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The Expedition of Captain Flick: A Story of Adventure

Chapter XXVIII. Science Versus Nature

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Chapter XXVIII. Science Versus Nature.

“With all our knowledge, all our skill,
In bending Nature to our will,
How weak are we when she disdains
To longer wear our feeble chains!
She spurns our bonds, and rises grand,
To rain destruction on the land,
And places underneath her ban
The weakest of her creatures-Man.”

Of course none of us believed in the vengeance of the goddess, or that she could, by the mouth of her servant Basilea, unchain the terrors of the burning mountain. I am aware that such a remark will sound unnecessary in the ears of civilized people; but we were then undergoing such strange experiences among this strange people, that even now, when I set it down, it does not seem unnecessary to me. But the curious part is, that the terrors threatened by the high priestess began on that very night; and it was peculiar, to say the least of it, that the mountain should have verified so speedily the speech of Basilea. One would have thought that Venus actually reigned page 317 in Isk, and possessed the power of using the forces of the smoking hill to enforce the recognition of her divinity. At all events, towards the morning the trouble began, and till dawn we were seized with no small degree of panic. I write the word advisedly, and I challenge all who read this to scoff at the fears engendered by the convulsion of nature which occurred on that occasion.

We retired to rest, after a short discussion. Flick and Harry both believed that Basilea, blinded by love and jealousy, was prepared to act straight-forwardly. I held a contrary opinion, for the strange smile with which she had agreed to Flick's proposition augured that she intended to play some trick. What the trick might be I knew not, but I went to bed with an uneasy conviction that Basilea had a card to play which would lose us the game. If we did lose it, the result would be anything but pleasant to all on board the yacht.

Towards dawn, as I have said, the trouble began. I was sound asleep, worn out by the fighting of the previous day, and the anxiety consequent on Basilea's visit. Suddenly I was shot clean out of my berth on to the floor, where I landed with a terrific thud. The yacht seemed to be standing on her head, and I felt the heave and swell of giant waves running under her, as though she were battling with the mighty page 318 billows of the Atlantic. I guessed in a minute that we were in the grip of some submarine disturbance, and, without waiting a moment, I ran out into the saloon, and staggered up the companion in my nightgear. Flick was holding on to the weather-rigging, Harry clinging to the mast, both as lightly clad as I was; but the yacht was see-sawing and rolling as though she was in the midst of breakers. Nor was this all: overhead spread a strange red light from horizon to zenith, and from the mountain black wreaths of smoke coiled rapidly up to the lurid sky, blotting out the stars.

“Another earthquake,” gasped Flick, as I plunged forward; “the boat's kicking properly. Hold on, Evans; here's another.”

The yacht soared lightly on the ridge of a smooth billow, which, sweeping under her keel, slid into the gloom, and crashed like thunder against the steep sides of the cliffs. Jenner, with some of the men, came forward, looking rather afraid; but they were compelled to grip any support that was handy, to prevent themselves being dashed about the deck. Our boat twisted and kicked and turned like an eel, and the glow in the sky shed a ghastly light into the cup, which added to the horrors of the scene. We could hear the negroes yelling on shore, and saw lights flitting rapidly through the streets of Awazil. page 319 From the temple came a strain of music. Doubtless Basilea and her priestesses were imploring the favour of the goddess.

“It's the dawn,” cried Harry, pointing aloft to the red glow.

“Whoever saw the dawn in the west, you fool?” growled Flick. “It's the reflection from the burning mountain. I hope the island isn't going down.”

Even as he spoke there came a strange booming sound from the far distance. It was like the roaring of billows on a rocky coast, and thereupon the yacht again began to kick. The waters of the pool glimmered white, for the same change had taken place in them as on a former occasion. We were spinning like a top in a milky sea, that heaved and rolled in smooth and foamless waves. The motion made me sick.

Still the roaring went on in the distance. Then began a series of crashes like thunder, which echoed and re-echoed in the hollow. At first it resembled the fall of a walled town; afterwards there followed a ripping and rending to which I can put no name, and, shut up in the boat, we spun and plunged, in the lurid gloom, till I thought I should have gone distracted. In the intervals of the crashing we could hear the howls of the negroes, and fitful snatches of the chants from the temple. Basilea and her maidens page 320 held firmly to their task, but their orisons were worse than useless.

In the pandemonium of noise I still clung to the taffrail, thinking of Bertha. Should I ever see her again? Would she on land, and I at sea, be at once overwhelmed in this volcanic convulsion? I had no time to answer these questions, and very speedily I could scarcely think at all, for the continuous motion turned me deadly sick, and a sudden thickening in the atmosphere made my head ache like to split.

I never passed so frightful a night. I trust that I am not a coward, but the thought of Bertha shut up in the temple, and the belief that the yacht might at any moment go down into the milky sea, made me afraid. All the long hours, while the boat pitched and twisted, and the booming, crashing, and ripping continued, and the red glow deepened in the zenith, I prayed for the dawn that we might see what was going on. All of us, without exception, thought that Isk was sinking amid the fearful convulsion of nature.

At dawn the noises ceased as suddenly as they had begun, and the pool relapsed into its ordinary stillness. Also the red glare died out of the sky, so I presumed that the molten lava which had caused the reflection had sunk back into the entrails of the mountain. A thick column of smoke still rolled page 321 upward, but the earth trembled no more, and our boat lay placidly on the glossy surface of the milky water—for it was still milky, as the sediment stirred up by the convulsion took some time to settle down again. Not a negro could we see on the quay, but the terraces and staircase of the temple were black with a dense multitude who were getting as close to the fane as possible, thinking, I presume, that the goddess would protect them from harm. Others were in the town, for therefrom we heard wailings at intervals. As the dawn slowly broadened, and the light spread over the sky, we found that all was quiet for the moment, and looked at each other with relief on our haggard faces.

“Something has gone wrong with the island,” said Flick, as we sat at breakfast. “I guess we had better get the boat out to-day. I've told the men as much, and they are all delighted.”

“Same here,” said Harry, with a nod; “but what about Myrtea and Bertha?”

“We must go up to the temple and get them given up by Basilea,” said I, decidedly; “we can't possibly leave the pool unless they are on board.”

“Basilea won't give up the statue now, Flick,” observed Harry. “You know the prophecy, that if the statue leaves Isk, the island will sink. After this racket she'll think twice before she parts with it.”

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“I don't fancy she is superstitious.”

“Last night would make any one superstitious,” said I with a shudder; “it was more like the day of judgment than anything else. Let us get the girls aboard, Flick, and leave the island.”

“We will do so shortly,” he answered, rising; “but first I'm going to berth off the town.”

“What for?”

“I wish to climb the ridge, and look at the plain, Sir Denis. After that awful convulsion of last night I wouldn't be surprised to find some change.”

We agreed to this, and returned to the deck. Our men, who were looking apprehensively from the milky pool to the ominous smoke of the mountain, were greatly relieved to be assured once more than we were shortly about to leave the island. I believe there would have been a mutiny, had not the skipper given this promise. Flick intended to move towards Awazil, and see from the ridge if any change had taken place in the formation of the island; afterwards he arranged to visit the chasm and blow up the gates, so that our boat could pass through. This done, we designed to seek the temple and demand Bertha and Myrtea. If Basilea refused to give them up willingly, we would take them by force. This was our programme, but it was altered by unforeseen circumstances.

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In the spectral light of the morning, the yacht crept across the pool, and lay off shore, almost at the foot of the royal road. Here she swung at anchor a hundred yards away from the land, for although Flick believed that the negroes would not harm us until Basilea gave the signal, he was too wise a man not to take precautions. He preferred to remain on board himself, and sent Harry, myself, and a dozen men in the boat. We were all well armed, and walked warily up the road, looking for any lurking foe. But our fears were unfounded, for the negroes kept in their houses, and were too dominated by terror to think of attacking us. In safety we arrived at the swell of the ridge, and then the sight which met our eyes was so appalling that we were stricken dumb, and could only stare before us, amazed and filled with wondering alarm. The scene was one which was well calculated to astonish us.

Instead of a rich and fertile plain, covered with cornlands and forests; instead of the long palm avenue, and the glittering glory of the king's palace; instead of distant hills, of winding streams, we now beheld nothing but a broad waste of water. The convulsions of the mountain had undermined plains and hills; the subterranean forces had done their dread work, and the limitless ocean rolled its waves over the lands, as it had done thousands of years before, page 324 ere Isk was called up from the depths. The turbid grey waters rolled to the very foot of the ridge, and only that slender bar of ground now divided the pool from the ocean. At least half the island had been submerged, and I dreaded to think how many villages and human beings had gone down in that terrible night. The catastrophe on so large a scale appalled us all, and struck a chill to the heart of each. We seemed to behold our own fate in that wondrous transformation.

With one consent we ran down the royal road, sprang into the boat, and rejoined the yacht. Flick looked at us in astonishment when we told our story, and then his face went white with horror.

“Great God!” he said, glancing at the volcano; “the whole east side of the island down? It's incredible!”

“Go and see for yourself, Flick!” gasped Harry, with an effort. “There is nothing to be seen but water; only the ridge divides it from this pool. The king's palace, the king himself, is down in the depths. It will be our fate shortly.”

“For God's sake, let us get out of this hellish place!” I cried, and the men echoed my request. We were all sufficiently brave for ordinary matters, but this terrific convulsion of Nature turned us cold with fear. We could do nothing against the titanic forces of the Great Mother.

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“We'll get,” cried Flick, making up his mind on the spot, “the chasm first, the temple afterwards We'll be outside in three hours, lads. Steam her for the gap, Jenner, and explode the mine.”

The men flew to their posts, and in less time than it takes to write, the yacht was moving towards the chasm. I glanced back, and saw that the people on terraces and staircase were staring at our boat moving over the white surface of the pool. Flick steered himself, and with the utmost dexterity manoeuvred the yacht, so that she glided close to the shelf of rocks, whereon were arranged the electric wires communicating with the mine under the iron gates. Thence the chasm bent inward for some distance, until it widened out into a straight passage towards the sea; so that there was no danger of the yacht being hurt by the explosion, however terrific it might be. When we were close by the shelf, up to which came deep water, sufficient for the yacht to swim in, Jenner dropped over the side, and went to work on the wires. In a few moments there was a frightful explosion, which crashed like thunder in the hollow of the chasm; then silence. We could hear the yells of the negroes, who evidently thought the volcano had recommenced its pranks; and even at that distance I noted that the mass of humanity heaved convulsively right up the staircase from quay page 326 to temple. Flick took no notice of the shouts, but ordered a boat out, that he might enter the chasm and see if the gates were sufficiently shattered to enable us to pass through. Harry and I saw the boat disappear into the narrow pass, propelled by the stalwart arms of four seamen, with Flick steering, and waited for his return to report that the passage was clear. Then we would go to the temple, force Basilea to yield up Bertha and Myrtea, and get away from the accursed isle as speedily as the screws of the Carmen could take us.

In half an hour the boat emerged from the gulch, and came alongside. Flick leaped on deck, while the men swung the craft up. There was that on his face which made Harry and I start. He was white, and in his eyes there was a look of terror. Never did I see so fearless a man as Flick so moved.

“What is up?” I cried, stepping forward. “Is the chasm clear? Can we get out?”

“We shall never get out,” replied Flick, with a hollow groan. “The explosion has loosened the rocks above the gates, and caused them to block up the passage in their fall. We are shut up in this pool for ever!”