"Otherwise, if that tree had come down on us----" "We wouldn't be here to tell the tale," finished the shipowner's son.
"Ugh! it makes me shiver to look at it." "Now it is down, we may as well get between the rocks until we are sure this blow is over," went on Dave, after standing several minutes in the rain.
This appeared the best thing to do, and they crawled back into the crevice and partly under the tree.

Here the thick branches protected the lads, so that but little rain reached them.
A dismal hour went by, and then the storm came to an end.

The wind died down into a gentle breeze and the rain was reduced to a few scattering drops, to which they paid no attention.
"If only that wind didn't blow the shack down on the other folks' heads," said Dave.

He was thinking of how frightened the girls, and especially Jessie, must have been.
"I'll wager the trail is now a mass of mud and water," said Phil, and he was right, and as they progressed, they frequently got into the mud up to their ankles.
It was eleven o'clock when they gained the edge of the woods and came out on the plains.

The sky was still overcast, only a few stars being faintly visible.
"Are you sure of the right direction, Dave ?" asked the shipowner's son, as both paused to look around.
"I think this is the trail, Phil, don't you ?" and Dave pointed with his finger to a deep rut in the soil.
"Yes.