but no, Tandy, no, it was nothingbut the lava that fired the forest."
But strangely enough, however, not a sign of human life was anywherevisible.
Was there any way of accounting for this? "What is your theory,Halcott?" said Tandy. Halcott was lying on the green turf, fanninghimself with his broad hat.
But he now lit his pipe. Like most sailors, he was capable of calmerand more concentrated thought when smoking.
"Tandy," he said slowly, after a few whiffs of the too seductiveweed--"Tandy, we have luck on our side. Those blackamoors have fledhelter-skelter at the first signs of the eruption. Nothing in the worldstrikes greater terror to the mind of the ordinary savage--and preciousordinary most of them are--than a sudden convulsion of nature."
Another whiff or two.
"What think you, men," he said, looking round him, "came up with thefire and the smoke from the throat of that volcanic hill?"
"Stones and ashes," ventured Chips.
"Stones and ashes? Yes, no doubt, but demons as well--so the duskyrascals who inhabited this island would believe--demons with fire-fierceeyes, tusks for teeth, and blood-red lolling tongues; only the kind ofdemons that at home nurses try to frighten children with, but moredreadful to those natives than either falling stones or boiling rain.
"That is it, Tandy; they have fled. Heaven grant they may not comeback. But if they do, we must try to give them a warm reception, unlessthey are extra civil. Meanwhile, I think that old Vulcan, at his forgein yonder hill, has not let out his fires. They are merely banked, andhe is ready to get up steam at a moment's notice.
"Why, Tandy, what see you?"
The mate of the _Sea Flower_ was lying flat on the green hill-top, withhis telescope resting on Bob's back.
"I see--I--see," he said, without taking his eye from the glass, "alittle island far away, a level island it is."
"Yes. Go on."
"I see a beach of coral sand, dark canoes like tree-trunks are lyinghere and there, and I see dark figures moving to and fro, and many morearound a fire. The beach is banked behind by waving plantain orbanana-trees, and cocoa palms are nodding in the air."
"Then," said Halcott, "I was right, and those savages you see, Tandy,are the natives of this Island of Gold--for we shall call it the Isle ofMisfortune never again--the very natives, Tandy, who fled from thisplace when Vulcan's thunders began to shake the earth."
Slowly homewards now they took their way, and just as the sun waswestering stood once more upon the coral beach. The boat was speedilysent for them, and they were not sorry to find themselves once more onboard.
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Fine weather continued, with scarcely ever a breath of wind, for a wholeweek. But this could not always be so. The ocean that stretches fromthe shores of South America far across to New Zealand and Australia isPacific by name, but not always pacific by nature, and terrible indeedare the gales and circular storms that sometimes sweep over its surface.
So, knowing this, Halcott and Tandy determined to seek, if possible, asafer anchorage or harbour.
It was with this view that they extended their explorations, and madelittle boat excursions round the rocky coast. These last Nelda, much toher joy, was permitted to join. Looking over the boat's gunwale, fardown into the depths of the clear, transparent water, she could seemarine gardens more lovely than any she had ever dreamt of.
"Oh," she cried, "look, daddy, look! That is fairyland. Oh, I _should_like to go down and see a mermaids' ball."
After rounding the promontory, with its bold, bluff cliffs frowningdarkly over the deep, they came to the entrance to the river.
This river was fed by springs that rose far inland, and so wide was itat its mouth that the mariners hoped it would make a most excellentshelter and harbour for the _Sea Flower_. Alas, greatly to theirdisappointment, they found it barred across.
And no other spot could be found around the island coast.
By paying out the anchors; however, which, getting a firm hold of thecoralline bottom, were almost bound to hold, Halcott believed the _SeaFlower_ could weather almost any storm.
In this he was sadly mistaken, as the sequel will show.
It was determined now to penetrate into the highland part of the isleitself, and make their first grand plunge for gold. If this could befound in sufficient quantities, their stay on the island need be butvery brief.
Book 3--CHAPTER THREE.
"WE SHALL ALWAYS BE BROTHERS NOW--ALWAYS, ALWAYS."
"Just there, Tandy," said Halcott, as the two stood together a day ortwo after on the brink of a rocky chasm, at the bottom of which theriver swept slowly along, dark and deep, because confined by the wet andperpendicular rocks--"just there it was where my friend, my almostbrother, plunged over. He had torn up the bridge, as I told you, tosave us from the black men's axes, and so doing sacrificed his life.Ah, James! poor James!
"See," he added, "the bridge has never yet been repaired."
Then they went slowly and sadly away, for Tandy felt sorry indeed towitness the grief of his companion.
"How he must have loved him!" he thought. But he remained silent.Grief is sometimes far too deep for sympathy.
They saw many little pigs to-day and rabbits also, as well as a speciesof pole-cat. But having still plenty of provisions on board they didnot hamper themselves by making a bag.
Higher up the stream now they went, and after a time found a place thatcould be easily forded, the river meandering through a green andpleasant valley, studded here and there with fragrant shrubs andcarpeted with wild flowers.
Monster butterflies darted from bloom to bloom--as big as painted fansthey were, and radiantly beautiful; but still more beautiful were themany birds seen here and there, especially the kingfishers. So tamewere these that they scarce moved even when the travellers came within ayard of them. Asleep you might have believed them to be till one afteranother, with a half-suppressed scream of excitement, they left theirperches to dive into a pool, so quickly too that they looked like tinystrips of rainbow.
Dinner was partaken of by the side of the stream, and after a time theycrossed the ford.
The country was rough and rolling and well-wooded, though few of thebirds that flitted from bough to bough had any song; they made love insilence.
The beauty of the colours is doubtless granted them for sake of thepreservation of species, for there are lizards large enough here to preyupon them, did the birds not resemble the flowers. Their want of song,too, is a provision of nature for the same purpose.
They found the country through which they passed on their way to thelake so covered with jungle, here and there, that they had to climbhills to save themselves from being lost, having brought no compass withthem.
"Ha! yonder is the lake," cried Halcott; "and now we shall see the placewhere my dear girl and her mother were imprisoned; and, Tandy," headded, "we may find gold."
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Close here, by the green banks of the little lake, and in a grove, muchto their astonishment, they found a canoe.
To all appearance it had been recently used, for there were the marks offeet on the grass, and in the canoe--a black dug-out--were a nativetomahawk, a kind of spear or trident, and fishing-hooks of bone, mostcuriously formed, and evidently only recently used.
"Look to your guns now, lads," said Halcott, "and keep out of sight;that island is inhabited."
Just at that moment, as if in proof of what he said, a slight wreath ofsmoke came curling up through the foliage of a large-leaved banana groveon the tiny island.
A council of war was immediately held. The question to be debated was:should two of their number enter the canoe and row boldly off to thegrass hut, the top of which could be seen peeping grey over the green ofthe trees?
This had been Tom Wilson's proposition. He and Chips, he said, wouldrun the risk. There could not be man
y savages on the island. Withrevolvers in their hands they need not fear to advance under cover ofthe rifles of Captain Halcott and Mr Tandy.
"Poisoned arrows," said Halcott, shaking his head, "speed swiftly from abush. Spears, too, fly fast, and the touch of either means death!
"No, my good fellows, we must think of some other plan. I cannot affordto have you slain. If one or two savages would but appear, we couldmake signs of peace, or hold them up with our rifles."
From his position at this moment Halcott alone commanded a view of theislet, which was barely seventy yards away. The three others weresitting on the edge of the canoe.
"Oh!"
This was a sudden exclamation of half-frightened surprise, and whenTandy looked up, behold! there stood Halcott in a position which seemedto indicate a sudden attack of catalepsy. Halcott's shoulders wereshrugged, his