I CAN not tell how glad we all were when we at last saw a change in the
sky, and felt once more the warm rays of the sun. In a few days the
floods sank in the earth, and left the ground of a bright green hue;
the air grew warm and dry, and there were no more dark clouds to be
seen in the sky.

We found our young trees had put forth new leaves, and the seed we had
sown had come up through the moist ground. The air had a fresh sweet
smell, for it bore the scent of the bloom which hung like snow flakes
on the boughs of the fruit trees; the songs and cries of the birds were
to be heard on all sides, and we could see them fly from tree to tree
in search of twigs to build their nests. This in fact was the spring of
the year, when all things put forth new life; and we knew that the time
was now come when we could once more range the woods and till the soil,
and this made the boys leap for joy.

Some planks had been blown off the roof of The Nest, and the rain had
got in here and there; so our first job was to mend our house, and make
it fit to sleep in.

This done, Jack, Fritz, and I set out to Tent House. We found it in a
sad state. The storm had thrown down the tent, blown off some of the
sail cloth, and let in the rain on our casks, some of which held a
store of food. Our boat was still safe, but the raft of tubs had broken
Lip, and what there was left of it lay in splints on the shore.

Our loss in the storm had been so great that I felt we ought at once to
seek for some place on the rocks where we could put what was left.

We went all round the cliffs, in the hope that we might find a cave,