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 



