d to say something to his little companion,
but before he could speak the buggy began to sway dangerously from side
to side and the earth seemed to rise up before them. Next minute there
was a roar and a sharp crash, and at her side Dorothy saw the ground
open in a wide crack and then come together again.

"Goodness!" she cried, grasping the iron rail of the seat. "What was
that?"

"That was an awful big quake," replied Zeb, with a white face. "It
almost got us that time, Dorothy."

The horse had stopped short, and stood firm as a rock. Zeb shook the
reins and urged him to go, but Jim was stubborn. Then the boy cracked
his whip and touched the animal's flanks with it, and after a low moan
of protest Jim stepped slowly along the road.

Neither the boy nor the girl spoke again for some minutes. There was a
breath of danger in the very air, and every few moments the earth would
shake violently. Jim's ears were standing erect upon his head and every
muscle of his big body was tense as he trotted toward home. He was not
going very fast, but on his flanks specks of foam began to appear and at
times he would tremble like a leaf.

The sky had grown darker again and the wind made queer sobbing sounds as
it swept over the valley.

Suddenly there was a rending, tearing sound, and the earth split into
another great crack just beneath the spot where the horse was standing.
With a wild neigh of terror the animal fell bodily into the pit, drawing
the buggy and its occupants after him.

Dorothy grabbed fast hold of the buggy top and the boy did the same. The
sudden rush into space confused them so that they could not think.

Blackness engulfed them on every side, and in breathless silence they
waited for the fall to end and crush them against jagged rocks or for
the earth to close in on them again and bury them forever in its
dreadful depths.

The horrible sensation of falling, the darkness and the terrifying
noises, proved more than Dorothy could endure and for a few moments the
little girl lost consciousness. Zeb, being a boy, did not faint, but he
was badly frightened, and clung to the buggy seat with a tight grip,
expecting every moment would be his last.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

CHAPTER 2.

THE GLASS CITY

When Dorothy recovered her senses they were still falling, but not so
fast. The top of the buggy caught the air like a parachute or an
umbrella filled with wind, and held them back so that they