At last the sun had reached his highest altitude, and the time had come when we might expect the return of Battell. The thaw had progressed rapidly and the ice was becoming rotten, and with the first storm would probably go to pieces. But the weather was serene and there was no immediate danger. The 1st of July had come and gone and Battell was still absent. The thaw, under the continuous rays of the sun was accelerated, and I began to fear the break up would come before his return with the larger part of the crew. This might prove to be fatal to all our hopes. I felt that we sorely needed Captain Battell with his experience in the navigation of these frozen seas. I now began to dread the thaw as much as I had been inclined to welcome it two months before. I continued my observations with more interest, if possible, than ever. The motions of the ice-field puzzled me. We seemed to be slightly oscillating from one side to the other of longitude 180°, but with a frequent motion toward the north. I spent most of my time in the observatory, more on the lookout for some indication of the return of Captain Battell than for any other purpose. This interest was shared by every member of the crew, and we established regular watches for this one purpose, so that there was always some one at the telescope. Captain Ganoe and myself took the first watch, Pat O'Brien and Huston, the second, and Lief and Eric the third. So the entire twenty-four hours were occupied in the lookout for Battell. In addition to this, we made several expeditions to the north and west for many miles. While we learned that the traveling was very toilsome, we discovered no reason why the exploring party should not be able to return as long as the ice-field remained unbroken. It was true that the expedition might have reached a section where the thaw had destroyed the solidity of the ice, but it was well equipped for such a contingency, as the sledges could readily be converted into boats. We tried in vain to figure out the cause of Captain Battell's delay. The ice was becoming more rotten every day and our suspense became more and more painful. We had almost despaired of his return, when through my glass, I observed what seemed to be a human being, directly west of us, slowly struggling along over the rotten, slushy surface of the ice. I called the attention of Captain Ganoe to my discovery and after a careful scrutiny of the object he exclaimed: