"Hillo," shouted Listado, in extreme surprise--"Hillo, who has stolen our purling stream?--what the devil has become of the river, Master Hudson?" This was a thing neither Mr Hudson nor any one else could tell--that it had absolutely vanished as described was clear enough; but just as the girls and De Walden had secured the fish in a tub, the basin was again filled, as suddenly as it had been emptied, with the same loud gurgle, too, and in ten minutes one could not have told that any thing had happened. "There must have been some subterranean convulsions to produce this phenomenon," said I. "No doubt of it," rejoined Listado--"Old Nicholas had run short of water for his tay, and borrowed our beautiful jet for a little--but, hush! he has heard me, so sure as peas are pays in Ireland, and has turned off the water again--Hush!" It once more disappeared in the same manner, and with the same loud, gurgling noise as before; but after the basin was dry this time, we distinctly heard several distant reports, in the bowels of the earth, like the far-off reverberations of a cannon-shot amongst the hills. "There was no earthquake?" said Mr Hudson, looking round enquiringly, after we had a little recovered from our surprise--no one had perceived it if there had been. "I should not be surprised if this be the precursor of one, however," he continued, "after this long drought and intense heat." * * * * * The following evening was the one we had fixed on, according to previous arrangement, to ride to the beautiful bay lying within the promontory already described. The weather, as already hinted, for several weeks preceding this had been uncommonly hot, even for that climate; and the earth was parched and rent by intense drought. In many places in our rides we came upon fissures a foot wide, and several fathoms deep; and the trees had, in general, assumed the hue of our English leaves in November. There had been several "temblores de tierra," or shocks of earthquake, within this period--slight at first, but they seemed to increase in strength and frequency, as the dry weather continued; and it was therefore reasonable to refer the sudden disappearing of the jet of water to some internal convulsion of this nature. On the day in question there was not a cloud to be seen--a hot blending blue blaze hung over the land and water, through which every object trembled as if the earth and sea had sent up a thin smoke through intensity of heat. The sun when he rose, and until high up in heaven, had the same red magnified disk, as in a foggy winter morning in England; and a lurid purple hue pervaded all nature, as if he had been suffering a temporary eclipse; while the usual sea breeze entirely failed.