Chapter VIII: Part III: The Navigator’s Task (3)

From the day we gathered all our material together, our program went according to date, and in the beginning of May we were all in readiness to set off in the second half of the month if conditions permitted.

That day was for me, therefore, a _great_ day in the expedition’s course, and every one will understand my feeling of joy when after testing the machine I was able to announce to Amundsen, “We are clear to start the moment our leader says the word!”