"Well, we'll give one jump right back to Manilla, and get ready to leave. Here we are, safe and sound, though somewhat tired from being cramped up in a boat, and sore from riding on horseback and walking over rough ground. We have seen a great many new things, and had experiences that were new to us, and we have--" Here the writing of the letter was interrupted by a violent shaking of the table at which the boys were seated; Frank was thrown from his chair, and Fred saved himself from going over by grasping the table with both hands, and resting his weight upon it. The Doctor was lying on a lounge a few feet away, and engaged in the perusal of a parcel of papers just received from New York; his reading was instantly suspended, and he came to his feet at the very moment Frank fell to the floor. "An earthquake! an earthquake!" said Frank. "An earthquake, certainly," answered Fred; "there's no mistaking it." [Illustration: STREET SCENE DURING AN EARTHQUAKE.] The Doctor said not a word, but seized his hat and started for the street, followed by both the boys. By the time they reached there the streets were crowded with people in the greatest state of alarm; many were on their knees in prayer, and in a few moments a priest appeared carrying a crucifix, to which many eyes were turned. Tiles were falling from the roofs, walls were crashing into heaps of ruins, seams opened in the earth, men and women were shouting and screaming in terror, and what had been only a few minutes before a peaceful and sleepy city, was now a scene of wild excitement and desolation. Our friends sought the middle of the street and there stopped, the Doctor assuring the boys that they ought to be as far as possible from the falling walls and tiles. "It often happens," said he, "that an earthquake shock is followed by another a few minutes later, and sometimes the second is more severe than the first. We'll wait here awhile, and then be guided by the movements of the inhabitants; if they go back to their houses we can return to the hotel." The shock was not renewed, and after a while the alarm began to subside, but very slowly; word came that the cathedral had been thrown down, but luckily no one had been injured, as it was not the hour of service, and the custodians of the place were outside the doors at the moment of the shock. Several of the government buildings were destroyed, and it was thought many people had been crushed to death by the falling walls. It was impossible at that time to estimate the damage, but it was known to be very great.