"The Norther."
We hurried after Don Cosme towards the _ante-sala_, both myself and my
companions ignorant of this new object of dread.
When we emerged from the stairway the scene that hailed us was one of
terrific sublimity. Earth and heaven had undergone a sudden and
convulsive change. The face of nature, but a moment since gay with
summer smiles, was now hideously distorted. The sky had changed
suddenly from its blue and sunny brightness to an aspect dark and
portentous.
Along the north-west a vast volume of black vapour rolled up over the
Sierra Madre, and rested upon the peaks of the mountains. From this,
ragged masses, parting in fantastic forms and groupings, floated off
against the concavity of the sky as though the demons of the storm were
breaking up from an angry council. Each of these, as it careered across
the heavens, seemed bent upon some spiteful purpose.
An isolated fragment hung lowering above the snowy cone of Orizava, like
a huge vampire suspended over his sleeping victim.
From the great "parent cloud" that rested upon the Sierra Madre,
lightning-bolts shot out and forked hither and thither or sank into the
detached masses--the messengers of the storm-king bearing his fiery
mandates across the sky.
Away along the horizon of the east moved the yellow pillars of sand,
whirled upward by the wind, like vast columnar towers leading to heaven.
The storm had not yet reached the rancho. The leaves lay motionless
under a dark and ominous calm; but the wild screams of many birds--the
shrieks of the swans, the discordant notes of the frightened pea-fowl,
the chattering of parrots as they sought the shelter of the thick olives
in terrified flight--all betokened the speedy advent of some fearful
convulsion.
The rain in large drops fell upon the broad leaves with a soft, plashing
sound; and now and then a quick, short puff came snorting along, and,
seizing the feathery frondage of the palms, shook them with a spiteful
and ruffian energy.
The long green stripes, after oscillating a moment, would settle down
again in graceful and motionless curves.
A low sound like the "sough" of the sea or the distant falling of water
came from the north; while at intervals the hoarse bark of the _coyote_
and the yelling of terrified monkeys could be heard afar off in the
woods.
"_Tapa la casa! tapa la casa_!" (Cover the house!) cried Don Cosme as
soon as he had fairly got his head above ground. "_Anda_!--_anda con
los macates_!" (Quick with the cords!) With lightning quickness a roll
of palmetto mats came down on all sides of the house, completely
covering the bamboo walls, and forming a screen impervious to both wind
and rain. This was speedily fastened at all corners, and strong stays
were carried out and warped around the trunks of trees. In five minutes
the change was complete. The cage-looking structure had disappeared,
and a house with walls of yellow _petate_ stood in its place.
"Now, Senores, all is secured," said Don Cosme. "Let us return to the
drawing-room."
"I should like to see the first burst of this tornado," I remarked, not
wishing to intrude upon the scene of sorrow we had left.
"So be it, Captain. Stand here under the shelter, then."
"Hot as thunder!" growled the major, wiping the perspiration from his
broad, red cheeks.
"In five minutes, Senor Coronel, you will be chilled. At this point the
heated atmosphere is now compressed. Patience! it will soon be
scattered."
"How long will the storm continue?" I asked. "_Por Dios_! Senor, it
is impossible to tell how long the `_norte_' may rage: sometimes for
days; perhaps only for a few hours. This appears to be a `_huracana_'.
If so, it will be short, but terrible while it lasts. _Carrambo_!"
A puff of cold, sharp wind came whistling past like an arrow. Another
followed, and another, like the three seas that roll over the stormy
ocean. Then, with a loud, rushing sound, the broad, full blast went
sweeping--strong, dark, and dusty--bearing upon its mane the screaming
and terrified birds, mingled with torn and flouted leaves.
The olives creaked and tossed about. The tall palms bowed and yielded,
flinging out their long pinions like streamers. The broad leaves of the
plantains flapped and whistled, and, bending gracefully, allowed the
fierce blast to pass over.
Then a great cloud came rolling down; a thick vapour seemed to fill the
space; and the air felt hot and dark and heavy. A choking, sulphureous
smell rendered the breathing difficult, and for a moment day seemed
changed to night.
Suddenly the whole atmosphere blazed forth in a sheet of flame, and the
trees glistened as though they were on fire. An opaque darkness
succeeded. Another flash, and along with it the crashing thunder--the
artillery of heaven--deafening all other sounds.
Peal followed peal; the vast cloud was breached and burst by a hundred
fiery bolts; and like an avalanche the heavy tropical rain was
precipitated to the earth.
It fell in torrents, but the strength of the tempest had been spent on
the first onslaught. The dark cloud passed on to the south, and a
piercing cold wind swept after it.
"_Vamos a bajar, senores_!" (Let us descend, gentlemen), said Don Cosme
with a shiver, and he conducted us back to the stairway.
Clayley and the major looked towards me with an expression that said,
"Shall we go in?" There were several reasons why our return to the
drawing-room was unpleasant to myself and my companions. A scene of
domestic affliction is ever painful to a stranger. How much more
painful to us, knowing, as we did, that our countrymen--that _we_--had
been the partial agents of this calamity! We hesitated a moment on the
threshold.
"Gentlemen, we must return for a moment: we have been the bearers of
evil tidings--let us offer such consolation as we may think of. Come!"