"This is a small-sized hurricane, I reckon," observed old Jacob. "Hark!"
He put up his hand and they all listened. From afar came a dull, humming sound. It was coming closer.
"It's a hurricane, ez sure ez guns!" shouted the Yankee sailor. "I hope we are safe here."
"We ought to be," replied Leander. "Oh, my! Listen!"
The humming seemed to fill the air all around them, while the sky grew as black as night. Then came a wild rushing of wind and at a distance they heard several forest trees go down with a crash. A tree directly before their shelter followed, and then the full force of the hurricane was upon them.
In a twinkle, one and another of the boys found himself lifted up and dashed against the rocks. The wind soused the rain in all around them, and the embers of the fire were hurled hither and thither, some sailing up into the air to disappear in the raging element. In front of the shelter the brush was torn up by the roots, and the very rocks seemed to quake and quiver, as if about to tumble down upon their heads.
"This is fearful!" groaned Bob; but nobody heard him, nor were the remarks from the others audible. The wind had found a crack in the rocks and through this it was whistling with the loudness of a steam calliope.
Swish! crack! bang! down came another tree before their hiding-place, and the uppermost branches were thrust at them, hemming all in against the wall. But this gave additional shelter, and now the wind that came after could not reach them.
In a few minutes the first fury of the hurricane was spent; but it continued to blow and rain at a lively rate, and this kept up until almost morning. To make even a torch-light was impossible, and they huddled together in the dark, side by side, with their backs to the cliff, silently praying that God might see them through this peril in safety. And their prayer was heard; for morning found them wet, sleepy and hungry, but still unharmed by a hurricane which, in other quarters, had done untold damage.
"My gracious! that was worse than the blizzard we had on Snow-Top Island!" declared Leander. "I'll tell you what—I wouldn't want to be out in the Dashaway in such a blow."