Mephistopheles rising from Hell could havesurprised
and terrified me no more.
The fish might have eaten us both in retaliation.
Thus was I repaid for bringing theanimals on the expedition. It is remarkable that
thereis so little mortality at birth. Up to yesterday noDanger Islander had ever
killed a full-grown patuki-wala.
He was thinking: Shall I swallow himnow or wait
till I have scared him to death?
I havesaid that with water goggles on one gets an
illusion of gigantic size andvast distance.
The more I see of the profane old man the less I
like him. After a dive in the Hot Mineral Baths I moved seaward.
I fancied myself a lobster, and tried
swimmingbackward, but only to fill my nose with water. Desires swollen body does not
shock my aesthetic sense.
I scarcely heard Pati scream: Look at him,
Desire!
Poor oldDeacon Bribery devotes his entire time to
hunting and begging tobacco. I have mentioned what a gentle wife Desire is, how
resignedshe is to my eccentricities. The reef wasunusually calm, with only an
occasional surge, laced with foam, washing upthe barrier. What a contrast to
SanFrancisco Bay, where you cannot see bottom at ten inches!
Amile to our left, over the sunken Te Arai Reef,
black walls of water marchedtoward us. I have made threetrips to this perilous
place. If you haveany coffee, Ropati, you must share it with me. Desire has given
our daughter a typical native name.
He lay perfectly still, waiting, no doubt, for me
to dive.
At the word coffee his brain becameblocked.