Suddenly, the schoolhouse door blew off its hinges!
It went flying through the air!
Jack grabbed Annie and pulled her into the dugout.
Inside, the benches were overturned. The room wasa mess.
Miss Neely and the three kids were pressed againstthe dirt wall. Kate and Will screamed as the windswhipped around. the room.
Miss Neely hugged Kate. Jeb held on to Will.
"Get in the cellar!" Jack yelled.
"What cellar?" shouted Miss Neely.
Together, Jack and Annie pulled the rug off thefloor and uncovered the cellar door.
They grabbed the door and tried to open it, but thewind was blowing too hard.
Suddenly, Jeb was beside them. He pulled the dooropen. A ladder led down into the cellar.
One by one, Will, Kate, Miss Neely, and Anniewent down the ladder.
Jack waited for Jeb to go down. "Go! Go!" Jebshouted. Jack climbed down into the cellar.
Jeb came last. He closed the door behind him,leaving everyone in total darkness.
The twister roared fiercely above them. It soundedlike a train barreling right through the schoolhouse!
As the twister roared and howled, Jack couldn'tthink. He couldn't feel. He was totally swept up in thehowl of the wind.
Then, just as Jack felt he would disappear in theroar of the twister, the noise died down.
And then it was silent.
No one spoke for a moment in the blackness. ThenAnnie broke the silence.
"Are we still alive?" she whispered. Everyonelaughed.
"Yes, I think we are," said Miss Neely. |