in my arms. With the dawn, however, the shapes disappeared, and Moira's
fears were dispelled.

Daylight found us several miles on our way to the coast, which we made,
as I reckoned, about noon, to the north of where I had first landed.
The cliffs here were high and rocky, the waves breaking at the foot in
fountains of spray. The sky was dull and overcast, which betokened a
storm. A number of white birds with yellow crests, such as I had seen
on my first landing, flew inland, and several fur-coated animals, with
heads resembling deer, and powerful tails, hopped across the stubble to
the shelter of the trees. The prospect was a dreary one, and a feeling
of melancholy oppressed me, which I found it hard to dispel.

Moira did her best to cheer me, but I could not rid myself of the dread
of being the only white man upon this desolate shore. When we had
walked for some distance we came to a sandy beach, where we found a
cave in which to shelter from the storm which now burst upon us.
For an hour or more the elements raged with a fury only to be equalled
in the tropics. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled, whilst rain fell
with the force of a deluge. Then, suddenly, the storm passed, and the
sun shone with renewed splendour, decking the dripping foliage with
myriads of raindrop gems.

We had depended for food since leaving the blacks' camp upon a supply
of dried fish and prepared bulrush root, which Moira had brought with
her in her dilly-bag, but we were now compelled to seek fresh means for
our support. Moira collected a quantity of shellfish, for the cooking
of which I made a fire of some dried wood. Moira showed the greatest
astonishment and some alarm at my flint and steel, which I now used for
the first time in her presence. Nothing would persuade her to touch it.