"We are partly sheltered here,
though had we stayed in the cave in spite of----"
A deafening crash interrupted him, and following
the flash one of the giant trees of the forest
was seen to blaze up and then topple over.
"Struck by lightning!" yelled Ned.
"Yes; and it may happen to us!" exclaimed
Mr. Damon. "We were safer from the lightning
in the open. Maybe----"
Again came an interruption, but this time a
different one. The very ground beneath their feet
seemed to be shaking and trembling.
"What is it?" gasped Ned, while Goosal fell on
his knees and began fervently to pray.
"It's an earthquake!" yelled Tom Swift.
As he spoke there came another sound--the
sound of a mass of earth in motion. It came
from the direction of the mountain trail they had
just left. They looked toward it and their horror-
stricken eyes saw the whole side of the
mountain sliding down.
Slowly at first the earth slid down, but
constantly gathering force and speed. In the face
of this new disaster the rain seemed to have
ceased and the thunder and lightning to be less
severe. It was as though one force of nature
gave way to the other.
"Look! Look!" gasped Ned.
In silence, which was broken now only by a
low and ominous rumble, more menacing than
had been the awful fury of the elements, the
travelers looked.
Suddenly there was a quicker movement of
seemingly one whole section of the mountain.
Great rocks and trees, carried down by the
appalling force of the landslide were slipping over
the trail, obliterating it as though it had never existed.
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