There is no doubt that the work of the scientific parties and the observations taken on and about Gough Island, when fully worked out, will prove most interesting. CHAPTER XIV CAPE TOWN On June 3rd we set course for Cape Town, where I should be able to get into communication with Mr. Rowett. We had had a pretty hard and trying time, but I should have liked to have one more season in the Enderby Quadrant. The _Quest_ had her faults—too many—but yet I had learned to love this little ship for all her waywardness. I had come to believe that much might be accomplished by making Cape Town our starting point and setting out _early in the season_. On mature consideration, however, I realized that it was inevitable that we must return home, for I knew that we had almost reached the time limit arranged by Sir Ernest Shackleton. There was still much work to be done, for we had to call at St. Helena, Ascension Island and St. Vincent. If time permitted, I intended to include South Trinidad Island also. I was anxious for Douglas to make a geological examination of these places so that he might be able to link them up with the islands we had already visited. After leaving Gough Island we had had head winds and seas, and consequently made little progress. We slaughtered Bridget and cut her up, Dell being the murderer. She was very fat and in excellent condition, and made a welcome change of fare. The wind fell off a little on June 4th and 5th and came abaft the beam, enabling us to shut off steam and proceed under sail only. We were now short of coal and had to economize so that we should have a supply sufficient to take us into port. The ship also was very light, as a result not only of the depleted bunkers, but also from the lightening of the fore-hold of the mails and stores which were put ashore at Tristan da Cunha. I was now proceeding to enable Worsley to look for a reef reported by the whalers of South Georgia as seen in the neighbourhood of position lat. 35° 4´ S. and 5° 20´ W. long. (350 miles east by north of Tristan da Cunha). Captain Hansen, of the _Orwell_, was very positive on the matter, stating that whilst proceeding from Cape Town to South Georgia he had seen breaking water and strands of kelp in this position. We took a series of soundings, which showed no signs of shoaling, and the snapper revealed bottom specimens of white clay. On June 6th we started cleaning up the paint-work in an endeavour to make the ship look moderately respectable for our entry into Cape Town, but I am afraid that as a result of the hard battering which she received in the South she still had a very weather-beaten appearance in spite of any efforts we made in this way. Dell again had some butchering to do. He skinned one of the Tristan sheep, which proved to be very scraggy.