"Oh, isn't it splendid!" said Tom, as soon as he could speak.

"Uncle is sure to come now," said Aralia firmly.

"I'll go and fish," Flossy seemed to say as she sprang three times her
length in the air, and turned head over heels like the clown in a circus.

"Come on, Veevee," cried the mastiff, "come for a run in the sunshine."
And off they set.

But the day soon ended, for the sun quickly disappeared. Yet the Crusoes
had seen it, and that was joy enough for once.

And now the days began to lengthen out, but at the same time earthquakes
and thunder-storms became more and more frequent. The lake felt hot
again, and the water tossed about so much at times, that even Flossy was
afraid to venture in to catch the fish she could not live without.

There was a most terrible earthquake-storm about two weeks after the
first sunrise.

Even Tom himself was frightened this time, for the thunderings and
lightnings and explosions were awful, and lasted for three long days.
It was pitch dark all the time, and the rain came down in sheets.

To make matters worse, smoke of a strange red colour was seen on the
hills. It looked as if it came from rents in the mountain-sides, and
there was a smell like burning sulphur in the air.

But this season of terror ended at last; the stars shone out, there was a