d she hope for that now?

CHAPTER XXXV

HOW A STONE THROWN DROVE THE WEDGE FURTHER YET. OF A TERRIBLE NIGHT
IN A BIG GALE, AND A DOOR THAT SLAMMED. THE WEDGE WELL IN

The speculative weather-wisdom of the tattooed capstan-driver was
confirmed when three in the morning came, and the full of the tide.
The wind must have gone round to the southward, or to some equally
stimulating quarter, to judge by the work it got through that night in
the way of roofs blown off and chimney-pots blown down; standing crops
laid flat and spoiled for reaping; trees too full of leaf to bear such
rough treatment compelled to tear up half their roots and fall, or pay
tribute to the gale in boughs snapped asunder in time to spare their
parent stem. All these results we landsmen could see for ourselves
next day, after the storm had died down, and when the air was so
delightful after it that we took walks in the country on purpose to
enjoy it. But for the mischief it did that night at sea, from
sportively carrying away the spars of ships, which they wanted for
their own use, or blowing a stray reefer from the weather-earring, to
sending a full crew to the depths below, or on jagged rocks no message
from the white foam above could warn the look-out of in time--for the
record of this we should have belated intermittent newspaper
paragraphs, ever so long after.

But the wind had not reached its ideal when, at the end of a pleasant
evening, Sally and her belongings decided that they must just go down
to the beach and see the waves before going to bed. Wasn't there a
moon? Well--yes, there was a moon, but you couldn't see it. That made
a difference, certainly, but not a conclusive one. It wasn't a bad
sort of a night, although it certainly was blowing, and the waves
would be grand seen close. So the party turned out to go down to the
beach. It included the Julius Bradshaws and Dr. Conrad, who had looked
in as usual. But the doctor found out that it was past eleven, and,
recalled by duty, returned to his Octopus.

The waves, seen close, would have been grand if you could have seen
them from the beach, or as much of it as they had left you to stand
on. But you really could only guess what was going on out in that
great dark world of deep thunder, beyond the successive rushes of mad
foam, each of which made up its mind to tear the coast up this time;
and then changed it and went back, but always took with it stones
enough for next attempt