The boys looked at each other. Were things going to turn out for the worse? Surely something serious was wrong, or the captain would never have acted in such manner.
“Getting darker,” Bob said, as he noted that the clouds were joining.
“Won’t be long before it’ll rain,” prophesied Joe, and he was correct, for it was less than ten minutes later that a heavy drizzle fell, forcing the chums into the cabin.
There they turned and looked out at the sea, which was rapidly getting higher. The wind was blowing fiercely, its velocity increasing with each minute.
“Well, boys, what do you think of it?”
It was Mr. Holton’s voice. He and his two companions had moved up to the glass, as had a number of other people.
“Suppose you answer that question,” replied Bob. “You’re in a better position to know than we are.”
“I believe we’re in for a bad one,” was the opinion voiced by Professor Bigelow. “But how long it will last is hard to say.”
Mr. Lewis nodded. “Tropical hurricanes are very uncertain,” he said. “Sometimes they last only a few hours, while at other times they keep up for two and three days.”