"Keep down, for your lives!" shouted Randolph Rover; but the roar
of the elements drowned out his voice completely. However, nobody
thought of rising, and the tree limbs and vines passed harmlessly
over their heads.
The first rush of wind over, the rain began, to fall, at first in
drops as big as a quarter-dollar and then in a deluge which
speedily converted the hollows among the rocks into deep pools and
soaked everybody to his very skin. Soon the water was up to their
knees and pouring down into the river like a regular cataract.
"This is a soaker and no mistake," said Sam, during a brief lull
in the downpour. "Why, I never saw so much water come down in my
life."
"It's a hurricane," answered Randolph Rover, "It may keep on --"
He got no further, for at that instant a blinding flash of
lightning caused everybody to jump in alarm. Then came an
ear-splitting crack of thunder and up the river they saw a
magnificent baobab tree, which had reared its stately head over a
hundred feet high from the ground, come crashing down, split in
twain as by a Titan's ax. The blackened stump was left standing,
and soon -- this burst into flames, to blaze away until another
downpour of rain put out the conflagration.
"My, but that dun been awful!" murmured Aleck with a shiver. "Ise
glad we didn't take no shelter under dat tree."
"Amen," said Tom. He had been on the point of making some joke
about the storm, but now the fun was knocked completely out of
him.
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