Killers were about earlier in the day, but no penguins. An ugly-looking sea-leopard put his head out of the water and gazed malignantly over the edge of the floe. In a pool at some distance from the ship I caught sight of a black mass rising and falling, and through my binoculars witnessed what appeared to be a fight between two sea-leopards. One of them leapt continually from the water to a height of some six feet, and the water was churned to a mass of foam. Suddenly it all ceased. What tragedy was enacted on that perfect evening? On such a night, amidst the pure whiteness of one’s surroundings, it was hard to realize that in the struggle for existence the unrelenting laws of Nature must hold. We passed close alongside a floe with a seal on it. I shot it; Macklin jumped off on to the floe and made fast a line, scarcely taking time to stop we hauled it aboard and proceeded on our way. Looking back I saw the surface of the snow smirched with its blood. So Man passed leaving a red stain; and yet but a few moments before I had been moralizing on “Nature red in tooth and claw.” Very few birds were about, with the exception of snow petrels, a few Antarctic petrels and a single young Dominican gull. [Illustration: THE _QUEST_ AT HER FARTHEST SOUTH _Photo: Wilkins_] [Illustration: JEFFREY AND DOUGLAS TAKING OBSERVATIONS FOR MAGNETIC DIP _Photo: Wilkins_] [Illustration: HEAVY PRESSED-UP PACK ICE—THE _QUEST_ IN THE DISTANCE _Photo: Wilkins_] [Illustration: COMMANDER WILD AND WORSLEY EXAMINING A NEWLY FORMED “LEAD” IN THE PACK ICE _Photo: Dr. Macklin_] We were pushing on, but the prospect at the moment was not promising. From aloft there was nothing to be seen but ice closely packed and stretching as far as the eye could reach in all directions. I distrust fine weather in the pack; it usually means lowered temperature, close ice and little open water. February 10th opened as a beautiful morning, with bright sunshine. The ice was white and sparkling and the water a deep blue. The air was keen and crisp, and all hands revelled in the improved weather conditions. Less so myself, however, for I feared what was portended. I prefer damp misty weather in the pack, for that means the presence of a considerable amount of open water amongst the ice and better conditions for navigating, in spite of poor visibility.