The Island Queen Part 25

"No, no--not saa'pints. Long beasts, like mans, only hims not stand and walk, but lie down and crawl."

Much impressed with the child's eager manner, the Irishman hurried towards the point of rocks, filled with curiosity as to what the creatures could be.

"What sort o' hids have they, darlint?" he asked, as he neared the point.

"Hids same as mans, and faces like you, but more uglier, all scratched over, an' dey try to catch me, but me runned away."

Teddy Malone's. .h.i.therto obtuse faculties were awakened. He stopped suddenly, being by that time convinced that he stood unarmed within spear-throw of savages in ambush. To advance, supposing his conjecture to be right, he knew would be certain death. To turn and fly would probably be the same, for naked savages could easily overtake him even if unburdened with Brown-eyes, whom, of course, he could not forsake, and he was too far from the settlement to shout an alarm.

Perspiration burst from poor Teddy's brow, for even delay, he knew, would be fatal, as the savages would suspect him of having discovered them.

Suddenly he put Brown-eyes down on the sand, and, twisting his figure into a comical position, began to hop like a frog. His device had the desired effect; Brown-eyes burst into a hearty fit of laughter, forgot for the moment the "funny beasts," and cried, "Do it agin!"

The poor man did it again, thinking intensely all the time what he should do next.

"Would you like to see me dance, darlint?" he asked suddenly.

"Oh yis!"

Thereupon Teddy Malone began to dance an Irish jig to his own whistling, although, being much agitated, he found it no easy matter to whistle in tune or time, but that was unimportant. As he danced he took care to back in a homeward direction. The child naturally followed. Thus, by slow degrees, he got beyond what he considered spear-throw, and feeling boldness return with security, he caught the child up and danced with her on his shoulder. Then he set her down, and pretended to chase her.

He even went the length of chasing her a little way in the wrong direction, in order to throw the savages more completely off their guard. By degrees he got near to the settlement, and there was met by Otto.

"You seem jolly to-day, Ted," said the boy.

"Whist, lad," returned the other, without intermitting his exercise.

"Look as if ye was admirin' me. There's lot of them tattooed monkeys-- savages--beyant the pint. They don't know I've found it out. Slink up an' gather the boys, an' look alive. I'll amuse 'em here till you come back. An' I say, don't forgit to bring me revolver an' cutlash."

"All right," was Otto's brief reply, as he sauntered slowly up towards the bushes. No sooner was he screened by these, however, than he ran like a hare to the palace.

"Halloo! Dom, Joe, Hugh--all of you--the savages again! Arm--quick!"

It needed no urging to hasten the movements of all who heard the boy's voice. Ever since the first appearance of the savages Dominick and the doctor had put all the men of the settlement under daily training in drill for an hour or so, that they might be better able to act promptly and in concert if occasion should again occur. The arms had been collected, and such of them as were not in use stored in a handy position, so that in two minutes an armed company was proceeding at a run towards the spot on the sh.o.r.e where Malone was still performing his antics, to the inexpressible delight of Brown-eyes.

"Where are the spalpeens?" asked the widow Lynch, who had followed the men.

"Beyant the rocks, mother," answered Malone, as he received his weapons from Otto and fell into his place in the ranks; "ye'd as well take the child home, or she'll be sure to follow--she's nigh as wild as yerself."

The widow was indeed fond of seeing, as she used to say, "all the fun that was goin'," but on this occasion she consented to carry Brown-eyes out of danger while the settlers moved at a quick step towards the point.

Behind that point of rocks a band of savages lay concealed, as Malone had rightly conjectured. There were about forty of them, all armed with clubs and spears, evidently bent on attacking the settlement. Of course they meant to do it by surprise, and had concealed themselves among the bushes behind the point, where they probably would have lain till nightfall if Brown-eyes in her wanderings had not discovered them.

Their chief would have instantly caught and silenced the poor child, had she not run so far clear of the point that he would infallibly have revealed himself to Teddy Malone in doing so.

When that worthy drew near to the rocks, as described, the chief got ready a spear for his reception. When Malone took to dancing, the chief condescended to smile, or grin, hideously. When he retreated out of range the chief consoled himself with the reflection that it was just as well, night being the best time for attack. When, however, he beheld a band of men moving towards him armed with the terrible things that "spouted smoke, fire, and stones," a change came over the spirit of his dream. After a hasty consultation with his comrades, he glided off in the direction of their canoe. The rest followed, and when our settlers at last turned the point, they saw the foe paddling at full speed across the lagoon.

Firing a volley of disappointment after them, both in words and bullets, they ran to their boats and gave chase, but, as on the former occasion, the canoe proved too swift for the boats under oars, and the savages got away.

The anxiety that naturally filled the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of Queen Pauline and her councillors at this event was speedily forgotten in a recurrence of the earthquake which had previously alarmed them so much.

It happened on a calm, bright morning, when the widow Lynch chanced to be washing garments in the palace beside the queen. You see they had not much regard for state-ceremonial or etiquette at the court of Pauline the First even in public, much less in private, so that, while the widow was deep in the washtub at one end of the hall, the queen was busy at the other end patching Otto's garments.

At first there occurred a slight trembling of the earth, which the widow, attributing to giddiness in her own cranium, recognised with a remonstrative "Ohone!"

"Did you feel _that_?" exclaimed Pauline, pausing in her work and looking up with a slight feeling of alarm.

"_What_, dearie?" demanded the widow, clearing the soap-suds from her red roly-poly arms.

Before Pauline could answer, the earthquake took the liberty of reply by giving an abrupt shake to the whole island, which not only set chairs and tables rocking in an alarming manner, but drove the entire population from their houses in consternation. Among other effects it caused Mrs Lynch to stagger and catch hold of the washtub, which, far from supporting her, let her fall to the ground, and fell on the top of her.

To most of the settlers the sensation of a trembling earth was quite new and exceedingly alarming. They stopped abruptly after the first rush, and then looked about with pale faces, not knowing what to do. Malines, however, was cool and collected. He had been in various volcanic regions of the world, and undertook to comfort them.

"Don't be afraid," he said, when the most of the people had gathered round him. "I've often seen this sort o' thing, on the coast o' South America and among the Malay Islands. It pa.s.ses away after a while, and often without doin' much damage--though I _have_ seen a town shook almost to pieces in about five minutes."

"And what did they do?" asked Jabez Jenkins.

"Och, whirri-hoo!" shouted Teddy Malone, for at that moment another shock was felt, more violent than the preceding. The earth seemed absolutely to roll, and one or two of the huts that had been carelessly built, fell asunder in partial ruin.

"Where is my brother--and the doctor?" demanded Pauline, running up to the group at the moment.

"They're away up the mountain, with Joe and Otto," answered little Buxley; "I saw 'em start soon after daybreak--to explore, they said."

"What do you think should be done?" asked Pina, turning naturally to the mate, as being the most intelligent of those around her.

"If it's goin' to be bad," said Malines, "I would advise you all to git on board the ship as fast as ye can, for the land isn't so safe as the water when it takes to quakin'."

"You seem to have had some experience of it. Is it going to be bad, think you?"

"Earthquakes are deceptive--no man can tell."

"Well, then, we must do our best at once," said the queen, with an air of calm decision worthy of her rank. "Go, Mr Malines, with your sailors, and get all the boats ready. And you, my people, carry down what you esteem most valuable and get on board the ship without loss of time--for the rest, we are in the hands of a loving and merciful G.o.d."

While these events were enacting on the sh.o.r.e, Dominick, Otto, the doctor, and Joe Binney were seated near the summit of the highest peak, enjoying a cold breakfast. It was their first visit to that particular peak, which had a slight hollow or basin of perhaps fifty feet diameter in the centre.

Just before the first tremulous shock the doctor had been explaining to the prime minister the nature of volcanoes, and stating his opinion that the cup-like hollow before them was an extinct crater. The slight shock stopped him in his discourse, and caused the party to look at each other with serious faces.

"It's not extinct yet," exclaimed Otto excitedly, pointing to the hollow, the earth of which had suddenly cracked in several places and was emitting puffs of sulphurous smoke and steam.

They all started up.

"We'd better hasten home," said Dominick.

"Yes--they'll be terribly scared," said the doctor, hastily beginning to pack up the remains of their breakfast.

But, before this could be done, the second convulsion took place.

Violent trembling occurred for a few seconds; then the ground in the old crater burst open, and, with a terrible explosion, fire and smoke belched forth, sending huge fragments of rock and showers of ashes into the air, which latter fell around the explorers in all directions-- fortunately without doing them injury.

They waited no longer. Without even uttering a word they all turned and ran down the hill at full speed. Being a considerable distance from the settlement, it was upwards of an hour before they arrived. By that time most of the women and children had been sent off to the ship. Pauline, however, had remained on sh.o.r.e to direct and encourage the rest, as well as to await the return of her brothers.

"Right--right--you couldn't have done better," said Dominick, when Pauline hastily explained how she had acted.