He was going to say, “too,” but the word remained unspoken, and he shrank back appalled by a blinding flash of vivid blue lightning, which seemed to dash through beneath their shelter and make every face look of a ghastly bluish-grey.
Almost simultaneously there was a deafening peal of thunder, and, as if by an instantaneous change—probably by some icy current of air on high—the moisture-laden atmosphere was darkened by dense mists whirling and looking like foam, clouds of slaty black shut out the sun, and the rain came down in a perfect deluge, streaming through the tree and pouring into the lake with one incessant roaring splash.
One moment beneath the awning it was black as night, the next it was all one dazzling glare, while in peal after peal the mighty thunder came, one clap succeeding another before it had had time to die away in its long metallic reverberations, that sounded as if the thunder rolled away through some vast iron tunnel.
No one attempted to speak, but all crowded together listening awe-stricken to the deafening elemental war, one thought dominating others in their minds, and it was this: “Suppose one of these terrible flashes of lightning strikes the tree!”
Reason and experience said, “Why shelter beneath a tree at a time like this?” but the instinct of self-preservation drove them there to escape the terrible battering of the rain and the rushing wind.
For they had ample knowledge of the state of the lake, though, save in momentary glances, it was invisible beneath the black pall of cloud and rain, for waves came surging in, making the boat rise and fall, while from time to time quite a billow rushed beneath the drooping boughs, which partially broke its force ere it struck against the side of the boat with a heavy slap and sent its crest over the covering and into the unprotected parts.
There was something confusing as well as appalling in the storm, which was gigantic as compared to anything Rob had seen at home, and as he crouched there listening in the brief intervals of the thunder-claps, the rain poured down on the tarpaulin roof with one continuous rush and roar as heavily as if the boat had been backed in beneath some waterfall.
All at once from out of the darkness a curious startling sound was heard, which puzzled both lads for some minutes, till they suddenly recollected that Shaddy had placed tin balers fore and aft, and any doubt as to their being the cause of the peculiar noise was set at rest by Shaddy, who suddenly thrust in his head at the end of a deafening roar and shouted,—
“How are you getting on, gentlemen? Water got in there yet?”
“No, no,” was shouted back, “not yet.”