[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]

AMBRYM 2 2 3

I went to the spot chosen the day before and
dug my camera into the lava and waited. My
impatience was quieted by the splendid view I en-
joyed, embracing nearly all the islands of the group 2
Epi, Malekula, Aoba, Pentecoste, and higher than
all, the cone of Lopevi. All these floated in a soft,
blue haze, and even the two craters shone in a violet
hue.

We waited for several hours, freezing in spite of
the bright sun, between the damp, mossy walls of
the gully where we sat, and the volcano remained
quiet, merely hissing and roaring and emitting steam,
but a real eruption did not occur then, nor for several _
weeks later. We returned to camp, packed up our
things, and hurried down the slippery gullies and
lava banks, diving back into the thick, heavy atmo-
sphere of the sea-level; and at nightfall I washed off
the heat and dust of the day in the warm waves of
the ocean.