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Samoa Under the Sailing Gods

III

III

My time, after a single night at Aliepata, was short. When I left Chapman's, after my return there, I was due to make an appearance in the Secretary's office on the morning of the third day. I was very late leaving Falealili, as Chapman spent an immense amount of time in building up two pads on either side of the mare's spine so that the saddle might in no way touch the hurt. I did not like to ride, and my progress was slow, since she had always evinced a strong objection to being led; it being practically necessary to drag her along. I had intended to go from Falealili to Apia in one. day—a possible journey over the mountain-road that leads straight across the middle of the island from Siumu. But when I had left that village a mile or two behind, and had already ascended the mountain-slopes—with the distant sea at the mare's stern—to a fair height among the extraordinary profusion of the native taro patches and food plantations, it became clear that to continue was to be overtaken by darkness long before I had finished the ascent to the backbone of the island. I removed her bridle, loosened the girth, left the mare tethered on the long-rope in the most abundant and luxuriant grass, and returned to the village.

I stayed that night in the house of an old dame who was chieftainess in her own right, and whom I met subsequently in Savaii. I remember being delayed a long time the following morning as it was raining very heavily. I had had extremely page 130good weather up to then. At last I set out and ascended the slippery grass road, found the mare, put the bridle on her, and continued upwards towards the lowering grey clouds that wreathed the slopes above. On every side was the densest of vegetation, which varied from tree-ferns to gigantic forest trees, and the rain became increasingly colder as we ascended. At length we reached a point where the mare would not be led or driven any farther and there was no alternative but to mount. Once she stopped and yet seemed to be straining forward, and dismounting I found concealed in the grass the telephone wire, which was down all along the route and long disused, hitched neatly round a hind hoof. I had no wire-cutters and should have been in a fix had she not been a remarkably quiet beast. Once she fell, but instantly recovered; and still it rained—in solid cold sheets. Soon after passing the highest point the rain slackened off, and after awhile the road became better, and then I saw on my right the Government health resort of Malololelei—Rest well!—with lights in the windows on account of the general gloom, at an altitude of close to two thousand feet. From here on, the road was passable to motor traffic, and the rain had now quite stopped. On getting down closer to sea-level, where the road led off near Vailima into the loose network behind Apia, we stood for a moment dazzled in the headlights of a car containing a party bound for some dance or picnic—the first motor-vehicle we had seen since leaving Mulifanua.