The river began to rise and add its mighty voice to the other sounds, although no rain had yet fallen where they were. The darkness increased, but suddenly everything was lit up in a livid glare that made them all blink.
“Lightning,” exclaimed Salloo, “now him comin’.”
Then down came the rain. It literally fell in sheets, blotting out everything like a fog even when the constant flashes illuminated the scene. The water began to pour into their shelter from above, making it a very uncomfortable place. Soon the water was up to their knees and in the cave occupied by the carriers the men stood upright with their burdens on their heads to keep them out of the water.
“Gracious, I never saw so much water come down in my life,” exclaimed Jack. “It’s a regular—my!”
There had come a flash, a red ribbon of flame, so blinding that for an instant they could not see. It was followed by a crack of thunder that seemed to have split the sky. Donald gave a yell of alarm.
“Him hittee something close by for sure,” declared Salloo. He was right. Presently they saw a tall ceiba tree burst into flame like a torch. Fanned by the wind, it blazed fiercely even in the downpour. Its red glare lit up their faces in a ghostly manner, for it was not more than a few feet from their place of refuge.
“My, this is awful,” muttered Raynor. “Thank goodness we got out from under those trees in time.”
“Amen to that,” said Captain Sparhawk solemnly.
It rained for the rest of that night and in the morning they were sorry-looking objects. Everything was wet, and although they had tried to light a fire during the night, after the first violence of the storm had abated, they had not succeeded. But when, shortly before noon, the sun did come out, it shone down with a heat that made the whole wet earth steam. Clothes were spread out on the rocks to dry, as was the rest of the outfit. Fortunately, the bags the carriers bore were mostly of waterproof material, so not much damage was done to the contents.
It was a scene of havoc on which they gazed. The river ran high and its surface was littered with the bodies of dead monkeys, snakes, great trees torn up bodily, and other debris eloquent of the violence of the hurricane.