ernoon. Take your dinner grub with you."

The boats left the ship's side together, and in a few minutes both
reached the beach. With instructions to Ditty to keep his men on the
east end of the island, the captain's party entered the jungle.

They easily found the path they had trodden the day before, and were
well on their way to the whale's hump when they were startled by a
queer vibration of the earth. There was no sound accompanying it. On
the contrary, everything seemed hushed in a deathlike stillness. The
cries of birds and the humming of insects had stopped as though by
magic. Nature seemed to be holding her breath.

Then came a second quivering stronger than the first--a shock which
threw the four treasure hunters violently to the ground.

CHAPTER XXI

"IF I WAS SUPERSTITIOUS-----"

"What is this?"

"An earthquake!"

"The island is sinking!"

"We'll have to get out of this!"

Such were some of the cries of the treasure hunters as the earth
trembled beneath them.

For perhaps twenty seconds the sickening vibration continued. Then it
stopped as suddenly as it had begun. The swaying trees finished their
dizzy dance, and the rocks that had seemed to be bowing to each other
like so many mummers resumed their impassive attitudes. Their lawless
frolic had ended!

Drew had caught Ruth by the arm as she went down, and thus had broken
the violence of her fall. But all were jarred and shaken.

As the more agile of the quartet, the young man was first on his feet.
He tenderly assisted Ruth to rise, while the others scrambled up
unaided.

"Are you hurt?" Drew asked the girl solicitously.

"Not a bit," she answered pluckily, and Drew reflected on what a
thoroughbred she was.

The others also had sustained no injury. But their forebodings as to
their safety on the island had been quickened by this striking example
of nature's restlessness. The giant in the volcano was not dead. He
was uneasy and had turned in his sleep. It was as though he resented
the coming of these interlopers, and was giving them warning to go away
and leave him undisturbed.

"Now if I was superstitious," remarked Tyke, "I should say that
something was trying to keep us from getting this treasure."

"Let it try then," said the captain grimly. "We haven't come as far as
this to turn tail and run just when we're on the point of getting what
we came for."

"Good for you, Daddy!" cried Ruth gaily. "We're bound to