Some Good Luck and Some Bad Luck

They met Victor outside the Mawson Laboratories at five to six.

Welcome welcome! said Victor. Do come in!

Gaius was immediately drawn to the glass cases full of rocks.

Malachites! he said, pointing to some green ones.

Super, said The VeloDrone. Green ones. Let's go in and find a seat.

They went into the lecture theatre and sat down.

The lecture was about Douglas Mawson's second expedition to Antarctica, on the Aurora. It seemed that Mawson had had some good luck and some bad luck. On a secondary expedition with two of his colleagues, one had fallen into a crevasse with the sled and most of the supplies and dogs, while the other had died of food poisoning. To make matters worse, the soles of Mawson's feet had come off when he removed his socks, and he had had to to stick them back on with liniment, replace his socks and boots and trudge back to base camp by himself.

Afterwards, The VeloDrone, Le Bon David, Gaius and Victor were invited to stay for a cup of tea and plates of unadventurous bicuits with the Field Geologists.

The VeloDrone and Le Bon David were in high spirits.

Hilarious! said The VeloDrone.

In a black kind of way, said Le Bon David.

To lose one! said The VeloDrone.

Tragic! said Le Bon David.

But to lose both! said the VeloDrone.

CARELESSNESS! roared Le Bon David.

The Field Geologists pretended not to hear. They began chatting loudly.

Whatever are you talking about? asked Gaius. His feet?

No, said The VeloDrone. It's Oscar Wilde.

Well I don't get it, said Gaius, and wandered off to talk to Victor.

How did you enjoy the talk? asked Victor.

That fellow Mawson was a hero, said Gaius. I must see his rocks.

We don't have his socks, said Victor. But his boots are around here somewhere.