Whereupon Stuart remembered the guarded way in which the Managing Editor had spoken of "European Powers," and this thought of Cecil threw him back upon his quest. "I'll soon have to be going on to Trinidad," he suggested a day or two later. "I think I'm strong enough to travel, now." "Yes," the old botanist answered, "you're strong enough to travel, but you'd better not go just now." "Why not?" "Well----" the old West Indian resident cast a look at the sky, "there are a good many reasons. Unless I'm much mistaken, there's wind about, big wind, hurricane wind, maybe. I've been feeling uneasy, ever since noon yesterday. Do you see those three mares'-tail high-cirrus clouds?" "You mean those that look like feathers, with the quills so much thicker than usual?" "Yes, those. And you notice that those quills, as you call them, are not parallel, but all point in the same direction, like the sticks of a fan? That means a big atmospheric disturbance in that direction, and it means, too, that it must be a gyrating one. That type of cirrus clouds isn't proof of a coming hurricane, not by a good deal, but it's one of the signs. And, if it comes, the center of it is now just about where those mares'-tails are pointing." "You're really afraid of a hurricane!" exclaimed Stuart, a little alarmed at the seriousness of the old man's manner. "There are few things in the world of which one ought more to be afraid!" declared the old scientist dryly. "A hurricane is worse, far worse, than an earthquake, sometimes." Stuart sat silent for a moment, then, "Are there any more signs?" he asked. "Yes," was the quiet answer. "Nearly all the hurricane signs are beginning to show. Look at the sea! If you'll notice, the surface is fairly glassy, showing that there is not much surface wind. Yet, in spite of that, there is a heavy, choppy, yet rolling swell coming up on the beach." "I had noticed the roar," Stuart agreed, "one can hear it plainly from here." "Exactly. But, if you watch for a few minutes, you'll see that the swells are not long and unbroken, as after a steady period of strong wind from any quarter, but irregular, some of the swells long, some short. That suggests that they have received their initial impulse from a hurricane, with a whirling center, the waves being whipped by gusts that change their direction constantly. "Notice, too, how hollow our voices sound, as if there were a queer resonance in the air, rather as if we were talking inside a drum. "You were complaining of the heat this morning, and, now, there is hardly any wind. What does that mean?