Our Captain, Herr Warzbergen, Had
Promised To Obtain A House For Me, But Unforeseen Difficulties
Presented Themselves.
One which was to let had no roof; and the
owner, who was building it on speculation, could not promise to
finish it in less than a month.
Another, of which the owner was
dead, and which I might therefore take undisputed possession of
as the first comer, wanted considerable repairs, and no one could
be found to do the work, although about four times its value was
offered. The captain, therefore, recommended me to take
possession of a pretty good house near his own, whose owner was
not expected for some weeks; and as I was anxious to be on shore,
I immediately had it cleared out, and by evening had all my
things housed, and was regularly installed as an inhabitant of
Dobbo. I had brought with me a cane chair, and a few light
boards, which were soon rigged up into a table and shelves. A
broad bamboo bench served as sofa and bedstead, my boxes were
conveniently arranged, my mats spread on the floor, a window cut
in the palm-leaf wall to light my table, and though the place was
as miserable and gloomy a shed as could be imagined, I felt as
contented as if I had obtained a well-furnished mansion, and
looked forward to a month's residence in it with unmixed
satisfaction.
The next morning, after an early breakfast, I set off to explore
the virgin forests of Aru, anxious to set my mind at rest as to
the treasures they were likely to yield, and the probable success
of my long-meditated expedition.
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