oon hung in the deep blue of the sky.
It was more wonderful than they had dreamed.

"To-morrow, if we wake early, we shall see where the sun comes from,"
said Limberleg.

They sat on the rocks and watched the stars come out and saw the moon
sail away to the west, and then, when they were too weary to stay awake
longer, they spread their skins on the rocks and slept under the open
sky, with the boom of the surf for a lullaby.

The Cave Twins--by Lucy Fitch Perkins

CHAPTER SIX.

THE EARTHQUAKE.

One.

They slept so soundly that they did not hear low rolling sounds of
thunder or see the moon go out of sight behind a black cloud. Even
lightning did not rouse them, but when at last the rain came splashing
down over their bare skins they woke up. There was no shelter for them,
so they huddled together in a wet heap and waited for the rain to be
over and for the morning to come. It was no gentle spring shower.

The water poured down like a deluge. They were very wretched, and
Firefly began to cry.

"Now, see here," Limberleg said to her, "there's water enough already!
You needn't add your tears, or we shall all be drowned! The rain will
be over some time. It won't hurt you."

When the lightning flashed, they could see the trees waving and bending
in the wind and great breakers rolling up over the sandy beach.

But the rain wasn't the worst that was to happen. After a while there
came a strange shivering feeling in the rocks beneath them. It grew
stronger and stronger till the whole earth shook and trembled.

Hawk-Eye and Limberleg had felt earthquakes before, but never one like
this. It seemed as if the world were shaking itself to pieces. They
huddled closer together and clasped their arms around the Twins.

"Oh," shrieked Limberleg, "the water gods are angry because we tried to
find out the secret of the sun!" She and Hawk-Eye prayed to them at the
top of their lungs. "Spare us, oh, spare us," they cried.

As they prayed, there came a long, fearful cracking noise, and the sound
of falling rocks. It was as if the thunder had fallen to the earth and
were rumbling round over it. A gigantic wave came roaring against the
rocks as if it would dash them to pieces.

The Twins burrowed their heads in their mother's lap, and shook almost
as if they were having little earthquakes of their own.

The great wave marked the crest of the storm. After that the winds grew
gradually less violent, the rain ce