,
therefore, determined that four of us should sleep under the canoe, and
the remaining five under the tent. Quite a contention now arose between
us, as to who should be the favoured possessors of the tent.

Not liking the appearance of the weather, I resigned any pretensions I
might have had to the canvas, knowing the canoe was, from its length
and size, capable of effectually sheltering four persons. We,
accordingly, turned the canoe bottom upwards, and raised one side of it
sufficiently high to allow us to creep under. To keep it in that
position, we supported the raised edge on some forked sticks; and a
quantity of hemlock brush and fern, spread evenly under it, made as
good a bed as I would care to sleep on in hot weather. Our companions
pitched their tent close beside us, so that we might be more sociable.
After supper, we amused ourselves by singing songs, telling stories,
and--if the truth must be told--drinking whiskey-punch.

The lightning was now incessant, illuminating the harbour and lake, and
revealing dark masses of clouds, piled upon one another in endless
succession. Few spectacles are more grand than the coming storm, or
more awful when it bursts in its wildest fury. Such was its appalling
character on this night. For the last hour I had been watching its
progress, and admiring the brilliant forked lightning, and listening to
the deep-toned thunder, which woke the lone echoes of the wood-crowned
heights.

A few large drops of rain warned us to seek the friendly shelter of our
respective camps. I had just settled myself snugly, when our skipper
came to me with a jug of lemon-punch fresh mixed. I declined taking any
more. He was too old a stager, however, to be put off that way, and was
proceeding to show me the necessity of taking a night-cap, when he was
saved all the trouble of any farther solicitation, and me of refusal,
by a blinding flash of lightning, followed by a succession of deafening
reports. At the same instant, the wind burst upon us like a whirlwind,
prostrating in its irresistible fury our unfortunate skipper, punch,
and all. As for the tent, it was whisked half across the harbour, in
one blast, and the unfortunate inmates were left exposed to all the
pelting of the pitiless storm, which raged with unmitigated violence
till the dawn of day. We made room under the canoe for the professor
and our skipper, the utmost we could accommodate. The three remaining
unfortunate fellows were left