Page:Barbour--Joan of the ilsand.djvu/276

 HE hut was already a mass of flames which even the deluge of rain that followed did not extinguish for some time.

The first crash of thunder was only the forerunner of many. Several trees were struck not far from the bungalow. The din overhead became like one continuous roar of heavy artillery. And while the storm was at its height there came the thing which Keith feared most for his friends. A strong wind had been driving across Tao Tao, but it dropped, and a dead calm settled over the island. There was a curious yellowish flare in the western sky; an ominous foreboding hung about the still atmosphere.

First came the sound, the herald of an evil thing, not as a roar but in a high-pitched whine which rose higher as it neared them until it became a nerve-shattering scream as from the throats of a million souls in torment. Twice in his life Keith had heard the same thing in those latitudes, and though he knew what to expect he knew also that they were powerless. It was impossible for those in the 264