It was beginning to rain in earnest, and that rushing sound told that within half a minute they might expect to be fairly overwhelmed by the deluge that was coming with that mighty wind and terrific bombardment of thunder.
Talking was no longer possible. One could not have heard distinctly even if a speaker’s lips were pressed against one’s ear. Hugh understood this, and so he clutched Billy’s arm, dragging him toward a spot where he had discovered another shelf of rock, when that last brilliant flash lighted up their surroundings.
They were not a second too soon; for even as the two boys scrambled hastily under the friendly shelter, down came the rain with such a rush that it seemed as if a cloud must have burst.
Crouching there in the semi-gloom, the two boys looked out on such a spectacle as doubtless neither of them had ever seen before.
It did not seem to be a mere summer storm, but very much after the type of a cyclone, such as sweeps irresistibly over sections of the country at times, tearing up great trees by the roots, and carrying off everything that happens to be in its narrow path.
Right before their eyes they saw several trees crash down. All around them the forest bent far over before the howling wind. By pressing back as far as they were able, the boys managed to keep beyond the reach of the downpour. Had it caught them napping, it would have soaked them to the skin “in three shakes of a wolf’s tail,” as Billy confidently remarked in his chum’s ear, during a brief interval when the awful clamor eased up a little.
CHAPTER II.
THE LESSON OF THE RIVEN OAK.
The minutes dragged slowly along. For some time it seemed as though there was going to be no let-up to the sudden storm; and already Billy was worrying over how they would get home without a soaking. But Hugh had noticed that it was less dark and gloomy than before, and he drew his own conclusions from this fact. Besides, the crashes of thunder certainly came from further away now, and that was convincing as well as encouraging to the young leader of the Wolf patrol.
“Do we have to stay here all night, or take our dose walking home, Hugh?” asked Billy, who apparently had failed to notice all these favorable signs.
“Oh! hardly as bad as that,” came the confident answer. “You can see that the worst is past by the way the clouds lighten; and that last thunder clap was surely a mile away, for I counted half a dozen seconds between the flash and the beginning of the crash. Let’s be satisfied with the way we’ve managed to cheat the rain and kept our jackets fairly dry. I believe in letting well enough alone.”