrisson decided to push on ahead in order to give us neWs, as they had orders to be back as soon as possible and Were then overdue. When darkness came on