UNEXPECTED.
With that cry from Harry Glenville was mingled the despairing scream
of the young girl.
The two savages holding her, had swung her forward with great impetus
to fling her into the red gulf, when a wild form suddenly came
bounding forward from the summit of an overhanging rock, snatched the
girl from their arms and made off with her with deer-like speed.
To explain this, it must be remembered that the gaze of all the
savages present, had been concentrated upon the two intended victims,
so that they had known nothing of the approach of the intruder, who,
it need scarcely be told, was the singular island guide.
This person, probably from his greater familiarity with the mountain
paths, had distanced his pursuers who, like Harry Glenville and Turk,
soon became puzzled as to their course, and thus lost track of the
fugitive.
Coming upon the fearful scene near the fire chasm, the strong man had
found it easy to leap from his position, snatch the girl from the
already relaxed grasp of her tormentors, and make considerable headway
before the natives could recover sufficiently from their surprise to
start in pursuit.
So astonished were all that the two who held Captain Brand, allowed
the latter to disengage himself from their grasp and make off at a
speed accelerated to almost incredible swiftness by his fears.
The course taken by Brand led him at right angles with that followed
by the stranger, so that the pursuers were obliged to separate.
This separation gave the fugitives an advantage, especially the
strange guide, who seemed familiar with every nook and corner of the
mountain.
On he went, seeming to carry his burden with a strength probably
caused by some powerful excitement, although his gray hair, streaming
back from under the broad leaf, partially concealing his face,
proclaimed his advanced years.
Finally, however, he began to stagger beneath his burden, which, it
was evident, was too much for him.
Seemingly bent, however, upon gaining some particular point, he kept
on until he came to a small, dark hollow, between a number of jagged
rocks, where he crawled therein.
"Hist!" he muttered, as the young girl opened her mouth, apparently on
the point of speaking. "Not a word! I have my money! money! money!" he
added, in the same penetrating whisper, as he thrust his hand in his
pocket and felt the jingling bag.
The man had been mistaken about Mary's wishing to speak.
The poor girl's eyes were closed, her cheek as white as marble. She
had fainted at the moment when the natives were at the point of
flinging her to her destruction.
Seemingly unaware of this circumstance, her preserver, crouching down
without again looking at her, listened intently, probably for the
steps of his pursuers.
These steps, drawing nearer, finally went past.
The fugitive had served the natives a trick. Unseen by them, owing to
an intruding point of rock, when he crawled into the small cave, they
had passed him, believing he had gone on, far ahead.
He waited full a quarter of an hour, then, emerging, continued on.
At a place where two narrow paths diverged, he came upon Brand,
crouching in the angle of a rock.
Here the light was indistinct.
"Who are you who have saved this girl?" inquired the captain, coming
forward.
"Don't question me," answered the other, "but help me with this girl."
Brand started as suddenly. Then, recovering his self-possession,
although trembling in every limb, he complied with the request.
"My money--my money--ha! ha! I _have that_ safe!" muttered the
stranger, as they proceeded.
"Your _what_?" gasped Brand, fairly turning as white as the senseless
girl.
"My money," was the answer--"all safe!"
On they went, following a path which led them by the tunnel through
which Harry and Turk had previously passed, from which they were
emerging at this very moment.
Brand started back.
"You safe?" he exclaimed, staring at Harry, as if at a ghost.
"Ay," answered the young man.
Then he sprang to the side of the unconscious girl, peering down upon
her still face.
"Not dead! not dead!" he cried, wildly.
Even as he spoke, the girl opened her eyes.
In the faint light they gleamed like stars, as they fell upon her
lover's face.
"Harry!" she exclaimed.
In an instant she was on her feet, supported by her friends until she
had fully regained her balance.
Then explanations followed.
"And who, my friend, are you who have thus benefitted us?" inquired
Harry, now turning to grasp the hand of the stranger.
The latter, however, was nowhere to be seen.
"That chap I should sartinly take for the devil, do you see, if it
'twan't that I couldn't neither see his caudal cumpendage, nor account
for his savin' the gal, which no devil, I take it, would have done."
Meanwhile, words may not express the joy of the lovers at their
reunion. Mary had firmly believed that Harry was dashed to pieces when
Brand let go of the rope.
Alluding to this, Turk now said:
"How came you to do sich a trick, captain?"
The latter turned aside his head, trembling like an aspen as he
recalled to mind the apparition he had seen among the trees.
"Accidents will happen," he said, in a husky voice.
"Well," continued Turk, "now that we have so far got clear of them
infarnal blackskins, I trust and hope that we may contrive to get away
from the island without seein' 'em, or, at any rate, before we are
swallowed up in fire!"
At that moment, far ahead of them, they beheld the stranger, his face
still screened by the broad leaf, beckoning to them.
So he had not deserted them, after all.
"We'd better follow him," said Turk, "as he seems to know every part
of this island. To my thinkin', he'll get us out of this scrape, if
it's possible to get out!"
The advice was followed.
The strange guide led the party along the narrow path with great
celerity, until they finally arrived at the foot of the cliff.
By this time the whole island presented an appearance at once, wild
and fearful.
The showers of fire from the mountain were increased ten-fold; the
island rocked like a cradle. Every part of it seemed lighted with a
ghastly radiance. A red mist hovered over it rolling along, volume
upon volume.
Near the beach the water was seen breaking into thousands of bubbles,
while further beyond it was dashed to a foam.
Meanwhile the noises of shock following shock were become terrific.
A whole pack of artillery seemed to burst and boom, volley upon
volley, beneath the quaking soil!
Suddenly there was a shock as of many thunderbolts, from the direction
of the mountain, which was now seen split, apparently from top to
bottom, into a great chasm, from which in great quantities burst forth
streams of lava and long forked tongues of lurid flame.
The island was now as light as day. Far and near objects could be
plainly distinguished, while overhead showers of flying sparks almost
obscured the sky!
In the red glare, the forms of savages were now seen making all haste
to descend the tottering cliff!
Appalled by the impending fate of the island, all the natives who had
been left below, were seen at a distance beckoning to their companions
to make haste.
The white people now were nearer the canoe than the savages themselves.
"Come!" screamed the guide, as he made towards the light vessel.
"Come!"
He beckoned, as he spoke, to the young girl and the seamen, all of
whom made haste to follow him.
The savages below, now, for the first time, caught sight of the white
party, and made for them with great swiftness, yelling and brandishing
their spears.
"There's sartinly no time to lose," exclaimed Turk, as he assisted his
friend to help Mary along; "if them blackskins get at us now, they'll
make sure work of it by pinning us to the ground."
The party hurried on.
They reached the canoe, while the islanders were yet forty yards
distant, when, springing in, all the men seized paddles and went to
work.
Spear after spear was hurled at them before they had gone more than a
few fathoms from the beach.
One of these missiles severed a lock from Mary's head, another grazed
the shoulder of her lover.
"Quick!" shrieked Turk, "if we don't get away from here in a minute,
we'll all be swallered in fire and water!"
This, in fact, seemed evident. The bubbles increased on the surface.
The surges rolled wildly, swaying hither and thither--the booming
thunder underground was become deafening.
Glancing towards the islanders, these unfortunates were seen running
towards the raft, and then flocking up on it with all possible
dispatch, while filling the air with dismal, howling cries.
"God help the poor wretches!" cried Mary.
"Paddle ahead, paddle for life!" screamed Turk, as the cliff, with a
din as if the very earth were being rent in twain, tumbled to pieces,
rock upon rock, apparently drowned in a sea of fire, amid which the
forms of the doomed natives on the cliff were also seen to disappear.
Sky air and sea looked as if aflame.
The whole universe seemed to rock and tremble.
The crimson waves rose high around the frail canoe; while the raft
nearer to the beach, was at once engulphed with its living freight.
"God help us!" cried Mary.
"We are lost!" shouted Brand, shutting out the fearful aspect of sea
and heaven, by putting a hand to his eyes.
"Hush!" said Harry, sternly, "I trust we may escape."
All round the island the waves were now seen trembling in great
colliding, clashing walls of hissing boiling water.
From these walls streams of fire, like lightning flashes, shot
continually upward.
The air was still full of flying sparks, and of lava stones which
dropped in showers into the water.
For full half an hour the commotion continued, when, suddenly, the
doomed island disappeared forever, while the agitated waves continued
to bubble and boil long afterwards, over the spot where it had existed.
Gradually the fearful red lustre of sky and sea died away. A gloom,
appalling from its strange suddenness, fell upon the sea.
The canoe with its occupants floated in darkness upon the agitated
waters.