When we had
walked for some distance we came to a sandy beach, where we found a
cave in which to shelter from the storm which now burst upon us.
For an hour or more the elements raged with a fury only to be equalled
in the tropics. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled, whilst rain fell
with the force of a deluge. Then, suddenly, the storm passed, and the
sun shone with renewed splendour, decking the dripping foliage with
myriads of raindrop gems.
We had depended for food since leaving the blacks' camp upon a supply
of dried fish and prepared bulrush root, which Moira had brought with
her in her dilly-bag, but we were now compelled to seek fresh means for
our support. Moira collected a quantity of shellfish, for the cooking
of which I made a fire of some dried wood. Moira showed the greatest
astonishment and some alarm at my flint and steel, which I now used for
the first time in her presence. Nothing would persuade her to touch it.
She regarded it as something beyond her comprehension, as a fetish to
be worshipped. When we had finished our meal we fell asleep, worn out
by the fatigues of the long journey.
And now began for me a life of dull monotony, with days devoted to
watching the ocean, and sleepless nights of anxiety and despair.
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