78 ADVENTURES IN THE SOUTH SEAS 
“ “We collected the children near the door, and wrapping 
them up in blankets, stood ready to rush out, should the 
house be broken in. About eleven o’clock the wall plate 
was broken in two, and one side of the house fell in; the 
door was then thrown open, and we attempted to rush out, 
but were beaten down by the wind and rain. 
“ “When we recovered from the first shock, we made as 
fast as we could through the awful storm to our kitchen. 
It was with the greatest difficulty that we reached the place; 
and then you may judge of my feelings when I heard the 
natives shouting out the name of my little boy, and was told 
he could not be found. But he was safe; a native had car- 
ried him into the kitchen before we arrived, and we were 
truly thankful to God to find him there. The people now 
assembled in the kitchen, and did all they could to keep it 
up. The wind roared terrifically, and the rain fell in tor- 
rents, and we expected soon to be again driven from our 
shelter. 
“ “When we had been in the kitchen about half an hour, 
two young men arrived from the town, and told us that the 
water was rising around us very fast, and that if we did not 
make haste, we could not escape. We saw that it was really 
so, and we knew not what to do. It seemed like taking our 
wives and children into the jaws of death if we ventured out; 
and yet we saw that if we remained where we were, we must 
be lost. 
“ “We at last determined to go. I gave my dear little girl 
to Joel the teacher, and the other children to some of the 
people. Mrs. Ford was placed on one native’s back, and 
Mrs. Watsford on another; and then, commending ourselves 
to the care of our gracious God, we rushed out into the 
furious gale. It was a fearful time as we hurried along to 
the town. The nut trees bent over our heads and fell around 
us; the nuts were flying in every direction; the rain beat like 
shot in our faces; and it was with the greatest difficulty we 
could keep on our feet, the wind being so strong. We had 
