"Gee! a fellow would have to be a regular grasshopper to jump over these rocks," grumbled Randy, and he had scarcely uttered the words when he slipped down, landing with a thump on his chest.
"Hurt?" queried Jack quickly.
"N-no," spluttered his cousin. "B-but I kn-kn-knocked the wind out of m-me."
In a minute more the boys had reached the shelter of the rocks where they overhung the Rick Rack River. Here they found a shelter several feet above the madly rushing torrent. The place was twelve or fifteen feet in length, and several feet in depth. Above them was a shelving rock which, while it did not shelter them completely, did much to ward off the heavy downpour of rain.
"Not as comfortable as a Morris chair in the library at school," remarked Andy, as he swished the water from his cap, "but it's a good deal better than being in the open."
"Provided we do not have to stay here too long," returned his twin. "What time is it, Jack? I didn't bring my watch with me."
"Quarter to five," announced the young captain, after consulting his wrist-watch.
"We ought to be on our way to the Hall," said Fred. "I don't know what Captain Dale will say if we are late."
"Oh, he'll excuse us when he learns the truth," answered Jack. "Just the same, I'd give a good deal if we were back safe and sound at the school. We certainly can't stay here all night, and it looks as if this storm was going to be a lasting one."
"Maybe we are in for another couple of weeks of rain," growled Andy. "Gee! I wish the Weather Bureau would go out of existence. They have been predicting clearing weather for over a week, and it never came at all."