"The sand rose rapidly, whirling round and round."
"There is every cause for wonder," I replied, "for no savant has yet explained the real cause of this phenomenon."
"If we happened to be caught in one of these whirlwinds would it carry us away?"
"No, Chanito," replied the Indian, "it would be content with throwing us down."
"Then you've had some experience of them?"
"Yes; when I used to play with the children in our village, and a tornado came within reach, we were always delighted to run through it."
About a hundred paces from us, although there was not the slightest breeze in the air, the sand rose rapidly, whirling round and round. The rotation did not extend over a space of more than a few feet. There was no apparent cause for it, and the phenomenon ceased as unaccountably as it commenced.
Lucien was of course dying with anxiety to run through one of these tornadoes; but all that we saw were quite beyond reach.
"I think," said Sumichrast, addressing me, "when it is thoroughly studied on the great plains of Mexico, we shall be able to explain the cause of this phenomenon. In a general point of view, these whirlwinds are nothing but water-spouts in miniature."
"A water-spout!" asked Lucien; "what is that?"