THE STORM 153 



rock. They arrive there just as the storm breaks 

 with all its force. 



They had been there a quarter of an hour, silent 

 before the solemn spectacle of the tempest, when a 

 flash of fire, of dazzling brightness, rent the dark 

 cloud in a zigzag line and struck a pine with a fright- 

 ful detonation that had no reverberation or echo, but 

 was so violent that one would have said the sky was 

 falling. The fearful spectacle was over in the 

 twinkling of an eye. Wild with terror, Jules had 

 let himself fall on his knees, with clasped hands. He 

 was crying and praying. His uncle's serenity was 

 undisturbed. 



"Take courage, my poor child," said Uncle Paul 

 as soon as the first fright had passed. "Let us em- 

 brace each other and thank God for having kept 

 us safe. We have just escaped a great danger; the 

 thunderbolt struck the pine under which we were 

 going to take shelter." 



"Oh, what a scare I had, Uncle!" cried the boy. 

 "I thought I should die of it. When you insisted on 

 hurrying away in spite of the rain, did you know that 

 the bolt would strike that tree?" 



"No, my dear, I knew nothing about it, nor could 

 any one know; only certain reasons made me fear 

 flu- neighborhood of the big branching pine, and pru- 

 dence dictated the search for a less dangerous shel- 

 ter. If I yielded to my fears, if I listened to the 

 voice of prudence, let us give thanks to God, who 

 gave me presence of mind at that moment." 



"Ton will tell me what made you avoid the dan- 

 gerous shelter of the tree, will you not!" 



