It was then put by till we could find time to
make the wheels, reels, and combs which my wife said that she would
want to turn our new found plant to its best use.
We now made haste to lay up a store of canes, nuts, wood, and such
things as we thought we might want; and took care, while it was still
fine, to sow wheat, and all the grain we had left in our bags was soon
put in the ground. The fear that the rain might come and put a stop to
our work led us to take our meals in haste, and to make the days as
long as we could see. We knew the rain was close at hand, for the
nights were cold; large clouds could be seen in the sky, and the wind
blew as we had not felt it since the night our ship had struck on the
rock.
The great change came at last. One night we were woke up out of our
sleep with the noise made by the rush of the wind through the woods,
and we could hear the loud roar of the sea far off. Then the dense
storm clouds which we had seen in the sky burst on us, and the rain
came down in floods. The streams, pools, and ponds on all sides were
soon full, and the whole plain round us met our view as one vast lake.
By good luck, the site of our house stood up out of the flood, and our
group of trees had the look of a small isle in the midst of the lake.
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