en, while his uncle followed with the light, closing it again
directly and securing it with a bolt.

Tom's heart beat as the dim light of the lantern was thrown upon the
great telescope, for fear that it should have met with injury, but to
his great delight the top was directed right away from the open shutter,
which now gave evidence of its loose state by yielding to the pressure
of the wind, and giving a tremendous bang.

"Now, Tom, how are we to stop that?" shouted Uncle Richard, for the roar
through the opening, mingled with hissing and shrieking, was deafening.

"Don't know," yelled the boy, as he crept to the opening and found that
the wind had wrenched it open, and turned it right over upon the roof.
"Must do something," he shouted again, as he drew in his head.

"If we don't the wind will end by lifting off this roof, and destroying
my glass."

"Cord's broke," said Tom in a momentary lull of the wind. Then the roar
began again, and the building quivered, while the shutter was lifted and
beaten down again with a bang.

Then, from somewhere out in the darkness, came a tremendous roaring
crash, apparently very near.

"What's that?" cried Tom; "house blown down?"

"One of the big elms on the green for certain. Hark!"

Tom was hearkening, for directly after there was another crash, and
another.

"No doubt about it," said Uncle Richard. "One has struck the other, and
the great elms have gone down like skittles."

"There goes another," cried Tom, as there was a fresh crash, which
sounded louder than either of those which preceded it. "But I don't
want our observatory to go, uncle. You put the light down on the other
side, where it'll be sheltered from the wind, and I'll get out into the
gallery and try if I can drag the shutter over, and then we must nail it
in its place."

"Impossible, my lad. You could not stand out there without being blown
off."

"But I must, uncle.--If the wind comes in--"

_Whoo_!

A tremendous squall struck the place, the shutter banged, the wooden
dome roof rattled, and in the midst of the deafening din the wind drove
in upon them with such force that they felt as if in the open air, and
believed for the time that the round wooden top had been lifted off to
go sailing away.

"That was a rum one, uncle," cried Tom breathlessly. "Now then, I must
go, before another comes."

"No, no, my lad; life is of more consequence than observatories; it is
not safe for you to go.