246 
OUR HUT IN THE HILLS. 
and retired with high hopes for the morrow. 
Perhaps it was the keen air at this elevation 
that enabled me to enjoy refreshing sleep in 
spite of the protracted talking and unceasing 
coughing of the large company of natives who 
occupied the verandah, to be in readiness to con- 
tinue housebuilding early next day. 
The half had not been told ! With the first 
faint appearance of the dawn I was on the 
verandah, waiting the withdrawal of the cur- 
tains of night. With the marvellous quickness 
of the awakening tropical day, the brilliant 
morning sun lit up the scene, and I looked 
down the steep valley at my feet, away over 
the forest and the green plain and the town, 
out to the vast stretch of sea, set with the 
prominent isle of Kambing, and enclosed by two 
high promontories, the abruptness of whose 
outline was broken by trending islets, H. led 
me to the top of the steep ridge against which 
our little homestead nestles, whence the view 
is still wider; but I agree with him that the 
outlook from our own verandah is the more 
pleasing, the valley straight before us with 
symmetrical enclosing ridges forming a shapely 
picture. Then we turned downwards past the 
rose-bush on the way to the stream, brushing 
