From what she had read in books she imagined that only in great deserts were clouds of dust generated.

There could not be dust in the dense pall now rushing with giant strides across the trembling sea.

Then what was it?
Why was it so dark and menacing?
And where was desert of stone and sand to compare with this awful expanse of water?
What a small dot was this great ship on the visible surface! But the ocean itself extended away beyond there, reaching out to the infinite.

The dot became a mere speck, undistinguishable beneath a celestial microscope such as the gods might condescend to use.
Iris shivered and aroused herself with a startled laugh.
A nice book in a sheltered corner, and perhaps forty winks until tea-time--surely a much more sensible proceeding than to stand there, idly conjuring up phantoms of affright.
The lively fanfare of the dinner trumpet failed to fill the saloon.

By this time the _Sirdar_ was fighting resolutely against a stiff gale.