To burn in the Primus stove, I had been clever enough to bring spirits of wine with me, and smiled slyly to myself over my farsightedness. As they arrived their teeth chattered so that they could not speak, a fact which was quite understandable, as falling into icy water and having to remain in a temperature of -10° c. for ten minutes afterwards, while a fresh little breeze is blowing, is enough to freeze one’s marrow. A dram of 97 p. c. possibly saved them from unpleasant consequences. A cup of steaming chocolate performed wonders, but _it_ took twenty minutes to get ready, while the dram was ready at once. The work at eventide was stopped and we gathered in the little dining room to hear each others’ news. As the three left their camp at three P.M. with their packages of forty kilos weight, they had fastened lifebelts on and put skis on their feet without fastening the lashings. When they found that the old ice was difficult to negotiate on account of small open cracks, they decided it would be better to link hands and cross the new ice. The result was better than one might have expected and they got safely near to the old ice. But that lay on _our_ side, and in such a condition that they preferred to continue on the new ice. Omdal went first, then Dietrichson, and last Ellsworth. The first to break through was Dietrichson, in fact one could hardly use the word “break,” as “_sink_” suits the situation better. The slush is very treacherous, it disappears underneath without a sound. When Dietrichson fell through he quite reasonably gave a loud cry and Omdal turned round to see what was wrong. In the same moment he himself fell through, and both lay there. Without a thought and with brilliant presence of mind Ellsworth rushed to them, pulled Dietrichson out and together they ran to Omdal. It was in the last moment that they reached him, loosened his rucksack, and hauled him out. He had stuck his nails into the ice and held on with the greatest desperation, but it did not help him much as the current carried his legs under the ice and threatened to draw him under if help had not come to him in the last moment. Lincoln Ellsworth was later decorated with the Medal for Bravery by H. M. the King and no one who wears it has earned it more bravely. There is no doubt that by his action he saved the whole expedition as later experience showed us; for without the power of six men the N 25 could never have got home. And now we got Dietrichson’s story of his departure from King’s Bay; notwithstanding the fact that he knew a large part of the bonnet had been torn open he decided to continue the flight in order not to restrain N 25, which was already in the air. He thought it was better to risk life than to stop the trip. I know there are people who will shrug their shoulders and say “Idiotic.” I take off my hat and say, “Courage--splendid, brilliant, indomitable Courage. Oh! if only we had a number of such men.”