Sentence:  For a brief moment the <WSD>onrush</WSD> of the "egwugwu" [masked men representing ancestral spirits] was checked by the unexpected composure of the two men. But it was only a momentary check, like the tense silence between blasts of thunder. The second onrush was greater than the first. It swallowed up the two men. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A forceful rush or flow forward.