A few hours later a grand sight enthralled us. A magnificent waterspout appeared not a mile to windward of us, doubtless evolved by the recent heavy rain-pour. The surface of the sea had become an active fountain surmounted by a vast funnel-shaped column reaching to the clouds above. It was travelling in a southerly direction in dangerous proximity to our vessel. We deemed it prudent to "keep her away" a couple of points, when shortly we had the satisfaction of seeing it burst and vanish into thin air. Had this waterspout struck our little craft, this narrative would never have been written, for the writer of it would have been quietly resting in the bed of St. George's Channel. We were hugging the coast of New Ireland when, rather to our surprise, a group of low islands, one of them conspicuous from a solitary tree standing out in bold relief on it, hove in sight. Making sure that these must be the Duke of York Islands, we slightly altered our course, and after a smart run of three hours, entered the passage, which is close to the island with the above-mentioned tree, and anchored in the lovely harbour of "Mioko," within a few yards of the shore. CHAPTER VII. BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO. Leaving our "Dwarf" in charge of the cutter, we paid a visit to Mr. H----r, the manager of the "Mioko" plantation. "Mioko" is one of the Hamburg Plantation Company's branches. They have large plantations in "Samoa," and their operations are most extensive. Mr. H----r and his assistant, both of them Germans, were the sole representatives of the white race in the Duke of York group. The manager's house, which is situated a few yards from the beach, presented a most picturesque appearance. It was built entirely of bamboo, with a roof of shingles; and, being lined with bamboo, was, notwithstanding the tropical heat, always cool inside. They gave us a hearty welcome although we were perfect strangers. To their delight they discovered in one of us a countryman of theirs, whilst S----g was a Norwegian, and I an Englishman. The Germans had the advantage, being in the majority. The different buildings of the plantation gave it the appearance of a township. A substantial wharf extended from the beach, alongside of which a vessel could lie and discharge her cargo. Connecting the wharf with the large copra house were tram lines, over which the produce was conveyed in trucks to the vessel and thence into the hold. Next to the copra house, which was capable of storing 200 tons of copra, was a fine iron building used as a "store," where the different articles of trade were kept and in which were the offices of the manager. There were numerous out-buildings of every description, all of them kept in excellent order. At the time of our visit, the copra house contained over 100 tons of copra awaiting shipment.