OVERTAKEN BY DISASTER
While Hippy was soothing the horses, the others of the party, with the exception of Stacy Brown, were trying to save their billowing tents. A yell from Stacy sent them hurrying to him.
“My tent’s gone!” he howled. “It went up into the air. Catch it when it comes down. Oh, wow!”
“Stop that noise and help us to save the other tents,” commanded Tom Gray, grabbing the fat boy and jerking him from his blankets.
“I—I can’t. I’m too scared.”
“T-t-t-t-tenderfoot!” screamed Emma in Stacy’s ear, herself on the verge of hysterics. “I—I’ll punish you if you do—on’t get busy!”
“Get to work or I’ll trounce you!” warned Tom.
“There goes my blanket,” yelled the fat boy, as, in taking it off, the wind caught and hurled the blanket down the mountain-side. Stacy was then put to work.
“Strike the tents!” commanded Tom. “We shall lose them if we don’t.”
It was a lively few minutes that the Overlanders experienced, following Tom Gray’s order, but one at a time the tents were laid on the ground and held down by being sat upon. The equipment, such as had not been blown away, was underneath the canvas and was thus fairly well protected, but the Overlanders themselves were drenched to the skin and rivulets of water were running down their faces and bodies.