THE MOTOR BOAT 



little boat to a hook. Happily he was the owner of 

 a fine big trap-boat, but he had his anxious moments 

 as he worked her round. There came an almost 

 imperceptible lull a rather smaller wave ; Paulus 

 flung his weight on the tiller, and ducked as the 

 boom banged over and we were racing homewards, 

 with the nose of the boat roaring through the water. 

 We were all right now, and Paulus grinned as he 

 did his characteristic shake to get the wet hair out of 

 his eyes. " Very nearly bad job," said he ; and that 

 was the only reference I ever knew Paulus make to 

 the fact that he had saved my life. 



Happily the need for such adventures no longer 

 exists, since in the summer of 1908 a fine motor boat 

 came to Okak Hospital as a present from generous- 

 hearted friends. This was a great help : it meant 

 that the people could easily be visited at their 

 scattered fishing camps during the busy fishing 

 season, when ordinarily they are away from the 

 Mission station for days or weeks at a time ; and so, 

 not only would they be under better supervision, but 

 the usefulness of the hospital to them would be 

 vastly increased. And since the summer of 1908 

 the white motor boat, The Northern Star, has 

 puffed busily to and fro. 



I had the pleasure of a trial trip in her before I 

 left the coast, and, as if to give me a proper apprecia- 

 tion of the boat's seaworthiness, the elements com- 

 bined in the worst storm of the season. We made 

 quite a large party ; myself and wife, my successor 

 and his wife, the English hospital nurse, Veronica 

 the kitchen-girl, and Jerry. We took Jerry the 

 organist because he happened to be at home, and 



because he knows every rock within miles of Okak ; 



302 



