een more
immovable. It was not the refuge that the boys would have taken, had
they been given time to hunt for one, but surely they could not have
found a better.

A couple of leaps took Terry to the place, and, as he threw himself on
his face, Fred was directly behind him. As they lay, the shelving rock
was less than two feet above their heads. Though they could hear, they
could not see what was coming. They could look to the right and left,
but only for a few seconds in front.

Using their eyes as best they could, they saw the air filled with
leaves, twigs, branches, huge limbs and trunks, which spun forward and
over and over, like so many feathers in a tornado.

The first shock that came to the boys crouching behind the rock was a
dead thump near their heads. An uprooted tree had been hurled from some
point above, like an enormous spear, and, striking the rock at a slant,
slid over the rough surface like the finger of a player over the face of
a tambourine and out beyond, hunting for some spot where it could
penetrate. It found it on the ground, but it was instantly wrenched
loose by the resistless power that had first thrown it forward, and went
end over end into the general wreck and ruin beyond.

The next sight which startled the boys was on their left, directly over
the stream. The air was filled apparently with snow, as if a violent
squall had suddenly sprung up. It was accompanied by a hissing noise,
which mingled with the fearful roar that had not stopped and was like
that of the stormy Atlantic beating upon the rock-bound coast.

Striking the stream, the cyclone whirled most of the water from its bed,
scattered the mist and foam among the trees, and saturated the boys
where they lay. The huge torch was quenched as suddenly as it was
lighted.

The most terrifying moment to Fred and Terry was when they felt the rock
in front of them move. It was turned several inches to one side, and for
one frightful moment, they believed that that too would be sent skimming
through the air, or whirled over upon them. But there was no other
refuge to which they could fly; had they attempted to rise to their
feet, they would have been snatched up and dashed to death. So they
flattened themselves as much as they could on their faces, and the
terrific outburst could not reach them.

Such an elemental fury can not last long. Having torn up the ponderous
trees, overturned rocks, and cleaned out the stream, the cyclone seeme