"Tom!" "What ?" "Hadn't we better go on the jetty ?" "Why ?" "There might be a wreck, you know." "So there might." Next moment we were out of bed and dressing quietly.
We need not have minded about the noise, for the roar of the storm outside would have prevented any one from hearing sounds twenty times louder than those we made, as we crept into our clothes and pulled on our boots.
"All ready, Jack ?" "Yes; mind how you go down." We crept downstairs, past grandfather's room, where a light was burning, down into the hall, and through the passage to the back door.

We pulled the bolts and opened it carefully.

Fortunately, it was on the sheltered side of the house.

Had it been the front, the blast that would have rushed in would certainly have discovered our retreat.
We stepped cautiously out and closed the door behind us.

We were surprised to find how still it seemed at first, compared with what we had imagined.