Seagrave, followed by the shrieks
of Mrs. Seagrave and Juno; the pegs of the tent had given way, and the
inmates were exposed to the fury of the elements. Ready rushed out,
followed by Mr. Seagrave and William. So strong was the wind and
beating rain, and such was the darkness, that it was with some
difficulty that by their united efforts the women and children could be
extricated. Tommy was the first taken up by Ready: his courage had all
gone, and he was bellowing furiously. William took Albert in charge and
carried him into the other tent, where Tommy sat in his wet shirt
roaring most melodiously. Juno, Mrs. Seagrave, and the little girl were
at last carried away and taken into the other tent: fortunately no one
was hurt, although the frightened children could not be pacified, and
joined in chorus with Tommy. Nothing more could be done except to put
the children into bed, and then the whole party sat up the remainder of
the night listening to the noise of the wind, the roaring of the sea,
and the loud patter of the rain against the canvas. At dawn of day,
Ready went out, and found that the gale had spent its force, and had
already much abated; but it was not one of those bright glorious
mornings to which they had been accustomed since their arrival at the
island: the sky was still dark, and the clouds were chasing each other
wildly; there was neither sun nor blue sky to be seen: it still rained,
but only at intervals, and the earth was soft and spongy; the little
cove, but the day before so beautiful, was now a mass of foaming and
tumultuous waves, and the surf was thrown many yards upon the beach:
the horizon was confused - you could not distinguish the line between
the water and the sky, and the whole shore of the island was lined with
a white foam.
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