us'ness to-day."

"Just as if you haven't always done your best; it's you that are
bragging, not I."

Tim had taken the stones in his right hand with the purpose of giving
them the necessary toss in the air, when a blast of wind struck the
barn with a force that made it tremble. They distinctly felt the
tremor of the floor beneath them. He paused and looked into the
startled face of his sister with the question:

"Hadn't we better run to the house?"

"No," she replied, her heart so set on beating him that she felt less
fear than she would have felt had it been otherwise; "it's as safe here
as in the house; one is as strong as the other; if you want to get out
of finishing the game, why, I'll let you off."

"You know it isn't that, Maggie; but the barn isn't as strong as the
house."

"It has stood a good many harder blows than this; don't you see it has
stopped? Go on."

"All right; just as you say," and up went the pronged pieces and were
caught with the same skill as before. Then he essayed a more difficult
feat and failed. Maggie clapped her hands with delight, and leaned
forward to catch up the bits and try her hand.

At that instant something like a tornado or incipient cyclone struck
the barn. They felt the structure swaying, heard the ripping of
shingles, and casting his eyes aloft, Tim saw the shingles and
framework coming down upon their heads.

It was an appalling moment. If they remained where they were, both
would be crushed to death. The door was too far away for both to reach
it; though it was barely possible that by a quick leap and dash he
might get to the open air in the nick of time, but he would die a
hundred times over before abandoning his sister. The open window was
too high to be reached from the floor without climbing, and there was
no time for that.

The action of a cyclone is always peculiar. Resistless as is its
power, it is often confined to a very narrow space. The one to which I
am now referring whipped off a corner of the roof, so loosening the
supports that the whole mass of shingles and rafters covering the
larger portion came down as if flung from the air above, while the
remainder of the building was left unharmed, the terrified horses not
receiving so much as a scratch.

There was one awful second when brother and sister believed that the
next would be their last. Then Tim threw his arm around the neck of
Maggie and in a flash drew her forward so that she lay