Page:Barbour--Lost island.djvu/397

. Dave, I have a fancy for a stroll on the shore to-night. Coming? It will be the last time we shall tread on Tai-o-Vai."

They all three dropped into the dory and paddled to the beach. There was no rain, and the great camel's back sheltered them from the wind. They had not landed five minutes, however, before the gale switched round with startling suddenness, and a fierce blast, coming straight in from over the lagoon, nearly knocked them off their feet and enveloped them in a whirl of fiercely driven sand.

"Gosh!" Tempest shouted, endeavoring to wipe some of the grit out of his eyes. "Now who'd have expected that? It's a regular typhoon. Looks to me as though we were going to have some difficulty in getting back to the Nautilus."

"Plenty more wind bimeby," said Jim, impassively.

"If it gets much worse, it'll blow the blooming island away," complained Tempest. "Ouch! Here comes another dose of sand!"