186 EXCURSION TO BALLOCH. CHAP. x. 



On the afternoon of the third day, while he was 

 busily engaged on a wild, wide, and desolate moor, 

 he was startled by a sudden flash of lightning. Had 

 he been attending to the weather instead of to his own 

 pursuits, he might have seen the brooding clouds 

 wending their way towards him from the south. He 

 might then have found some convenient shelter from 

 the impending storm. But after the first flash of light- 

 ning, it broke upon him almost at once. He had 

 scarcely got his things put in order, and the ant- 

 boxes deposited in his coat pocket, when down 

 came the deluge ! None but those who have been 

 under the influence of hill-rains, can have any idea of 

 their tremendous force. It is like the downpour of a 

 cataract. The rain falls in sheets, in waves, almost 

 solid. Nothing but the stiffest weather-proof can 

 keep the water out. 



Edward's first thought was shelter! But where 

 could he find it ? Not a house was to be seen ; not a 

 wall, not a tree, not a bush. He could not find 

 even a hole in a sandbank. There was nothing that 

 he could see around him but a dreary, bleak, wide- 

 spread moor. Nevertheless he set off, running as 

 fast as he could, in the hope of at length reaching 

 some friendly haven. After having run a long time 

 amidst thunder and lightning, through water, moss, 

 and heather, he stopped for a moment to consider 

 where he was running. There was still no sign of a 

 house, or hut, or shealing. The place where he stood 



