e to say 'let it
come.'"

"What will it do for us?"

"Break up the siege, or at least I think so. Unless it drives directly
in our faces we will be sheltered out here, but the Mexicans will have
no such protection. And, Ned, if you will listen to one who knows, you
will understand that storms down here can be terrific."

"Then the more terrific it is the better for us."

"Just so. See, Ned, how that black spot grows! It is a cloud of quite
respectable size. Before long it will cover all the skies, and you
notice too that there is absolutely no wind."

"It is so. The stillness is so great that I feel it. It oppresses me. It
is hard for me to draw my breath."

"Exactly. I feel just the same way. The storm is coming fast and it is
going to be a big one. The sun is entirely hidden already, and the air
is growing dark. We'll crouch against the wall, Ned, and keep our
rifles, powder and ourselves as dry as possible. There goes the thunder,
growling away, and here's the lightning! Whew, but that made me jump!"

An intense flash of lightning burned across the sky, and showed the
forest and hills for one blazing moment. Then the darkness closed in,
thick and black. The two, wrapped closely in their serapes, crouched
against the stone wall and watched the storm gather in its full majesty
and terror.

CHAPTER XI

THE LONG CHASE

Ned, despite his brave heart and strong will, felt a deep awe. Storms on
the great uplands of North America often present aspects which are
sublime and menacing to the last degree. The thunder which had been
growling before now crashed continually like batteries of great guns,
and the lightning flashed so fast that there was a rapid alternation of
dazzling glare and impervious blackness. Once, the lightning struck in
the forest near them with a terrible, rending crash, and trees went
down. Far down in the gorges they heard the fierce howl of the wind.

Ned shrank closer and closer against the rocky wall, and, now and then,
he veiled his eyes with one hand. If one were to judge by eye and ear
alone it would seem that the world was coming to an end. Cast away in
the wilderness, he was truly thankful for the human companionship of the
man, Obed White, and it is likely that the man, Obed White, was just as
thankful for the companionship of the boy, Edward Fulton.

All thought of another attack by the Mexicans passed for the present.
They knew that the besiegers themselves would be awed,