CHAPTER III 
Lbttbr rV. GOONDI. — ^A storm — ^A dangerous voyage— Just in time — 
Past Cardwell— Mourilyan Harbour— Geraldton— In the "lawyer's" 
dutch — Goondi — ^Nature's splendour — Fairyland — Another attack of 
fever. 
Goondi. 
My six weeks' visit to Macnade came all too soon to an 
end^ but Mr. N. had to attend a land case, and I to 
catch a steamer at the mouth of the river (the Herbert) 
to take us to the Johnstone River 80 miles away. We 
had to make an early start at three in the morning. 
Already, on the night before, heavy black clouds were 
gathering, and there was a still sultriness in the air 
with flashes of lightning and the distant rumbling of 
thunder ; the big frogs croaked in the tanks (a sure 
sign of rain), lumbering beetles boomed their wings 
against wall and floor in a dazed way, thousands of 
winged insects filled the air and flew in through the 
open doors and windows ; flying ants dropped their ill- 
secured wings, and a lovely pale green moth fluttered 
against the window and was quickly caught, chloro- 
formed, and pinned out 
At six o'clock the storm burst on us with all 
its fury, beating everything to the ground as only 
a tropical storm can ; the pattering of rain on the 
roof was deafening, and in a few minutes every path 
down the garden was a running stream. From the 
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