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

LOLOWAY—MALO—THE BANKS ISLANDS 255

swelled to torrents, and in every gully there ran rivers,
which collected to a deep lake in the plain. In the
house the rain penetrated everywhere, leaked through
the roof, dripped on the beds, and made puddles on
the floor.

Meanwhile the captain and engineer of the launch
had passed an unpleasant time; they had stayed
aboard till the rolling of the boat drove them to the
larger yacht; but seeing the schooner break her two
chains and drift on to the reef, they became frightened
and went ashore in the dinghey, and home along the
beach. Later they arrived at the station and reported
“all well,” and were amazed when I told them that
the launch had stranded. I had just been looking
from the veranda through the glass at the boats, when
a huge wave picked up the launch and threw her on
the beach. There she had rolled about a little, and
then dug herself into the sand, while the tide fell and
the wind changed. Next day the cyclone had passed,
but the swell was still very heavy. Equipped with
everything necessary to float the launch, we marched
along the beach, which was beaten hard by the waves.
We had to cross a swollen river on an improvised
raft; to our satisfaction we found the boat quite
unhurt, not even the cargo being damaged; only a
few copper plates were torn. Next day Mr. W.
arrived, lamenting his loss ; for his beautiful schooner
was pierced in the middle by a sharp rock, and she
hung, shaken by the waves that broke over her decks
and gurgled in the hold. The rigging was tom, the
cabin washed away, and the shore strewn with her