I want to hear what you have to say but from what Mr Causton tells me I fear I

won't like it" His English was smooth

and unaccented
"There's going to be a hurricane," said Wyatt baldly
Pavel's expression did not change He looked on Wyatt with a half-humorous curve to
his lips, and said, "Indeed I"
The tall white man--Manning--said, "That's a pretty stiff statement, Wyatt There
hasn't been a hurricane here since
1910"
"And I'm getting pretty tired of hearing the fact," said Wyatt wearily "ls there
some magic about the year 1910? Do
hurricanes come at hundred-year intervals, and can we expect the next in 2010?"
Favel said softly, "If not in 2010, when may we expect this hurricane?"
"Within twenty-four hours," said Wyatt bluntly "I wouldn't put it at longer than
that"
Manning made a noise with his lips expressive of disgust, but Favel held up his
hand "Charles, I know you don't want
anything to interfere with our war, but I think we ought to hear what Mr Wyatt has
to say It might have a considerable
bearing on our future course of action" He leaned comfortably against the table and
pointed a brown finger directly at
Wyatt "Now, then give me your evidence"
Wyatt drew hi a deep breath He had to convince this slim brown man whose eyes had
suddenly turned flinty "The
hurricane was spotted five days ago by one of the weather satellites Four days ago
I went to inspect it on one of the usual
reconnaissance missions and found it was a bad one, one of the worst I've ever"
encountered I kept a check on its course,
and up to the time I left the Base it was going according to prediction Since then
I haven't had the opportunity for further
tracking"
"The predicted course," said Favel "Does that bring the hurricane to San
Fernandez?"
"No," admitted Wyatt "But it wouldn't take much of a swing off course to hit us,
and hurricanes do swerve for quite
unpredictable reasons"
"Did you inform Commodore Brooks of this?" asked Manning harshly
"I did"
"Well, he hasn't put much stock in your story He's still sitting there across the
bay at Cap Sarrat and he doesn't look like
moving"
Wyatt said carefully, looking at Favel, "Commodore Brooks is not his own master He
has other things to take into account,
especially this war you're fighting He's taking a calculated risk"
Favel nodded "Just so I appreciate Commodore Brook's position--he would not want to
abandon Cap Sarrat Base at a time
like this" He smiled mischievously "I would not want him to abandon the Base either
He is keeping President Serrurier
occupied by his masterly inactivity"
"That's beside the point," said Manning abruptly if he was as certain about this
hurricane as Wyatt apparently is, he
would surely evacuate the Base"
Favel leaned forward "Are you certain about this hurricane, Mr Wyatt?"
"Yes"
"Even though you have been kept from your instruments and so do not have full
knowledge?"
"Yes," said Wyatt He looked Favel in the eye "There was a man up near St Michel two
days ago, just before the battles
started He was tying down the roof of his hut"
Favel nodded "I, too, saw a man doing that I wondered-"
"For God's sake!" exploded Manning "This isn't a meeting of a folklore society The
decisions we have to make are too big to
be based on anything but facts"
"Hush, Charles," said Favel "I am a West Indian, and so is Mr Wyatt Like is calling
to like" He saw the expression on
Wyatt's face and burst out laughing "Oh yes, I know all about you, I have a dossier
on every foreigner on the island" He
became serious "Did you talk to him--this man who was tying down the root of his
hut?
"Yes"
"What did he say?"
"He said the big wind was coming He said he was going to finish securing the roof
of his house and then he was going to
join his family in a cave hi the hills He said the big wind would come in two days"

"How did that coincide with your own knowledge of the hurricane?"
"it coincided exactly," said Wyatt
Favel turned to Manning "That man has gone to his cave where he will pray to an old
half-forgotten god--older, even,
than those my people brought from West Africa Hunraken, the Carib storm god"
Manning looked at him blankly and Favel murmured, "No matter" He turned back to-
Wyatt and said, "I have a great belief
in the instincts of my people for survival Perhaps -" he wagged a lean, brown
finger--" and only perhaps, there will be a
hurricane, after all Let us assume there will be a hurricane--what will be the
probable result if it hits us, here in St
Pierre?"
"Mabel is a particularly bad" began Wyatt
"Mabel?" Favel laughed shortly "You scientists have lost the instinct for drama
Hunraken is the better name" He waved his
hand "But go on"
Wyatt started again "She'll hit from the south and come into santego Bay; the bay
is shallow and the sea will build up
You'll have what is popularly known as a tidal wave"
Favel snapped his fingers "A map Let us see what it looks like on a map"
A large-scale map was spread on one of the tables and they gathered round Causton
had watched with interest the
interplay between Favel and Wyatt and he drew closer Manning, in spite of his
disbelief, was fascinated by the broad
outline of tragedy which Wyatt had just sketched, and watched with as much interest
as anyone The less intellectual
Fuller stood by with a half smile; to him this was just a lot of boffin's bumff--
everyone knew they didn't have hurricanes
in San Fernandez
Favel laid his hand on the map, squarely in the middle of Santego Bay "This tidal
wave--how high will be the water?"
"I'm no hydrographer--that's not my line," said Wyatt "But I can give you an
informed guess The low central pressure in
the hurricane will pull the sea up to say, twenty to twenty-five feet above normal
level When that hits the mouth of the
bay and shallow ground it will build up The level will also rise because of the
constriction--you'll have more and more
water confined in less and less space as the wave moves into the bay" He hesitated,
then said firmly You can reckon on a
main wave fifty feet high"