As I said this, the tornado reached to where we stood, and threw me
off my legs to the entrance of the cabin; and with the wind came down
a torrent of rain, which drenched us, and the clouds covered the
whole of the firmament, which became dark; the lightning darted in
every direction, with peals of thunder which were deafening. I
crawled into the cabin, into which the rain beat in great fury and
flowed out again in a small river.

My companion sat near me, lowering and silent. For two hours the
tornado lasted without interruption; the sun had set, and the
darkness was opaque. It was impossible to move against the force of
the wind and the deluge of water which descended. Speak, we did not,
but shut our eyes against the lightning, and held our fingers to our
ears to deaden the noise of the thunder, which burst upon us in the
most awful manner. My companion groaned at intervals, whether from
fear, I know not; I had no fear, for I did not know the danger, or
that there was a God to judge the earth.

Gradually the fury of the gale abated, the rain was only heavy at
intervals, and we could now hear the beating of the waves, as they
dashed against the rocks beneath us. The sky also cleared up a
little, and we could dimly discern the white foam of the breakers. I
crawled out of the cabin, and stood upon the platform in front,
straining my eyes to see the vessel. A flash of lightning, for a
second, revealed her to me; she was dismasted, rolling in the awful
breakers, which bore her down upon the high rocks, not a quarter of a
mile from her.

"There it is," exclaimed I, as the disappearance of the lightning
left me in darkness, more opaque than ever.