Page:The Rover Boys in Southern Waters.djvu/173

Rh "Not a particle. If anything it is growing worse."

"It must be a hurricane."

"It is—or next door to it," answered the youngest of the Rovers.

The thunder and lightning appeared to draw closer, until the steam yacht was literally surrounded by the electrical display. The flashes of lightning were so blinding that, for the moment afterward, neither Sam nor Dick could see anything. Sam tried to keep the windows of the pilot house fairly clean, but the effort was a dismal failure.

Presently came one awful flash and crash that caused Sam to sink back in a heap on one of the pilot-house cushions. He felt that the steam yacht must have been struck and every nerve in his body tingled and quivered. Only after a strong effort was he able to pull himself together and clutch the wheel once more.

"Dick must have felt that," he murmured. "I wish"

Another flash of lightning, but less vivid, interrupted his meditations. He looked out of the front window towards where Dick had been standing. Then he gave a cry of alarm.

His big brother had disappeared!