Chapter 3 The Ponies

　　On October 27th，the Terra Nova arrived in Wellington，New Zealand．When Scott came off the ship，a newspa-per man walked up to him．

　　'Captain Scott！Captain Scott！Can I talk to you，please！'he said．

　　Scott stopped and smiled．'Yes，of course，'he said．'What do you want to know？'

　　'Are you going to win？'the man asked．

　　'Win？'Scott asked．'Win what？'

　　'Win the race to the South Pole，of course，'the newspaper man said．'It's a race between you and Amundsen，now．Look at this！'He gave a newspaper to Scott．Scott looked at it．It said：Scott's face went white．'Give me that！'he said．He took the newspaper and read it carefully．The newspaper man watched him，and waited．'Well，Captain Scott，'he said at last．'Who's going to win this race？Tell me that！'

　　Scott looked at him angrily．'This is stupid！'he said．'It's not a race！I came here to learn about the Antarctic—I'm not interested in Amundsen，or in races！'Then he walked back on-to his ship，with the newspaper in his hand．

　　Later that day，he talked to his men．He gave them the newspaper，and laughed．

　　'It doesn't matter，'he said．'We're in front of Amundsen，and we have more men，and more money．He has only eight men，and a lot of dogs．I know about dogs—they don't work in the Antarctic．We have sixteen men and the new motor sledges—they are much better．And tomorrow the ponies are coming．We need ponies，motor sledges，and good strong British men—that's all．Forget about Amundsen！He's not important！'

　　Scott asked Oates to look after the ponies，but he did not let Oates buy them．When Oates first saw the ponies，in New Zealand，he was very unhappy．Most of the ponies were old，and some of them were ill．

　　'They're beautiful ponies，Titus，'Scott said．'They come from China—they're wonderful ponies！'

　　Oates looked at them angrily，and said nothing．Then he asked：'Where is their food，Captain？'

　　'Here！'Scott opened a door．

　　Oates looked inside．He thought for a minute．'We need more food than this，Captain Scott！These ponies are going to work in the coldest place on earth—they need a lot of food—more than this！'

　　Scott smiled quietly．'We can't take more food on this ship，Titus．Where can we put it？But it doesn't matter，old boy．They're very strong ponies，you know．The best ponies on earth．'

　　Later that night，Oates wrote a letter to his mother．There are nineteen ponies on the Terra Nova now，he wrote．All the penies are in a small room at the front of the ship．We eat our food in the room under the ponies，so our table is often wet and dirty．Scott makes a lot of mistakes，I think，and Antarc-tica is a very dangerous place．

　　3 小马

　　10月27日，特若·诺瓦号船抵达新西兰的惠灵顿。当斯科特走下船时，一位报社记者迎面走来。

　　“斯科特队长！斯科特队长！我能与你谈谈吗？”他说。

　　斯科特停下来，面带微笑。“行，当然可以！”他说，“你想知道什么？”

　　“你们会是赢家吗？”那人问。

　　“赢家？”斯科特问，“什么赢家？”

　　“当然是赢得前往南极的竞赛。”报社记者说。“现在这个竞赛在你与阿蒙森之间展开。瞧！”他将一份报纸递给斯科特。斯科特看着报纸。报上是这样写的：

　　弗雷门号正与斯科特争先到达南极

　　阿蒙森说：“我们将赢得比赛！”

　　斯科特脸色变得苍白。“给我报纸！”他说。他拿过报纸认真阅读。记者观察着他，期待着。“那么，斯科特队长，”他最终开口了，“谁将赢得这场比赛？请告诉我！”

　　斯科特愤怒地看着他。“真是愚蠢！”他说，“这不是比赛！我来这儿是为了了解南极。我对阿蒙森对比赛都不感兴趣！”然后，他回到船上，手里拿着那张报纸。

　　当天晚些时候，他对同行人员讲起这事，将报纸递给他们，并且大笑起来。

　　“没关系，”他说，“我们现今还在阿蒙森前面。我们不仅人数占优势，而且钱也更多。他呢，除了许多狗外，只有8个人。我熟悉狗性：它们在南极洲干不了活儿。我们有16个人，还配有新式机动雪橇。这些雪橇比狗好使多了。明天，还有小马送来。我们需要小马、机动雪橇以及身强力壮的英国人！这些就够了。忘了那个阿蒙森！他并不重要！”

　　斯科特分配奥茨喂养小马，但不让他负责买马。在新西兰，奥茨一见到这些小马，便大为光火。这些小马大部分都已老态毕呈，有些还是病马。

　　“这些都是漂亮的小马，泰特斯，”斯科特说，“纯中国货，匹匹都极为出色！”

　　奥茨恼火地看着这些小马，没有说什么。随即他问：“队长，它们的饲料在哪里？”

　　“这儿！”斯科特打开一道门。

　　奥茨朝里看了看，思索了一会儿。“我们需要更多饲料，斯科特队长！这些小马将在地球上最冷的地区干活儿：它们需要许多饲料，远不止这些！”

　　斯科特无声地笑了。“这条船上，我们不可能带许多饲料，泰特斯。往哪放呢？没什么关系，老兄。你看见了，这些马十分壮实，是地球上最好的小马。”