The two went together to the cattle-shed on the green meadow.
The wind was roaring in the distance. The poultry were running home, and the cattle were seeking the shelter of the trees.
The cloud was now overhead. Dark sheets of rain in the horizon looked like walls of carbon reared against the sky. The lightning was sharp and frequent. There came a vivid flash followed by a peal of thunder that shook the hills.
"The cloud is overhead now," said Franklin.
He ran out into the green meadow and threw the kite against the wind.
It rose rapidly and was soon in the sky, drifting in the clouds that seemed full of the vengeful fluid.
At the termination of the hempen cord dangled the key, and the silk end was wound around the philosopher's hand.
The young man took charge of a Leyden jar which he had brought to the shed, in which to collect electricity from the clouds, should the experiment prove successful.
The cloud came on in its fury. The rain began to fall. Franklin and his son stood under the shed.
The air seemed electrified, but no electricity appeared in the hempen string. Franklin presented his knuckle to the key, but received no spark.