uninterrupted thunder. On it came with a magnificent

roar that shook the very earth, and revealed

itself at last in the shape of a mighty whirlwind. In

a moment the distant woods bent before it, and fell like

grass before the scythe. It was a whirling hurricane,

accompanied by a deluge of rain such as none of the

party had ever before witnessed. Steadily, fiercely,

irresistibly it bore down upon them, while the crash of

falling, snapping, and uprooting trees mingled with the

dire artillery of that sweeping storm like the musketry