especially torrential one. Some of the Quichuas insisted that the rainy season that year was the wettest they had seen in thirty years. Progress on Jim’s construction projects under these conditions was sluggish and discouraging. Day after day, the workers were unable to build, or got less done than Jim had hoped. Jim and Pete were forced indoors and could only stand at the window and watch the water descend in thick sheets. Puddles formed in the clearing; then the puddles overflowed to become oozing mud.