es 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.

We soon found that The Nest was not built so well as we thought, for the
rain came in at the sides, and we had good cause to fear that the wind
would blow the roof off. Once the storm made such a rush at it that we
heard the beams creak, and the planks gave signs that there was more
strain on them than they could bear. This drove us from our room to the
stairs in the trunk, on which we sat in a state of fear till the worst
of the storm was past. Then we went down to the shed we had built on the
ground at the root of the tree, and made the best shift we could. All
our stores were kept here, so that the space was too small to hold us,
and the smell from the beasts made it far from a fit place for six of us
to dwell in; but it was at least safe for a time, and this was of course
the first thing to be thought of. To dress our food we had to make a
fire in the barn, and as there was no place to let out the smoke, it got
down our throats and made us cough all the day long.

It was now for the first time that my wife gave a sigh for her old Swiss
home. But we all knew that it was of no use to grieve, and each set to
work to do all he could to make the place look neat and clean. Some of
our stores we took up the stairs out of our way, and this gave us more
room. As we had cut square holes in the trunk of the tree all the way
up, and put in frames of glass that we got from the ship, my wife could
sit on the stairs, with Frank at her feet, and mend our clothes. Each
day I drove from the barn such beasts as could bear to be out in the
rain. That we might not lose them, I tied bells round their necks; and
if we found that they did not come back when the sun went down, Fritz
and I went out to bring them in. We oft got wet through to the skin,
which gave us a chill, and might have laid us up if my wife had not made
cloth capes and hoods for us to wear. To make these rain proof, I spread
some of the gum on them while hot, and this, when dry, had the look of
oil cloth, and kept the head, arms, chest, and back free from damp. Our
gum boots came far up our legs, so that we could go out in the rain and
come back quite free from cold and damp.

We made but few fires, for the air was not cold, save for an hour or two
late