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THE FLAMING MOUNTAIN
A RICK BRANT SCIENCE-ADVENTURE STORY
BY JOHN BLAINE
GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS
NEW YORK, N. Y.
1962
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
_Printed in the United States of America_
[Illustration: _Rick swung the Sky Wagon onto a northward course that
would take them past the volcano_]
_THE FLAMING MOUNTAIN_
Rock, melting like butter on a hot stove! It is hard to believe,
but that is what happens on San Luz, a small island off the coast
of South America. When Rick Brant and his pal Dan Scott fly to the
famous resort island to join Rick's father, head of the Spindrift
Scientific Foundation, a seemingly inactive volcano is about to
explode in an eruption which could easily blow San Luz off the map.
The immediate threat is to a small town at the foot of the volcano,
where the air reeks with the fumes of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur
dioxide, and it is here that Rick and Scotty help Dr. Brant and his
scientist associates set up headquarters, in the hope of finding a
way of controlling an eruption that is growing into a certainty
with fantastic speed.
But their efforts to save the island town are hindered by the
superior forces of nature, the superstitious fatalism of the
people--and sabotage!
With the earth opening up all around them, Rick, Scotty, and the
scientists have little hope of preventing a catastrophe, until a
decision is made to unleash the awesome power of atomic energy in a
desperate last attempt to fight the volcanic eruption.
Jam-packed with excitement and swift, tense action, _The Flaming
Mountain_ has all the elements that have made the Rick Brant
Science Adventure series a favorite with boys all over the world.
Contents
I VULCAN'S HAMMER
II SAN LUZ
III FIRING PARTIES
IV SEISMIC TRACINGS
V DYNAMITE MISSING
VI DANGEROUS TRAIL
VII CASA GUEVARA
VIII THE GOVERNOR VANISHES
IX THE YELLOW GROUND
X THE VOLCANIC PIPE
XI EARTHQUAKE!
XII THE RISING MAGMA
XIII ARMED REVOLT
XIV NIGHT PATROL
XV STALEMATE
XVI THE BRANT APPROACH
XVII SOLUTION: NUCLEAR
XVIII THE SEABEES
XIX THE OLD ONE YIELDS
XX A FEW SOUVENIRS
List of Illustrations
_Rick and Scotty's scale model of San Luz Island_
_Spindrift Island_
_Rick swung the Sky Wagon onto a northward course that would take them
past the volcano_
_Connel was alone in the jeep_
_The three invaders waited while the long minutes ticked away_
_"They're shooting at us!" Rick exclaimed, and gave the plane the gun_
THE FLAMING MOUNTAIN
CHAPTER I
Vulcan's Hammer
The entire staff of the world-famed Spindrift Scientific Foundation
gathered in the conference room of the big gray laboratory building on
the southeast corner of Spindrift Island. It was unusual for the whole
staff to be called to a meeting. Even more unusual--not a single member
knew what the meeting was about.
Rick Brant, son of the Spindrift Foundation's director, Dr. Hartson
Brant, was perhaps even more mystified than the professional scientists.
His father had phoned from Florida with brief instructions. "Rick, I
want you and Scotty to make a scale model of San Luz Island. It's off
the coast of Venezuela. You'll find it on the sailing chart of the area,
and there are references in the library. Be as complete and detailed as
possible, and have the model ready by Saturday. Pick me up at Newark
Airport Saturday noon. I'll have a guest. Ask Hobart Zircon to call a
full staff meeting for two o'clock Saturday."
Rick and his pal Don Scott had completed the model, which was now
resting on a table at the front of the lab conference room. One hour ago
he had flown with Scotty in his plane, the Sky Wagon, to Newark Airport
where he had picked up his father and a short, white-haired elderly man
by the name of Dr. Esteben Balgos.
[Illustration: _Rick and Scotty's scale model of San Luz Island_]
Rick, a teen-aged version of his long-legged, athletic father, was
consumed with curiosity. He could tell that the scientist was deeply
concerned over something. It seemed likely Dr. Balgos was at least
involved in that concern, if not the actual cause. But Rick still knew
of nothing that would relate Spindrift Island off the coast of New
Jersey to San Luz, an island off the coast of northern South America.
The Spindrift scientists were gathering, pausing to examine the model on
the table before they took their seats. Hobart Zircon, the huge, bearded
senior physicist and associate director of the Foundation, looked at the
model in company with Tony Briotti, the youthful staff archaeologist.
Dr. Howard Shannon, chief biologist, came in with Julius Weiss, the
famous mathematical physicist.
A slender, attractive dark-haired girl, Rick's own age, moved through
the crowd to his side. He gave her a smile of welcome. Jan Miller was
the daughter of one of the staff physicists, Dr. Walter Miller.
"What's all this about, Rick?" Jan asked. "And where are Barby and
Scotty?"
"I wish I knew what it's all about," Rick replied. "Barby and Scotty are
at the house with Dad's guest, a Dr. Esteben Balgos. We picked Dad and
Balgos up at Newark an hour ago. They'll be over in a few minutes." Rick
had come to the lab ahead of the others to be sure there were sufficient
chairs set up and that the model was in position on the table.
"You must have some idea," the girl insisted. "You and Scotty made the
model."
"Sure we did. But we don't know why. Dad called from the University of
Florida and gave instructions, and I didn't have a chance to ask any
questions."
"It must be important," Jan commented. "The whole staff hasn't been
together since Christmas."
Rick nodded. That had been a social occasion, not business, and on the
day after Christmas he, Scotty, and Dr. Parnell Winston had taken off
for Cairo where they had become involved in intrigue and a major
scientific mystery. The episode was now referred to as _The Egyptian Cat
Mystery_. The boy wondered if this meeting was a beginning of something
exciting, too, and in the same instant he was sure that it was.
"Here comes Barby," Jan said suddenly. "Excuse me, Rick."
Barby Brant, Rick's pretty blond sister, paused in the doorway until she
saw Jan hurrying to meet her. The two girls conferred briefly, then
hurried to take seats in the exact center of the front row.
It was the custom at Spindrift to include the island's young people in
staff activities, and Rick had been a part of the various projects and
discussions since he could remember. But not until Jan Miller's arrival
on the island, during the adventure of _The Electronic Mind Reader_, had
Barby bothered to attend the scientific discussions. Jan, as bright as
she was attractive, had succeeded in persuading Rick's sister that
science was not only exciting, but understandable.
The buzz of talk in the room stopped as Hartson Brant and his guest
entered, followed by Scotty. The husky, dark-haired ex-Marine at once
joined Rick. The two had been close friends and constant companions
since the day Scotty joined the staff during _The Rocket's Shadow_
project. An orphan, Scotty was now a permanent member of the Spindrift
family.
Hartson Brant did not need to rap for attention. There was an expectant
hush as he began immediately. "Our guest today is Dr. Esteben Balgos, of
whom many of you have heard. Until his retirement a few years ago, he
was considered by his colleagues as the dean of South American
geophysicists. His primary field of interest was--and still
is--volcanology."
Rick leaned forward. Volcanology, study of volcanoes. The mountain that
formed the backbone of San Luz had once been a volcano, but it had been
dead or inactive since prehistoric times. El Viejo--the Old One--was its
name. Rick wondered if it might not be the connecting link between San
Luz and Spindrift, but he couldn't yet see how.
"Dr. Balgos reached me at Florida University while I was lecturing
there. We talked, and I agreed that we would examine his problem. It is
so unusual and challenging that I wanted all of you to hear what he has
to say. Rick and Scotty have built a scale model of the island to help
Dr. Balgos describe the problem to us."
"So that's why we built it," Scotty whispered. "I've been wondering."
Rick grinned. So had he.
Dr. Balgos acknowledged Hartson Brant's introduction, took a moment to
wipe his horn-rimmed spectacles, and got down to business, using a
pencil as a pointer. He spoke perfect English with a soft, musical
Spanish accent which Rick found pleasant.
"This, young ladies and colleagues, is San Luz. I retired to this island
from my native Peru a few years ago, so it is now my home. Its
relationship to South America is the same as that of Bermuda to the east
coast of your country. In other words, it is an island vacation resort.
There are about 32,000 people on San Luz, engaged in caring for
tourists, in fishing, in farming bananas and cacao, and in digging and
exporting pumice."
Rick knew this from his research. He hoped Dr. Balgos wouldn't linger
too long over descriptions.
"The tourist facilities are along the south coast, which is one
continuous beach, starting at the main town of Calor, and running to
Redondo, a fishing village at the northern tip of the island. There are
several excellent hotels and guest homes."
Dr. Balgos pointed with his pencil to a cluster of buildings at the base
of the mountain. "The location of this hotel is an exception. It is
called the Hot Springs Hotel, and it is one of our biggest. It is named
for the hot springs at the base of the mountain. You will see at once
that El Viejo--this mountain--is clearly a volcano. The presence of hot
springs at its base indicates that it is not entirely dead."
Now they were getting somewhere, Rick thought.
"Starting a few months ago, earthquakes in the vicinity began to
increase in frequency. Since we are on the edge of a major geological
fault, earthquakes are not at all unusual, and the increase attracted
little attention. However, I have corresponded with seismologists
throughout the area, and it is clear that the increase is due to
activity directly under our island."
The Peruvian scientist held up his pencil, like a teacher addressing a
class. "I see that you consider this significant. So do I. There is one
other bit of information that is also significant. The flow from the hot
springs has changed in character. There is an occasional outpouring of
hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide. Also, the average temperature of
the springs has gone up several degrees."
The area must smell pretty bad, Rick thought. Hydrogen sulfide was what
gave the characteristic aroma to rotten eggs, and sulfur dioxide wasn't
exactly perfume. He wasn't surprised when Dr. Balgos added that the
hotel had been virtually abandoned.
"My data is not sufficient for any conclusion, but the general one that
some kind of volcanic activity is increasing. However, I'm sure most of
you depend, as I do, on intuition as well as on data. This intuition is
simply the result of years of experience. Mine tells me that El Viejo is
about to become active again."
There was a murmur from the scientists.
"I am aware," Balgos went on, "that this is a conclusion which cannot
yet be supported. But I am certain in my own mind that such is the case.
I do not believe the present mild activity causing the earthquakes will
subside. But more than that, I believe the activity will grow in a
particularly disastrous way."
The scientist pointed to the volcano. "I have examined this cone. It is
ancient, covered with jungle growth. It is clearly stable. The crater is
filled in with compacted, weathered lava. If there should be a normal
eruption, it would have to vent through the hot springs, which is the
only active channel. Notice that the town of Calor would then be right
in line with the eruption."
Rick could see it clearly. The contours of the terrain were such that a
lava flow of any magnitude would engulf the little city.
"I believe the volcano will vent through the hot springs," Balgos went
on. "But my examination of the volcano leads me to expect that it will
vent with fantastic violence. The hot-springs channel is purely seepage.
There is no open vent. This means the mountain will resist the growing
forces under it until it is forced to give with great suddenness. To be
as concise as possible, what I see here is another Krakatoa."
There was a concerted gasp from the assembled group. Rick felt his
scalp prickle. He had expected nothing like this. Krakatoa, he knew from
his reading, had been the greatest cataclysm in recorded history. The
volcano, in the East Indies, had blown up with enormous violence. The
island on which it was located had been literally blasted to bits;
nothing was left. Nearby islands were blazed clean. No one knew how many
people had perished instantly. The blast was felt completely around the
world, and the dust of Krakatoa had so filled the world's skies that the
weather was changed. Winters came earlier and stayed longer, until the
dust settled at last.
"This is our problem," Balgos said simply. "It is made more difficult by
two things, our people and our politics. The people are superstitious
fatalists. I know them too well to expect that they will move from the
island. And where would they move? San Luz is claimed by three
countries: England, Colombia, and Venezuela. But we consider ourselves
independent. We have our own legislature. We cannot go to any one
country for help without acknowledging its sovereignty over us. We
cannot go to all three at once, because the diplomatic difficulties of
getting three nations together would take too much time. Besides, I do
not know what any nation could do. And so, I come to you, on behalf of
our governor, and of myself."
There was silence when Balgos finished. Then big Hobart Zircon boomed,
"If we assume your conclusions are correct, what can be done? There is
no way of stopping a volcanic eruption, much less an explosion. Man is
helpless before such natural forces. It would be easier to stop a
hurricane than another Krakatoa."
Balgos shrugged. "I agree. Yet, can we stand by and wait without even
making an attempt?"
"Certainly not," Hartson Brant replied. "First, we must develop more
data. Dr. Balgos had said that his conclusions are based on intuition,
and not facts. I, for one, trust his intuition. But we must know the
exact situation before we can even begin to study the possibilities of
doing something."
Tony Briotti objected. "Even with a study, what can be done? I'm not a
physical scientist, so this is outside of my field. But I've never heard
of anyone even attempting to change the direction of a lava flow, much
less control an eruption."
Dr. Balgos spread his hands expressively. "In mythology, Vulcan was the
blacksmith, the god of fire and volcanoes. We have grown too wise to
believe in myths, but we do believe in the scientific method. I come to
you, as some of its most famous practitioners. If anything can be
done--and I do not know if it can--then you are the scientific team that
can do it. If you can do nothing, then San Luz will die, violently,
under Vulcan's hammer!"