ll us the story?" pleaded Anton.

"Very well," the Forecaster agreed; "maybe it'll show you how important
to the world everything is that is connected with the weather.

"I was telling you about Krakatoa and its eruption and how the outburst
had caused red sunsets that lasted for three years. Now, if you think
for a moment, you'll see that any one who observed a period of unusually
red sunsets and knew the cause of them would know that there had been a
big volcanic eruption somewhere."

"Of course."

"Now, boys," said the Forecaster, "suppose that the upper air were
unusually full of dust, what effect do you suppose that would have on
the temperature?"

For a moment no one spoke, then Anton piped up:

"I've been wondering," he said, "if the dust wouldn't shut out some of
the sunlight and make the earth colder."

The Weather Forecaster gave the boy a shrewd look.

"We're going to make a real weather man out of you, Anton," he said. "As
a matter of fact, it does, though, of course, not to such a very
noticeable extent. Indeed, it's only quite recently that we've been
working out the relations between volcanic eruptions and weather.
They're striking, though, and while it may be a little too early to say
that the one causes the other, volcanic action has a big influence.

"The Krakatoa eruption, as I said, produced a dust cloud in the upper
parts of the air, which not only created red sunsets, but which kept so
permanent a haze over the sky that the sun was surrounded by a reddish
brown circle, known as 'Bishop's ring,' during most of that time. This
circle showed the existence of a dust cloud, through which the sunlight
had to pass. As a result, the amount of sunlight was diminished. When
the sunlight is less, the crops are poorer, for it needs the entire
force of the sun to ripen them, and the three years following the
eruption of Krakatoa are known to history as 'The Poverty Years.' The
still more famous 'Year without a Summer,' which was the year 1816,
followed the eruption of Tombora, the autumn before."

"That seems to cinch it, Mr. Levin," said Ross.

"It isn't sure," was the reply, "but it seems that way. Famines have a
tremendous effect on the world's history. The great French Revolution,
one of the greatest events in modern history, was brought to a head by a
famine. This was the 'Three Year Freeze' of 1784-1786."

"Did that follow a volcanic eruption, sir?" asked Anton.

"It followed the greatest e