“Well, I haven’t got anything on that will spoil,” laughed Nelson.
And then a few big drops pattered down on the leaves.
“Coming!” shouted Dan.
And it came!
It was a veritable torrent that lashed aside the leaves and pelted the boys with great hissing drops. For a moment they stumbled on through the darkness. Then there was a blinding flash of white light, and a crash of thunder seemed to shake the mountain from top to bottom. As though by mutual consent, they dived beneath a clump of underbrush and huddled up out of the worst of the storm.
“Gee!” said Dan, “that scared me.”
“Me too,” answered Nelson. “It was kind of sudden.”
“I should say so! I don’t suppose there’s much use in our staying here, though. We can’t get much wetter by going on.”
“And there isn’t much use in going on,” answered Nelson. “I’ll bet the others have given up the chase by this time. Besides, our paper’s about soaked through, I guess. I vote we hike up over the mountain and get home.”
“Seems to me we’d better go back the way we came.”