14 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



until, instead of a cloud of canvas, the cruiser showed 

 nothing aloft but the clear tracery of spars and rigging. 

 In time, and only just in time, was the work finished, the 

 ship made snug, and the men down from aloft. 



" Meanwhile the cloud had rapidly increased in volume 

 until it overspread half the horizon, the remainder of the 

 heavens being still bright and clear. The dead silence 

 of expectation was broken by a low growl of thunder. 

 One breath of wind, cold as from an ice-cave, passed over 

 us ; a few big drops of rain splashed upon the deck ; then, 

 with a mighty roar, lashing the water into foam, the tor- 

 nado swept down upon us. 



, " Notwithstanding all our precautions, the first shock 

 threw the ' Pantaloon ' nearly on her beam-ends. For a 

 full minute of painful suspense she remained in that 

 position, then, suddenly righting, — all her timbers groan- 

 ing, — she yielded to her helm and sped before the 

 hurricane. 



" Immediate danger was now over, it being only neces- 

 sary to keep the ship before the wind until the storm had 

 passed over us. The officers, released from their deepest 

 anxiety, were able to note — some even to enjoy — the 

 magnificent spectacle of an African tornado. In that 

 roaring wind and deafening thunder no man could hear 

 his fellow speak, nor in the darkness see the rope to 

 which he clung or the deck on which he stood, save 

 when the blinding lightning at quick-recurring intervals 

 disclosed the wild scene around him. 



