He stood alert and ready, like a beast in a cage, waiting for whatever the gods might deign to throw him.
The tumult beyond that wall of blackness grew.

It became a swirling uproar.

The rose-vines were whipped from the veranda and flung writhing in all directions.

The trees in the compound strove like terrified creatures in the grip of a giant.

The heat of the blast was like tongues of flame blown from an immense furnace.