aribbean, September hurricanes in the
Atlantic east and south of the West Indies, and October hurricanes far
out to sea, perhaps even as far as half-way to the Cape Verde Islands on
the shores of Africa. This hurricane which is approaching, is from the
direction of East-South-East, judging from the barometer and other
conditions, and probably had its cradle a thousand or more miles away."

"And it hasn't blown itself out?"

"Far from it. It is only gathering strength and violence. Not until it
twists off on its track will it begin to diminish. For hurricanes follow
a regular track, an invisible trail marked out for them in the sky."

"They do!"

"Yes, all of them. This track is shaped like a rounded cone, or, more
often, like a boomerang, with a short arm running north-westwards to
its place of turning and a long arm running northeastwards until its
force is spent. The point of turning is always in the West Indies zone.
As the storm is at its worst at the point of turning, it is always in
the West Indies that the hurricane is most destructive.

"No matter where they start, West Indian hurricanes always sweep
north-westward until they have crossed the line of the West Indies and
then wheel around sharply to the north-east, skirting the United States
coast. Some strike Florida. A good many run along the coast and hit
Hatteras. Some never actually touch the continent at all, and only a few
ever strike inland. But some part of the West Indies is hit by every one
of them."

"Are they so frequent?"

"There's never a year without one or more. There have been years with
five or six. Of course, some hurricanes are much more violent than
others. Their destructive character depends a good deal, too, on the
place where their center passes. Thus if, at the moment of its greatest
fury, the full ferocity of the whirl is expended on the ocean, not much
harm is done. But if it should chance to descend upon a busy and
thriving city, the loss of life will be appalling.

"Of these disastrous hurricanes, it would be fair to state that at least
once in every four years, some part of the West Indies is going to
suffer a disaster, and once in every twenty years there is a hurricane
of such violence as to be reckoned a world calamity."

The botanist rose, took another look at the barometer, and called one of
the older servants.

"Send every one into the hurricane wing," he said. "See that the storm
lantern is there, filled and light