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

258 WITH NATIVES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC

and there was hardly anyone in a fit condition to
help him secure the launch.

All one morning it rained, and at noon the cyclone
broke, coming from the south-west, as it had done
the first time, but with threefold violence. We sat
on the veranda, ready to jump off at any moment, in
case the house should be blown away. The view
was wiped out by the mist; dull crashes resounded in
the forest, branches cracked and flew whirling through
the air, all isolated trees were broken off short, and
the lianas tangled and torn. The blasts grew ever
more violent and frequent, and if the house had not
been protected by the mountain, it could never have
resisted them. As it was, it shook and creaked, and
a little iron shed went rolling along the ground like a
die. Down in the plain the storm tore the leaves off
the palms, and uprooted trees and blew down houses.
The cyclone reached its climax at sunset, then the
barometer rose steadily, and suddenly both wind and
rain ceased. The stillness lasted for about half an
hour and then the storm set in again, this time from
the north, striking the house with all its strength;
fortunately it was not so violent as at first. With
the rising barometer the storm decreased and changed
its direction to the east. All next day it rained and'
blew; but on the third morning the storm died out in
a faint breeze from the south-east, and when we came
to reckon up our damages, we found that it might
have been worse. Meanwhile the employe’s had had '
time to recover from their orgy. A brilliant day
dried the damp house, and soon everything resumed