They knew not what time of night it was, for not a star could be seen in that black sky.
“Will it ever stop?” shouted Roger, when there was finally a little lull in the wild racket—at least enough to admit of his voice reaching the ears of his comrade, close at hand.
“Yes, it’s bound to,” replied Dick, being wiser, for he placed his lips close to the ear of his cousin; “but already it seems to me the river is rising. I can surely hear the noise of it rushing along between us and the shore.”
His words of course caused Roger more or less uneasiness, for he had himself been haunted latterly with visions of what a terrible thing it might prove for them if their escape should be cut off by morning, and the flood even threaten to wipe the island out of existence.
They could do nothing to better their condition, since it was now too late to think of trying to make the mainland. Their horses would prove unmanageable, with all that lightning to frighten them; and the chances were disaster must follow any attempt to ford the swollen stream before dawn came to show them just what perils they had to face.
That was surely a night never to be forgotten by the boys. And the longer it kept up, the greater grew their apprehension. Indeed, numbers of times Roger even loudly protested that he could feel the water coming into their shelter, though happily enough it proved every time that this was only some trickling rivulet, caused by a temporary shift of wind, and not an invasion by the encroaching river.
“Will daylight ever come?” he kept saying, time and again; for it was the utter darkness more than anything else that appalled them, with the storm beating down steadily, and the river rising all the while.
There could be no doubt about this, for whenever the wind ceased for a brief interval, and the growling of the thunder died away, they heard that rushing sound, such as could only be made by great volumes of water speeding along.
Once Dick attempted to sally forth in order to learn just how matters stood, and whether the poor horses were enduring the downpour all right; but he did not get very far away, because another rush of rain caused him to dodge back to shelter.