The bundle he carried under his arm, or, rather, held it there while he clung to a tree to prevent himself from being blown bodily into the sea.
In this manner he passed the remainder of the night, and it seemed as if the morning would never come.
He did not dare to leave the spot to which he had first fled for safety, although many times it seemed as if the tree would be uprooted, for the darkness was so intense that he could not have seen his own hands if held within a few inches of his eyes.
But in the midst of all this discomfort, and even danger, he thought of the treasure continually, wondering if he would have much trouble in finding the place where the silver was buried after the rain had obliterated his landmarks.
The morning broke gray and forbidding.
The huge waves rolled up on the beach as if intent on submerging the tiny key, and breaking on the shore with a force that caused the island to tremble under the blows.
There was no promise in the sky that the storm would soon subside, and Ned gazed in dismay at the ruin which had been wrought.
CHAPTER VI.
THE ZOE.
Although Ned had not progressed very far in the way of building a habitation, it seemed to him as if the gale had swept away what little he could call his own.
Not only was the hut demolished, but he had great difficulty in deciding where it had been located. The last vestige of the fire was effaced, and with it was gone all accurate means of ascertaining the exact place where the silver was buried; but this did not trouble him particularly, because he knew it would not require any very lengthy search to find it again.