THE HURRICANE 107 
“Popoina and some other natives came in to see how we 
fared. ‘We are all in the same plight,’ he said, on seeing 
the torn thatch and the wet floors. He seemed to think 
the storm was over, but I said, “The aneroid [barometer] 
says, No.’ 
“For nearly three hours the calm continued—an unusually 
long interval. Then the wind blew suddenly from the oppo- 
site direction, the northwest, with redoubled force. In the 
morning it had been ‘playing’ at a hurricane, now it was in 
real earnest; then the front of the house was sheltered, now 
it was exposed. I nailed doors and windows, and we moved 
to the quieter dining room behind, and tried to get some 
food. 
“Tatavaka appeared outside, all wet and shivering, having 
come from Isia. ‘Will the home stand?’ I shouted to him. 
“Yes, it is quite firm,’ he said, and sought shelter. Noticing 
that the wind had suddenly increased in the lobby, I rushed 
to the front and looked out. The veranda was gone! I 
opened the bedroom door. The window was broken; the par- 
tition was gaping and swaying violently ; the whole front was 
tottering from end to end. Rushing back, I said, ‘We must 
fly; the house is falling!’ Leaving the untasted meal, we 
went to the store, the most sheltered part of the building; 
but it, too, was shaking. We ran to an outhouse, but it 
threatened momentarily to fall. Without a place of security, 
I feared we might have to spend a night in the open, and I 
trembled for the children. 
“Just then Basina, Saloki’s mother, appeared. ‘Have you 
a place of safety?’ I asked. ‘We can stand in the gutter 
and hold on by the rafters,’ she said. Poor comfort in- 
deed! but I thought, If you can live there, so can we, and 
said, ‘Send some one to help the lady Missi.’ My wife had 
the presence of mind to get some blankets, and hurriedly 
wrapping the children in them, she handed one to each girl, 
taking Willie, thirteen months old, herself, while I carried 
a bag of biscuits. 
