way, leaving both
craft once more boxing the compass.

But we were by no means discouraged, for we had only to glance round us
at the great lowering cloud-masses, that seemed to have descended almost
to the level of our mastheads, to know that there would be plenty more
wind before we again beheld blue sky. And, if appearances went for
anything, we should not have very much longer to wait for it, for the
blackness overhead was working like yeast, and the outfly might come at
any moment. Yet another half-hour passed, and nothing happened. Then,
while we all stood gazing and waiting, the canopy of cloud that arched
above us was rent asunder by a steel-bright flash of lightning so
intensely vivid that we were all completely blinded for a few seconds,
and the next instant there followed a crash of thunder that would have
drowned the combined broadsides of a thousand line-of-battle ships, and
the tremendous concussion of which caused the poor old _Mercury_ to
quiver and tremble from stem to stern.

"Now look out for the rain!" shouted Gurney exultantly, as he sprang to
close the skylight covers. "Jump below, Gracie dear," he continued, "or
get under cover before the rain comes and washes you overboard!"

But the rain did not come, at least not just then; but, as though that
first flash had been a signal-gun, the whole of the visible heavens
seemed to break at the same moment into lightning flashes, and for a
full quarter of an hour there was such a terrific lancing of lightning,
such a crashing and roaring and rumbling of thunder, that one might
almost have thought the navies of the world had foregathered up aloft
there and with one accord had set about the task of annihilating each
other. During the whole of this time not a solitary drop of rain fell,
and not enough stirring of air occurred to extinguish the flame of a
candle; we had nothing to do but simply to stand there, dazzled and
deafened, and watch, as far as we might, this wonderful, awe-inspiring
manifestation of the conflicting forces of nature.

It happened that the schooner lay right in the wake of the most violent
part of the storm; we therefore had her full in view as we stood and
watched. Her people were at this time busily engaged in restowing their
mainsail and jibs, apparently convinced that the ultimate outcome of all
this elemental disturbance must be an outfly of wind against which it
would be well to be fully prepared. They had got their main