“I guess it’s all up with us!” muttered Cromley.
“Let’s see if we can’t get out of the way!” cried Ned.
He started to run to one side, across the path of the slide, but he had only taken a few steps before an undulation of the ground threw him down. Bob, who had started to follow Ned, was in a like predicament.
“We’ve got to help them!” shouted Tinny to Jerry.
These two were a little distance from the lads who had fallen. But before they could reach them to give aid a mass of bushes, torn loose from the mountainside where they had been growing for years, swept Tinny, Jerry and Bill off their feet.
They were all down now, lying or sitting on the mass of earth that was being pushed ahead of the landslide.
The main slide was gathering more stones, rocks and trees in its path as it worked down the side of the mountain, but, as yet, the largest mass of débris was some distance above the boys.
All about them, above, below, and on either side, were patches of blue clay and blue rock, which gave the name to this particular locality. But, mingled with all this, was a great quantity of grass roots and soft bushes, so that the elasticity of this vegetation helped to protect those in peril.
“Can’t we do something?” cried Bob, in desperation. He dug his hands into the shifting soil until he broke his finger nails, but nothing availed to hold him back. The others were doing the same thing, striving desperately to save themselves from what seemed certain death.
Faster and faster the slide came careening down Thunder Mountain. There were rumblings and roarings almost as terrifying as the thunder and lightning of the night before.