ray. Sometimes a fierce wind from the north brings sad
havoc to the hastily built bamboo houses; a whole street of these
slightly constructed dwellings is toppled over or lies aslant, or is
swept away. At first we used to smile at the storm signal displayed at
Iloilo. If the sky was clear and still, we would start out confidently
on some trip, to the next town perhaps; before we had gone more than
a half mile we would be drenched through and through and no cloud,
not even as big as a man's hand was to be seen; at other times dense
clouds, the blackest clouds, would shut down close upon us,--such are
the strange variations. No sort of sailing craft ever leaves the port
when the signals are up for one of these hurricane storms; if caught
out in them they put instantly into the nearest port. Shipwrecks are
frequent, partly on account of these sudden storms, but chiefly on
account of the shifting sands of the course.

From Manila to Iloilo on a boat that had been purchased for the use
of the government, I was, on one occasion, the only passenger on
board. The captain had never been over this course before, but he was
confident of getting through with the help of a Spanish chart. About
two o'clock in the morning I sprang to my feet alarmed by the harsh
grinding of the boat's keel, the scurrying of many feet, the shouting
of quick orders. The shock of the boat blew out all lamps; in the
darkness I opened the door of my cabin and ran to find the captain,
guided by his voice. I learned that we were aground. I asked him if
I could help. "Yes, if you can carry messages to the engineer and
translate them into Spanish." I ran to and fro, stumbling up or down,
forgetting every time I passed that a certain part of the ship had a
raised ledge. The effort was to prop the boat with spars that it might
not tip as it crunched and settled down upon the coral reefs. We could
hardly wait until daylight to measure the predicament. When the light
grew clear so that I saw the illuminated waters, there was a scene of
new and wonderful beauty,--a garden of the sea, a coral grove. Far as
the eye could reach there was every conceivable color, shape, and kind
of coral,--pink, green, yellow, and white. It all looked so safe and
soft, as if one might crush it in the hands; and yet these huge cakes
of coral were like adamant, except the delicate fern-like spikes that
were so viciously piercing the bottom of our boat. I saw all kinds of
sea shells, the