“There are twelve hundred men， women， and childrenhere，” said Captain Lynch. “I wonder how many will behere tomorrow morning.”
“But why don’t it blow？ —that’s what I want to know，”
Raoul demanded.
“Don’t worry， young man， don’t worry； you’ll get yourtroubles fast enough.”
Even as Captain Lynch spoke， a great watery mass smotethe atoll.
The sea water churned about them three inches deepunder the chairs. A low wail of fear went up from themany women. The children， with clasped hands， staredat the immense rollers and cried piteously. Chickens andcats， wading perturbedly in the water， as by commonconsent， with flight and scramble took refuge on the roofof the captain’s house. A Paumotan， with a litter of newbornpuppies in a basket， climbed into a cocoanut tree andtwenty feet above the ground made the basket fast. Themother floundered about in the water beneath， whiningand yelping.
And still the sun shone brightly and the dead calmcontinued. They sat and watched the seas and the insanepitching of the Aorai. Captain Lynch gazed at the hugemountains of water sweeping in until he could gaze nomore. He covered his face with his hands to shut out thesight； then went into the house.
“Twenty-eight-sixty，” he said quietly when he returned.
In his arm was a coil of small rope. He cut it into twofathomlengths， giving one to Raoul and， retaining one forhimself， distributed the remainder among the women withthe advice to pick out a tree and climb.
A light air began to blow out of the northeast， and thefan of it on his cheek seemed to cheer Raoul up. He couldsee the Aorai trimming her sheets and heading off shore，and he regretted that he was not on her. She would getaway at any rate， but as for the atoll—A sea breachedacross， almost sweeping him off his feet， and he selecteda tree. Then he remembered the barometer and ran backto the house. He encountered Captain Lynch on the sameerrand and together they went in.
“Twenty-eight-twenty，” said the old mariner. “It’s goingto be fair hell around here—what was that？”
The air seemed filled with the rush of something. Thehouse quivered and vibrated， and they heard the thrummingof a mighty note of sound. The windows rattled. Twopanes crashed； a draught of wind tore in， striking themand making them stagger. The door opposite banged shut，shattering the latch. The white door knob crumbled infragments to the floor. The room’s walls bulged like a gasballoon in the process of sudden inflation. Then came anew sound like the rattle of musketry， as the spray from asea struck the wall of the house. Captain Lyncyh lookedat his watch. It was four o’clock. He put on a coat of pilotcloth， unhooked the barometer， and stowed it away in acapacious pocket. Again a sea struck the house， with aheavy thud， and the light building tilted， twisted， quarteraround on its foundation， and sank down， its floor at anangle of ten degrees.
Raoul went out first. The wind caught him and whirledhim away. He noted that it had hauled around to theeast. With a great effort he threw himself on the sand，crouching and holding his own. Captain Lynch， drivenlike a wisp of straw， sprawled over him. Two of the Aorai’ssailors， leaving a cocoanut tree to which they had beenclinging， came to their aid， leaning against the wind atimpossible angles and fighting and clawing every inch ofthe way.
The old man’s joints were stiff and he could not climb， sothe sailors， by means of short ends of rope tied together，hoisted him up the trunk， a few feet at a time， till theycould make him fast， at the top of the tree， fifty feet fromthe ground. Raoul passed his length of rope around thebase of an adjacent tree and stood looking on. The windwas frightful. He had never dreamed it could blow so hard.
A sea breached across the atoll， wetting him to the kneesere it subsided into the lagoon. The sun had disappeared，and a lead-colored twilight settled down. A few drops ofrain， driving horizontally， struck him. The impact was likethat of leaden pellets. A splash of salt spray struck his face.
It was like the slap of a man’s hand. His cheeks stung， andinvoluntary tears of pain were in his smarting eyes. Severalhundred natives had taken to the trees， and he could havelaughed at the bunches of human fruit clustering in thetops. Then， being Tahitian-born， he doubled his body atthe waist， clasped the trunk of his tree with his hands，pressed the soles of his feet against the near surface ofthe trunk， and began to walk up the tree. At the top hefound two women， two children， and a man. One little girlclasped a housecat in her arms.
From his eyrie he waved his hand to Captain Lynch， andthat doughty patriarch waved back. Raoul was appalledat the sky. It had approached much nearer—in fact， itseemed just over his head； and it had turned from leadto black. Many people were still on the ground groupedabout the bases of the trees and holding on. Several suchclusters were praying， and in one the Mormon missionarywas exhorting. A weird sound， rhythmical， faint as thefaintest chirp of a far cricket， enduring but for a moment，but in the moment suggesting to him vaguely the thoughtof heaven and celestial music， came to his ear. He glancedabout him and saw， at the base of another tree， a largecluster of people holding on by ropes and by one another.
He could see their faces working and their lips movingin unison. No sound came to him， but he knew that theywere singing hymns.
