nd then behave in this way! Try and
tear my coat! I know you wouldn't dare to do it! Never mind, though!
I'll punish you for your malice."

The poor plant, alas! was soon cut down; thus the growth of years was
destroyed in a few minutes.

After an hour's walking, the head of our little column suddenly came in
front of a whole mountain-side which had slid from its original
position. The sight was a magnificent one; the accumulation of rocks,
piled one on the other, had crushed down in their fall the trees that
impeded their course. We saw before us an inextricable pile of trunks,
monstrous roots, and masses of rock, suspended and apparently ready to
fall. The catastrophe must have recently occurred; for here and there a
branch was still covered with foliage, and the grass had not as yet
carpeted the immense gap. Lucien was so astonished at the wild grandeur
of the scene that it actually put an end to his chatter. Without
speaking, we joined Sumichrast, who was in advance. That a lagoon must
have been filled up by the avalanche of rocks, we saw certain
indications. We could hear the rumbling noise of water flowing beneath
us. On our left, at the foot of the mountain, extended a wide basin,
which, from its regular outline, might well have been made by the hand
of man.

Every thing seemed silent and deserted around us, although the bushes
that margined the edge of the lagoon must once have sheltered many a
guest; now the imposing grandeur of the scene had awed them, or driven
them off.

"How could such a great mass as this fall down?" asked Lucien.

"We can only conjecture," replied Sumichrast; "perhaps the stream
flowing beneath the base of the rocks had excavated fissures, and thus
undermined it."

"The noise must have been terrific," said Lucien.

"Doubtless it was," replied Sumichrast; "and the shock possibly felt for
many leagues round."

"Have you ever seen a mountain fall in two like that, M. Sumichrast?"

"Yes; I did five years ago, when I was in company with your father. A
whole forest disappeared before our eyes in a land-slip, which also
overwhelmed four or five Indian huts. In a year from the present time,
the wilderness of bare rocks that we see before us will be again covered
with thick vegetation; mosses will grow over these gray-colored rocks,
and the stream will have renewed its course. If chance should ever lead
us again to this spot, the rich foliage and flowers would almost prevent
our recogn