Saved from Shipwreck 3 



of trees and a thick layer of ashes covering the ground 

 everywhere. Not a house was in sight not a leaf 

 or a blade of grass no sign of anything living as 

 far as the eye could reach on the broad plain that 

 stretched from the seashore to the distant moun- 

 tains. 



''What does it all mean?" said Edna. 



" I don't know," answered William. 



''Perhaps these are volcanic ashes," said Henry, 

 "and there has been an eruption like that from Ve- 

 suvius which destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum. 

 It says in my history that the fiery ashes covered 

 everything for miles around and did much more harm 

 than the lava." 



"Then you think the trees and grass were all 

 burned up by the ashes?" said Edna. 



"Yes," said Henry, "and then a big rain put the 

 fire out and beat the ashes down the way we see 

 them. There must have been ashes on the beach, 

 too, but the waves washed them away before we 

 landed." 



"Look at our boat!" cried William. They turned 

 suddenly and saw the lifeboat drifting slowly out to 

 sea with the tide. The last tie that bound them to 

 home, friends, and country was broken. 



"Well, it was too big for us to handle and I don't 



