It surprised me that after such a badly served
meal the man brought a bowl of water for our hands, and something
intended for a towel.
By this time it was dark, and a stone, deeply hollowed at the top,
was produced, containing beef fat and a piece of rag for a wick,
which burned with a strong flaring light. The women gathered
themselves up and sat round a large calabash of poi, conveying the
sour paste to their mouths with an inimitable twist of the fingers,
laying their heads back and closing their eyes with a look of animal
satisfaction. When they had eaten they lay down as before, with
their chins on their pillows, and again the row of great brown eyes
confronted me. Deborah, Kaluna, and the women talked incessantly in
loud shrill voices till Kaluna uttered the word auwe with a long
groaning intonation, apparently signifying weariness, divested
himself of his clothes and laid down on a mat alongside our shake-
down, upon which we let down the dividing curtain and wrapped
ourselves up as warmly as possible.
I was uneasy about Deborah who had had a cough for some time, and
consequently took the outside place under the window which was
broken, and presently a large cat jumped through the hole and down
upon me, followed by another and another, till five wild cats had
effected an entrance, making me a stepping-stone to ulterior
proceedings.
Pages:
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176