Never until the crack of doom might they hear such another report as
that which now fell upon their ears. At almost the same moment, in a
comminglement of smoke and fire, a huge dark object was seen to be
carried high into the air, probably even a mile high. It then took a
westerly direction, and came towards the Isle of Flowers, getting larger
every second, till it descended into the sea, end on, and not two miles
away. It was seen to be a gigantic rock, perhaps many, many acres in
extent.
The waters now rose on every side, the noise was deafening; then in,
landwards, sped a huge bore, breaker, or wave, call it what you please,
but darkness almost enveloped it, and from this thunders roared and
zigzag lightning flashed as it dashed onwards to the island shore. The
men they had left behind had speedily climbed the rocks behind the camp,
for although the wave did not reach so high, the spray itself would have
suffocated them, had they not looked out for safety.
It was an awful moment. But the wave receded at last, and the sea was
once more calm. Only a new island had been formed by the fall of the
rock into the ocean's coral depths, and for a time the thunder and
lightning ceased. Not the volcanic eruptions, however. And but for the
blaze and lurid light of these the enemy's isle, as it was called, must
have been in total darkness. Truly a terrible sight! But our heroes
hurried on.
Just as they had expected, when they reached the Queen's palace they
found poor Miss Hall, and even little Matty--with all her innocent
courage--in a state of great terror. The Queen alone was
self-possessed. She had seen a volcanic eruption before. Ilda was
lying on the couch with her arms round Matty's waist Matty standing by
her side. The child was now seven years of age, and could talk and
think better. Reginald, after kissing Ilda's brow, sat down beside
them, and Matty clambered on his knee.
Meanwhile, the darkness had increased so much that the Queen called upon
her dusky attendants to light the great oil lamp that swung from the
roof. The Queen continued self-possessed, and tried to comfort her
guests.
"It will soon be over," she said. "I am assured of that. My experience
is great."
But Matty refused all consolation.
"I'se never been a very great sinner, has I?" she innocently asked
Reginald, as she clung round his neck.
"Oh, no, darling," he said; "you are too young to be much of a sinner."
"You think God won't be angry, and will take you and me and Ilda and
Queen Bertha straight up to Heaven, clothes and all?"
"My child," said Reginald, "what has put all this into your head?"
"Oh," she answered, "because I know the Day of Judgment has come."
Well, there was some excuse for the little innocent thinking so.
Without the thickest darkness reigned. Dickson and Hall went to the
door, but did not venture out. Scoria was falling, and destroying all
the shrubs and flowers in the beautiful valley. The river was mixed
with boiling lava, and the noise therefrom was like a thousand engines
blowing off steam at one and the same time. Surely never was such loud
and terrible thunder heard before; and the lightning was so vivid and so
incessant that not only did the island itself seem all ablaze, but even
the distant sea. Crimson and blue fire appeared to lick its surface in
all directions.
But the burning mountain itself was the most wondrous sight eyes of man
could look upon. The smoke and steam rose and rolled amidst the play of
lightning miles high apparently. The peak of the mountain itself shot
up a continuous stream of orange-yellow flame, in which here and there
small black spots could be seen--rocks and stones, without a doubt.
But the cone of the great hill itself was marvellously beautiful. For
rivers of lava--Dickson counted nine in all--were rushing down its sides
in a straight course, and these were streams of coloured fire, almost
every one a different hue--deep crimson, green, and blue, and even
orange.
Were it not for the terror of the sight, our heroes would have enjoyed
it. Reginald carried Matty to the door to see the beauty of the burning
mountain. She took one brief glance, then shudderingly held closer to
Reginald's neck.
"Take me back, take me back!" she cried in an agony of fear. "That is
the bad place! Oh, when will God come and take us away?"
All that fearful day and all the following night scoria and ashes
continued to fall, the thunder never ceased, and the lightning was still
incessant. There was no chance now of getting back to camp, and they
trembled to think of what might have taken place.
Towards morning, however, a wondrous change took place. The sky got
clearer, a star or two shone through the rifts of heavy, overhanging
clouds. The fire no longer rose from the mountain, only a thick
balloon-shaped white cloud lay over it. Then the rain began to fall,
and, strangely enough, mingled with the rain, which felt warm, were
gigantic hailstones and pieces of ice as large as six-pound shells.
Then up rose the glorious sun. Like a red ball of fire he certainly
was; but oh, what a welcome sight!
That forenoon, all being now peace and quiet, Dickson and his comrades
determined to march back to camp and ease their minds. After a long and
toilsome journey over the hills, many of which were covered with ashes,
they reached camp, and were glad to find the men alive, and the house
intact. A rampart had been built around the barracks, as Hall called
it, and inside was a large drill-yard.
Dickson served out rum to the men, and they soon were cheerful enough
once more. The guns had been mounted on the walls, and all rifles were
stowed away inside. This was at a suggestion from Hall.
"You never can trust those niggers," he said quietly, shaking his head.
And well it was, as it turned out, that Dickson had taken Mr Hall's
advice.
That same afternoon, about two o'clock, the same savages who had fought
with rifles from the bush against the invaders came hurriedly and
somewhat excitedly into camp. The spokesman, a tall and
splendid-looking native, gesticulated wildly, as he almost shouted in
the officers' ears:
"To-mollow molning dey come! All dis island rise! Dey come to kill and
eat!"
The officers were astonished. What had they done to deserve so terrible
a fate?
"Dey blame you for all. Oh, be plepared to fight. Gib us guns, and we
too will fight plenty much. Foh true!"
A very uneasy night was passed, but the yard and guns had been cleared
of cinders and scoria, the bulwarks strengthened, and before the sun
once more shone red over the sea Dickson was prepared for either battle
or siege. Everyone had been assigned his quarters.
The day was still, hot, and somewhat sultry. Luckily the little
garrison was well provisioned, and the water would last a week or even
longer. Low muttering thunders were still heard in the direction of the
volcano, and sometimes the earth shook and trembled somewhat, but it was
evident that the subterranean fires had burnt themselves out, and it
might be a score of years before another eruption occurred.
It was evident that the savages did not think so. For as long as the
cloud hung over the peak they did not consider themselves safe. About
twelve o'clock that day distant shouts and cries were heard in the
nearest glen, and presently an undisciplined mob of nearly a thousand
howling savages, armed with bows and spears and broad black knives,
appeared on the sands, in their war-paint. It was evidently their
intention to storm the position, and determinedly too. They halted,
however, and seemed to have a hasty consultation. Then a chief boldly
advanced to the ramparts to hold a parley. His speech was a curious
one, and he himself, dressed partly in skins and leaning on a spear like
a weaver's beam, was a strangely wild and romantic figure.
The officers appeared above the ramparts to look and to listen.
"Hear, O white men!" cried the savage chief, in fairly good English;
"'tis you who brought dis evil on us. We now do starve. De rice and de
fruit and de rats and most all wild beasts dey kill or hide demselves.
In de sea all round de fish he die. We soon starve. But we not wish to
fight. You and your men saved us from the foe that came in der big
black war canoe. Den you try to teach us God and good. But we all same
as before now. We must fight, eat and live, if you do not leave the
island. Plenty big canoe take you off. Den de grass and trees and
fruit will grow again, and we shall be happy and flee onct mo'."
"An end to this!" cried Dickson angrily. "Fight as you please, and as
soon as you please. But mind, you will have a devilish hot reception,
and few of you will return to your glens to tell the tale. Away!"
As soon as the chief had returned and communicated to his men the result
of the interview, they shrieked and shouted and danced like demons.
They brandished their spears aloft and rattled them against their
shields. Then, with one continuous maddened howl, they dashed onwards
to scale the ramparts. "Blood! blood!" was their battle cry.
Well knowing that if once they got inside the little garrison would soon
be butchered, Dickson immediately had both guns trained on them. He
himself did so.
"Bang! bang!" they went, and the grape made fearful havoc in the close
and serried ranks of the cannibals. The rifles kept up a withering
fire. Again, and quickly too, the guns were loaded and run out, and
just as the enemy had scaled the brae they were once more met by the
terrible fire, and positively hewn down before it.
Not even savages could stand this. They became demoralised, and fled
incontinently. And they soon disappeared, carrying many of their dead
with them. Far along the beach went they, and as stakes were placed in
the ground, large fires built around them, and one or more of the dead
thrown on each, it was evident that they had made up their minds not to
starve.
One of the blacks was now sent out from the fort to make a circuit round
the hills, and then, mingling with the savages, to find out out what was
their intention.
He returned in a few hours, and while the awful feast was still going
on. A night attack was determined on, and they believed they would
inherit strength and bravery by eating their dead comrades. That was
the scout's report.