A TOUXG XATURALLST. 213 



away, and yet appeared to be motionless. Rays incessantly 

 quivering sprang from the centre of it; in the middle the 

 light was white, bnt at the edges it assumed first a yellow- 

 ish, then a red, and lastly a bluish hue. We were suddenly 

 almost blinded by a flash of intense brilliancy ; a formida- 

 ble explosion, repeated by the echoes, burst upon our ears, 

 and all became silence and obscurity. 



While we were returning to our bivouac, Lucien and 

 1'Encuerado pressed us with questions. 



" What are meteors ?" asked Lucien, eagerly. 



" Some scientific men," replied Sumichrast, " look upon 

 them as fragments- of planets wandering in space. Getting 

 entangled in our planetary system, they yield to the attrac- 

 tion of our globe, and fall on to its surface in obedience to 

 the law of gravitation." 



" But what are they composed of?" 



"Generally speaking, of sulphur, chromium, and earth. 

 The phenomenon of ' shooting stars ' is connected with that 

 of meteors, and any substance falling on the surface of the 

 earth receives the name of aerolite.'''' 



"Do you wish to persuade me that stones rain down 

 from the sky ?" cried I'Encuerado. 



" Yes, certainly ; and if I am not mistaken, it was in your 

 country that the largest known aerolite was found, for it 

 weighed no less than fifty hundred-weights. To-morrow 

 morning we will search for the one we have seen, which 

 must have dropped at the end of the valley." 



" Are these stones luminous ?" rejoined the Indian. 



" No ; but they take fire, owing to their rapid flight." 



" And whence did the meteor come which passed so close 

 to us ?" 



" Either from the moon or the stars, or perhaps from the 

 sun." 



L'Encuerado half-closed his eyes, and burst out laughing 



