In vain she tried to will herself to sleep, taking long, deep rhythmic breaths, thinking about new clothes, savoring the prospect of a deliciously scented warm bath. Twice she fancied she caught the faint sound of thunder, but probably it was no more than a truck rumbling along in the darkness.It seemed she had no sooner drifted into sleep than she was awakened by deafening claps of thunder. She sat up with a jerk. Through the thin curtains she could see the intermittent flashes of lightning.“Not a storm now!” she muttered, thinking of all those people sleeping out in the open by the river, on the pavements or under trees.Her thoughts flew to Edmund, Daniel and the others who might be sleeping in tents. They would be washed away!Rain drummed and rattled on the bus roof as though trains were roaring across it. She unlocked the rear door and cautiously opened it an inch or two, but soon slammed it shut again against the furious downpour. Even if the men wanted shelter in the bus, they would be half-drowned before they arrived.Suddenly the violent rain ceased as though a tap had been turned off, and in the lull Sarah heard Daniel’s voice as he pounded on the door.
