ans of air from the north,
floundered exasperatingly in a huge glassy swell that rolled up as an
echo from some blown-out storm to the south.

Ahead of us, arising with the swiftness of magic, was a dense
slate-blackness. I suppose it was cloud-formation, but it bore no
semblance to clouds. It was merely and sheerly a blackness that towered
higher and higher until it overhung us, while it spread to right and
left, blotting out half the sea.

And still the light puffs from the north filled our sails; and still, as
the _Elsinore_ floundered on the huge, smooth swells and the sails
emptied and flapped a hollow thunder, we moved slowly towards that
ominous blackness. In the cast, in what was quite distinctly an active
thunder cloud, the lightning fairly winked, while the blackness in front
of us was rent with blobs and flashes of lightning.

The last puffs left us, and in the hushes, between the rumbles of the
nearing thunder, the voices of the men aloft on the yards came to one's
ear as if they were right beside one instead of being hundreds of feet
away and up in the air. That they were duly impressed by what was
impending was patent from the earnestness with which they worked. Both
watches toiled under both mates, and Captain West strolled the poop in
his usual casual way, and gave no orders at all, save in low conventional
tones, when Mr. Pike came upon the poop and conferred with him.

Miss West, having deserted the scene five minutes before, returned, a
proper sea-woman, clad in oil-skins, sou'wester, and long sea-boots. She
ordered me, quite peremptorily, to do the same. But I could not bring
myself to leave the deck for fear of missing something, so I compromised
by having Wada bring my storm-gear to me.

And then the wind came, smack out of the blackness, with the abruptness
of thunder and accompanied by the most diabolical thunder. And with the
rain and thunder came the blackness. It was tangible. It drove past us
in the bellowing wind like so much stuff that one could feel. Blackness
as well as wind impacted on us. There is no other way to describe it
than by the old, ancient old, way of saying one could not see his hand
before his face.

"Isn't it splendid!" Miss West shouted into my ear, close beside me, as
we clung to the railing of the break of the poop.

"Superb!" I shouted back, my lips to her ear, so that her hair tickled my
face.

And, I know not why--it must have been spontaneous wit