Returning joyfully to Rockburg, we changed our drenched garments for warm, dry clothes; and, seated at a comfortable meal, considered and described at our ease the perils of the storm. Afterward, the head of the walrus was conveyed to our workshop; where it underwent such a skillful and thorough process of cleaning, embalming, and drying, that ere long it was actually fixed on the prow of the cajack, and a most imposing appearance it presented! The strips of hide, when well tanned and prepared, made valuable leather. Much damage had been done by the late storm. The heavy rain had flooded all the streams, and injured crops which should have been housed before the regular rainy season. The bridge over Jackal River was partly broken down, and the water tanks and pipes all needed repair. So our time was much occupied in restoring things to order. On going to work one day, near the cascade, we found a great number of dark red berries scattered on the ground; they were about the size of ordinary hazel nuts, with small leafy coronets at the tip. The boys thought them so inviting, that they tasted them at once, but angry exclamations and much spitting and spluttering followed the experiment; even Knips rejected them, and they would have been cast aside with contempt, had not the smell induced me to examine them. I decided that this was the fruit of the clove. Some plants were immediately set in the nursery garden, and my wife was pleased to have this excellent spice wherewith to flavor her boiled rice and other dishes, in lieu of pepper--a very welcome variety to everyone. Having a good supply of clay, brought from the bed near Falconhurst, I proposed to use it for making aqueducts; and, observing how much the recent rain had promoted the growth of our young corn, I determined to irrigate the fields with the drainage from our crushing mill. The fishing season was again successful. Large takes of salmon, sturgeon, and herring rewarded our annual exertions, and our storeroom again assumed a well-stocked appearance. Much as I wished that we could obtain a constant supply of these fish fresh, I was obliged to reject the naïve proposal from Jack, that we should tether a shoal of salmon by the gills to the bottom of the bay as we had secured the turtles. Many quiet uneventful days passed by, and I perceived that the boys, wearied by the routine of farm work at Rockburg, were longing for a cruise in the yacht or an expedition into the woods, which would refresh both mind and body. "Father," said Fritz at length, "we want a quantity of hurdles, and have scarcely any more bamboos of which to make them. Had we not better get a supply from Woodlands? And you said, too, the other day, that you wished you had some more of the fine clay: we might visit the Gap at the same time."