The 15th of June was fixed as the latest day for our next attempt to start. If that was not successful we must collaborate and decide what could be done. There were not many courses to choose. Either we must desert the machine and attempt to reach the nearest land, or we must stay where we were and hope for an opportunity to rise in the air. We had performed the miracle of leaving Spitzbergen with one month’s provisions, and yet after four weeks had passed we found we had provisions for six weeks. We could thus hold out until the 1st of August. In my lifetime I have often been faced by situations where I found it difficult to decide on the right course of action, but to choose in this case with any degree of certainty was more difficult than the making of any previous decision. The first alternative--to set off in search of land--appeared to me to be the most sensible as, should our provisions run out, it was possible further south that we might find edible animal life. In addition this plan had the great advantage that it would occupy our thoughts with the work we had ahead. Against this plan the fact of our modest equipment and our probably weakened condition must be weighed. When I privately considered these two alternatives I always came to the conclusion that to look for land was the most sensible, but as soon as I decided on this course a voice whispered in my ear: “Are you mad, Boy? Will you leave a complete and good machine, filled with petrol, and go down into the high broken ice where you know you may perish miserably? A waterway may open up before you to-morrow and then you will be home in eight hours’ time.” Will any one blame me for my indecision when I found it so difficult to choose. On the evening of the 14th we unloaded everything on the ice except the most necessary, and _that_ we placed in a canvas boat. We kept sufficient petrol and oil for eight hours, one canvas boat, two shotguns, six sleeping bags, one tent, cooking utensils and provisions for a few weeks. Even our splendid ski-shoes had to be set aside as they were too heavy. Of our clothes we only kept what we could not do without. All told it amounted to about 300 kg.