Before the flames grew too intense, he picked four of the straighter pieces from a pile of chopped firewood and stuck them in the ground around the fire. Then, he grabbed a banana leaf.
He jammed the thick petiole into the soil, packing it down firmly. The leaf blade draped over the wooden supports, creating a makeshift, ninety-degree roof.
With the leaf blocking the way, the thick smoke could only billow out to the sides.
He then laid another banana leaf on the left and right, loosely enclosing the area above the Ant Nest.
Smoke still escaped through the gaps, but the majority was now forced to drift toward the petiole—in other words, toward where he was standing.
Once the smoke flue was in place, he tore up the last two tobacco leaves from his basket and tossed them into the fire. Then he pulled up all the weeds growing wild inside the cabin and threw them in too.
