eached
their ears, followed by a whistling that caused each of them to
shiver.

"It's a whirlwind!" yelled Sorrel. "Come into yonder hollow, cap'n!"
and he caught hold of Gilbert and lifted him up. The hollow he
mentioned was less than fifty feet away, yet to reach it in time was
almost impossible, so swiftly did the tornado approach them. The air
became black as night and was filled with cane, grass, and branches of
trees. It struck the house in the clearing, and with a single mighty
crash the structure went up into the air, to fall with another crash a
hundred yards beyond.

Running with the tall Tennesseean, Ben pitched into the hollow just
as the first of the tornado hurled itself at them. Down came the
mountaineer, but taking good care that Gilbert should not be hurt by
his quick leap. Then all fell flat, with their faces to earth.

It was like some horrible nightmare to Ben,--the whistling wind and
the strange humming, the blackness, and the whirling cane and tree
limbs. In some places the ground was furrowed up as by a plough, and
down on their heads came dirt and grass, and then a shower of stalks
that buried them completely. And still the wind kept up, in a madder
gallop than ever. Ben felt as if every moment was going to be his
last.

The time was an age; yet by the watch it was not yet five minutes when
the tornado had departed, leaving its track of ruin behind. But still
the party of three under the cane-stalks lay still, wondering if it
was safe to get up.

"Do yer calkerlate it's over, cap'n?" came from Sorrel, after a
painful pause.

"It appears to be, but there is no telling what such a thing will do
next," answered the young captain, as he pressed on the stalks over
him, and got up. "Gilbert, are you hurt?"

"No," came with a gasp. "But, Ben, that was--was a terror, wasn't
it?"

"It was, Gilbert, and something I never want to witness again."

By this time Sorrel was also on his feet and hauling Gilbert into
daylight. The cloud was gone, and the sun shone as brightly as ever.
But at a great distance they saw the tornado sweeping up into the
mountains.

"We are well out of it," was Ben's comment, as they watched the cloud
until it was out of sight. "That played sad havoc here. I wonder what
it will do in the mountains?"

No one could answer that question, and no one tried. Ben would have
been very much surprised had anybody told him that the same tornado
which had visited him was also to