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.