“You’ll never keep your feet on the roads, sir. I never seen such a blow in my life. There was great gouts of foam blown as far back as the cow barn,” John said, respectfully. “I tied up the mill.”
David only smiled and shrugged, and at three o’clock went down to the side door, belted into his thick old coat. Sylvia and Gabrielle he had seen a few minutes before established with Tom and Aunt Flora in the comfortable study far upstairs, where there was a good fire burning.
As he slipped out, and dragged the door shut behind him, the wind snatched at him, and for a moment he really doubted his ability to make even Keyport, less than three miles away. There was a whirlwind loose in the yard; everything that could bang or blow or rattle or shriek was in motion, and the roar of the sea was deafening. The sun shone fitfully, between onslaughts from clouds that swept across a low iron sky; there had been a cold rush of hail an hour or two before; ledges and north fronts were still heaped white with it. There was not a boat upon the running high waters of the sea; David, letting himself out at the narrow back gate, saw the waves crashing up against the Keyport piers and flinging themselves high into the gray cold air.
Wastewater stood upon a point, and there was less uproar on the highway than upon their own cliffs. The wind faced him steadily here, stinging tears into his eyes, and pressing a weight like a moving wall against his breast. There was no escaping it, there was no dodging; David bent his head into it, knowing only that the road was hard and yellow beneath his staggering feet.
He jumped and shouted as a hand touched his arm, and he saw at his elbow Gabrielle’s blown and laughing and yet somewhat frightened face. Unsure of her welcome, she caught her arm tightly in his and pushed along gallantly at his shoulder.
“I couldn’t stand it!” she shouted, above the shriek of the wind, “I had to get out!”
“What did Aunt Flora say?” he shouted back, moving ahead simply because it was impossible to stand still.
“She doesn’t know! I only told Hedda—when I came downstairs!” Gay screamed.
“Well—hang tight!” And together they breasted the wall of air.
“Gay, you were mad to do this!” David shouted, after a hard mile.