Part 19 (1/2)

Frank was far ahead He had come to a place where the lava blocks ended, and the soil was sandy Here he paused for an instant, and took a swift glance around He started He had seen so away to the right

All this had not taken many minutes It was an act of desperation on the part of Frank, but he was determined to save Bob or perish

Fortunately the s up froe of the crater could be seen, with a dull yellow glealed with the sand

Frank had seen a prostrate figure It lay on the sand beyond the edge of the lava blocks His first feeling was one of surprise that Bob had succeeded in penetrating so far; his next was one of horror for fear that he ht be beyond the reach of help With frantic haste he rushed towards hi the spot, he raised Bob in his arms

He was senseless!

And now, as Frank stood there, close to the perilous edge, the treacherous smoke, which had thus far held back, rolled down oncehi up fro The tith The dense fuh the thick folds of the clothes which he held over his an to think that he, too, was doomed

And where were the others?

Scattered, apart fro s, and that hat they had done before Uncle Moses alone refused to yield He tried to toil on so as to get nearer to his boys He had a vague idea of getting near to Frank, so as to die by his side But physical pain was stronger than the deter himself down, and covered his face

But at last even that ordeal was passed The sain for them to breathe Frank roused hi Bob in his arms, carried him swiftly doard He reached the place where Uncle Moses was standing, gasping for breath; and the other boys who had seen him hurried towards him, and tried to help him carry his senseless burden Uncle Moses also tried to take Bob in his own arms, and prayed Frank, with tears in his eyes, to let hi it himself

A few paces more, however, over the lava blocks, showed that Frank's strength would not be sufficient for such a journey He sank down exhausted by his excessive exertions, and waited a fewhis breath, Michael Angelo reached the spot, and explained that there was another place of descent not far off, and led the way towards it Here they found the side of the cone all covered with loose sand Down this they went At every step they sank in up to their ankles, and the sliding soil bore them down, so that for every step they took they were carried the length of two or three steps

Frank clung to Bob till he had got beyond the reach of the s for breath The others scraelo, who had exerted himself the least of all, and was fresher than any of them, raised Bob in his arms, and said that he would take care of hi their descent, they were soon at the foot of the cone

Here they sat down, and Bob was laid upon the sand With tre hands they felt for his heart, and found, to their unspeakable, joy, that it was still beating There was no water near; but they chafed his feet and hands, and did what they could For a long ti; but at last Bob opened his eyes, and drawing a long, breath, looked around him with a face full of astonishment

”What's--the--matter?” he murmured, in a feeble voice

At this tears of joy flowed into the eyes of Uncle Moses, and his lips ratitude

”O, nothing,” said Frank, who by this ti of any consequence Don't bother You'll be all right soon”

Bob seemed too weak to say much, and even to think He lay there in silence, and with an expression of bewilder to collect his scattered faculties, so as to account for his present situation

And now, the question was how to get Bob hoone away, so that thisa short ti ere evidently about to try the ascent

They consisted of ladies and gentle Bob and his friends, theywhat had happened, the ladies refused to make the ascent on so unfavorable a day, but preferred postponing it to a elo therefore was able to obtain one of the chairs for Bob; and setting hie, where they arrived without any further rew rapidly better, and was able to tell his story

He had felt very anxious to see the crater, and equally anxious to see it first Taking advantage of a time when the smoke had retreated, he had e of the crater, when suddenly he found himself overwhelmed by a tremendous cloud of smoke To resist it, or to endure it in any as iht He turned ht alone in his mind That was all he remembered He must have run for at least a hundred feet, for that was about the distance which lay between the suelo started off and got a carriage, by means of which Bob was taken to Naples He did not seem to have suffered any very serious injury; but for souid and miserable, and complained of a taste of sulphur in hisup was of a dark-blue color, had become quite faded, from the action of the powerful sulphurous fumes

On the whole, Bob, as well as the rest of the party, had ample reason to feel thankful

CHAPTER XVIII

_Pompeii, the City of the Dead--The Monuments of the Past--Temples, Towers, and Palaces--Tombs and Monuments--Theatres and Amphitheatres--Streets and Squares_