Edward Stratemeyer

“ The negro had a bit of court-plaster on his forehead and one side of his jaw seemed slightly swollen.
“It looks to me as if January had been in a fight,” remarked Sam, when the crowd found itself on deck. “Do you imagine that brute of a captain attacked him?”
“I shouldn’t be surprised,” returned Mark. “He is a very easy-going, mild-mannered darkey, and a fellow like Captain Sudlip would just take pleasure in brow-beating him.”
“But isn’t it against the marine rules to strike a man like that?” questioned Frank.
“I guess captains often take the law into their own hands,” said Darry. ”

“ THE ERUPTION OF MONT PELEE
To those on board of the Vendee the hours dragged along dismally. Neither Sam nor Darry knew what to do, and Professor Strong was equally perplexed. The only person who was not deeply affected was Hockley.
“It’s too bad,” he said to Sam. “But it couldn’t be helped, and we’ve got to make the best of it.”
“You have never known what it is to have a real chum, Glummy,” retorted Sam. “If you had one, and he was taken off as Frank and Mark have been, you wouldn’t talk in this fashion. It’s dreadful to think they have been drowned.” ”

“ In the meantime the center fielder was racing after the ball like mad. He caught it up just as the runner was leaving third for the home plate and threw it to the catcher with all his strength. But it fell short of its mark and was captured by the pitcher, who whirled around and delivered it home just as the runner slid in amid a cloud of dust and a yelling which could be heard for half a mile. Then those close by saw the catcher leap for the ball, capture it in one hand and fall in a heap on top of the man who had slid in to victory. ”

“ In the meantime Darry was not idle. From a stateroom he obtained a large basin of water. Then he hunted up a couple of cheap glass tumblers and placed them in the foot of an old sock. Thus armed he crept to Hockley’s door. It was unfastened, and the snoring of the lank youth told him that the time was ripe for what he intended to do.
Bang! the door flew open with a crash, arousing Hockley on the instant. As he sat up in the berth a dash of water landed on his head and ran down his spinal column. Then came a crash of glass that made him jump.
“All hands on deck!” he heard a hoarse voice cry. ”

“ Without delay Sam and Darry joined him. Hockley remained in the cabin, wringing his hands in despair, afraid to remain alone and equally afraid to go outside, where the patches of fire still filled the air.
“Boys, you had better keep under shelter,” panted Professor Strong, as he worked away vigorously, not only with the water bucket but also with a wet swab he had discovered. “This is highly dangerous, and——”
“No more so for us than for you,” interrupted Sam. “It’s our duty to do all we can.”
“Creation! but this is awful!” panted Darry, as he too began to fight the flames with another bucket. ”

“ Let me say flatly that I do not approve of gambling in any form, and the person who gambles and loses his money deserves no sympathy. It is a poor way in which to waste valuable time, and money won at gambling rarely does the winner any good. It is generally a case of “easy come and easy go,” and with the coming and going the player loses a self-respect which is hard to regain.
When the last game was played Hockley sat back in a dazed, blank way. He had lost it all—every dollar had passed into the hands of J. Rutherford Brown. ”

“ In the street the wreckage lay five or six feet deep, and over all was the mud and lava dust, still hot. The boys’ feet were uncomfortably warm and looking at their shoes they found that the soles were seared as by a hot iron.
There was no sign of life about the hotel. In one of the windows hung the half doubled up body of a man, burnt beyond all possible recognition. As the lads gazed at it a shiver passed over them impossible to suppress. ”

“ Letters from home are always welcome, and doubly so when one has been out of reach of the mail for a long time. As Professor Strong held up nearly a dozen written communications, the lads fairly pounced upon them, and for the time being the newspapers were forgotten.
“Here’s one for Mark and two for Frank,” cried Darry. “Where is mine?”
“Here you are,” said Frank, holding out three. “And here is one for you, Jake.”
“And here’s another for Jake,” added Sam. “And two for myself.”
“No, boys, these two are my own!” laughed Professor Strong, holding them back. ”

“ In the midst of the excitement Hockley appeared. He saw that this was no “fake” sinking, and his face was pale with terror as he clung first to Sam and then to Darry.
“It’s awful!” he wailed. “What shall we do? [250] Where are the life preservers? Where is the professor? Why don’t he order out a boat to save us? How far do you suppose we are from land? Oh, I know I can’t swim in such a sea!” And he shook like a leaf.
“We are not going down yet, Jake,” answered Sam. “The professor is looking for Mark and Frank. ”

“ The air seemed to grow more suffocating as they drew nearer to the volcano.
“It is the gas,” said Professor Strong. “I think we had better go back.” And he shook his head doubtfully.
“There are the ruins of a village!” exclaimed Sam, pointing to a hill on their left. “That must be Frodamalos.”
Without replying Mark led the way toward the spot pointed out. They had to cross a bed of lava and mud that was still warm, and then leap a wide ravine before they could get close to the wreckage of huts and houses.
“Not a person in sight, nor a dead body,” remarked Frank, as they gazed about them. ”

“ The Roraima had been caught with twenty-one passengers and a crew of forty-seven on board, and of that number less than a third were saved and many of these were horribly crippled for life.
“Another ship! A man-of-war!” cried Frank, and he was right. Close at hand was the big warship, the Suchet, sent north once more from Fort de France to investigate the happenings of St. Pierre. The captain of the warship had just taken on board the survivors from the Roraima, and now a hail was sent to our friends and they too were assisted to the deck. ”

“ The game was won!
“Hurrah for Mark!” Frank fairly screamed, and made a wild leap into the field, followed by Sam and Darry, and even the professor, and in another moment the enclosure was black with people. All the Americans were shouting loudly, while the Cubans had but little to say.
“He must be a first-class professional,” said one Cuban.
“Nothing of the kind,” retorted Frank, who heard the remark. “He is only an academy player. He never played on a professional team in his life.” ”

“ The mails in Venezuela are mighty slow, especially now when there is another revolution on.”
“Oh, I don’t believe this one-horse revolution will have anything to do with the mails,” put in a third boy, as he joined his chums, who were lounging in the hallway of a spacious hotel in Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela. “They have them too often, you know.”
“Hush, don’t call it a one-horse revolution, Beans,” returned Darry Crane, in a warning voice. “The people who live here think it’s just as important [2] as any revolution that ever was—and it probably is, to them.” ”

“ One man went out on strikes and the next on a foul. Then came the third, a heavy-set fellow, who “lined it out” straight for the pitcher.
It was a “hot” ball, far too hot for that pitcher [135] to take, even in a last inning, and he hardly made a move for it. But Mark made a leap, and almost before the spectators realized what was up, he held the sphere in his left hand and the umpire had called “out!”
“Hurrah!” yelled Frank. “That’s the stuff!” And the others followed in a cheer, while Professor Strong’s face wore a broad smile. This game of ball made him feel a good deal like a boy again. ”

“ The hissing was followed by a roar as of an explosion and before they could realize it the cabin began to fill with steam.
“Gracious, the boiler must have burst!” ejaculated Mark.
“Boiler burst!” came from the others.
“We had better get out on deck, boys!” called Professor Strong. “Something is certainly very much wrong.” ”

“ A “pop” fly had been knocked across the diamond but the second baseman failed to hold it. As it was a clear muff some in the crowd groaned, at which the baseman looked more disconcerted than ever.
“Don’t groan or hiss,” said Professor Strong. “Every player is bound to miss it sometime. That baseman did very well before. And he acts to me as if he was sick. I’ve seen him holding his stomach several times.”
The Roosevelts now came to the bat with a score of 6 to 5 against them. The first player up was put out on strikes and the second on a foul tip. ”

“ The captain had thought best to lay to, thinking the lumber schooner might need assistance. The other craft was not far away and soon they came within hailing distance of each other. The lumber boat [253] flew the Dutch flag and proved to be bound from Saba to Curaçao.
“I have lost a large quantity of lumber!” roared the Dutch skipper, wrathfully. “I shall hold you responsible in law for it!”
“Have you seen anything of two boys?” questioned Captain Danvier. “We have lost them.”
“No, I have seen no boys. Have you seen a man? We lost one of our sailors in that smash.” ”

“ Professor, are there such snakes in the West Indies?”
“I never heard of any, Jacob. But they have poisonous reptiles, such as are to be found in all tropical climates.”
“Well, I won’t care so much for them, if they aren’t six or seven yards long,” grumbled the tall youth.
“That’s Glummy all over,” whispered Frank to Darry. “Every time he speaks of that constrictor he tacks a yard or two on to the length.”
“Never mind—it’s only a snake story, you know,” returned light-hearted Darry. “They don’t count, [9] for nobody believes them. ”

“ One cheek was bleeding from a long cut and his left arm hung limply at his side.
“It is Dan Markel!” ejaculated Darry. “Dan Markel, the fellow who once swindled Hockley!”
The crowd around the man was yelling fiercely and striking at every available opportunity. Dan Markel was yelling in return, but nobody appeared to listen to him.
[321] “We must do something, or he’ll surely be killed,” said Frank.
By this time Professor Strong was close to the crowd. “Stop!” he called out, in French. “Stop! What does this mean?”
“He is a rascal!” said one native, wrathfully. “He is not fit to live!” ”

“ A gentle breeze was blowing into the valley from the mountains, making the ride more delightful than ever, and they visited several plantations in that vicinity.
“This is the best of the weather to be met with in Porto Rico,” observed the professor, as they moved along at a walk, to take in the scenery around them. “For a sick man nothing is better, unless, of course, he needs the bracing air of a high altitude. I think in years to come folks will come here for their health just as they now go to Jamaica and the Bermudas.” ”

“ Having already viewed this scene from the deck of the Vendee we know that there was scant warning of this mighty outburst. From out of the depths of Pelee issued mud, lava, stones, and a gigantic volume of gas that rolled and fell directly down [290] upon the doomed city, cutting off every particle of life-giving air and suffocating and burning wherever it landed. Men, women, and children were struck down where they stood, without being able to do anything to save themselves. ”

“ But the largest volcano in the world is probably Krakatua, situated between the islands of Sumatra and Java, in the East Indies. This volcano was first heard of in 1860, but its greatest outbreak occurred in 1883. At first there was a tremendous column of vapor over the island, which, fortunately, was uninhabited. This increased, and explosion after explosion was heard, each growing louder than the others. These explosions finally got so terrific that they were heard thousands of miles away, and the inhabitants of Java, Sumatra, and other islands in that vicinity were filled with terror. ”

“ While in the caves they had great sport with the echoes, and the guide pointed out to them a spot in which over a hundred Cubans had been imprisoned and starved to death in years gone by, during one of the awful uprisings in that part of the island.
When the boys got back to Matanzas they were glad enough to rest in the patio of the hotel before attempting to re-arrange their toilets and dine. Mark and Frank sank into one hammock and Darry and Sam in another, while Professor Strong rested in an easy chair not far away. ”

“ The professor called a carriage, and soon they were rolling down the broad highway.
“How foolish Hockley is,” whispered Frank to Mark. “He doesn’t know what he is missing. Do you think he’ll really go to bed?”
Mark shrugged his shoulders. “It isn’t likely. He’ll read another trashy novel, I fancy.”
Mark was right, as we already know. But this was not the depth of Hockley’s shortcomings.
The youth had a strong desire to be considered “mannish.” He wanted to follow in the footsteps of certain men he had known and others he had read about. ”

“ And he followed the Cuban to the volante.
“It’s a wonder Hockley didn’t come straight to our hotel if he was hurt,” said Darry. “But it’s just like him. He is as stubborn as an ox when he wants to be.”
In Cuba the volante, or “flyer” is the national carriage. It is a two-seated vehicle, slung on leathern straps between two very high wheels. The shafts are fifteen feet long, and the horses are harnessed tandem, the leader being for the postillion, or driver. It makes a very comfortable turnout and, because of the width from wheel to wheel, such a thing as a volante turning over is unknown. ”

“ The natives, too, were well dressed, even the children wearing shoes and stockings, articles usually lacking at places in the interior.
“Don’t see youngsters half dressed here,” remarked Frank. “It’s awful how they let ’em run around at some villages. They ought to be ashamed.”
“It’s what they have been brought up to, Frank,” returned Mark. “They don’t look at it as anything of a disgrace. Our own Indians didn’t use to wear much, and now look at them. Why, Darry told me he saw some at an agency in the far West wearing patent leather boots and stove-pipe hats.” ”

“ With this, and the watch and ring, in his hand he looked again at Professor Strong.
“If I give him this does that close the whole affair?” he asked.
“Yes, so far is I am concerned,” answered Amos Strong.
“Then here you are, baby,” went on the man from Montana, and thrust the money and other things into Hockley’s willing hand. “Don’t ever try to be a sport again. You’re only fit to be let loose in a kindergarten.” And then he walked away, puffing at his black cigar more furiously than ever.
“Who is he?” questioned Hockley, as he put the money away, after counting it. ”

“ Earthquakes alone have enlisted the attention of scientists for years, and they have to-day the record of over seven thousand which proved more or less disastrous.”
“Seven thousand!” cried Darry. “Then old Mother Earth isn’t as fixed as I thought her!”
“No, Mother Earth is not fixed, but continually changing, both inside and out. There are tremendous fires on the interior and these often crack open the dirt and rock, letting in large quantities of sea-water. Then comes an explosion, just as you may have at home if you throw cold water into a red-hot kitchen range. ”

“ The character of Handsome Jack, “the Dead Game Sport of Chicago,” appealed strongly to him. Jack played cards, drank, went to horse [80] races, and always got the best of the many enemies who tried to “down” him. To poor Hockley, who swallowed these tales and believed them true, he was more of a hero than even “Gold Nose Hank, the Mine Discoverer” had been.
Having seen the others off, Hockley strolled over to a cigar counter in the hotel and invested in a package of cigarettes, one of which he lit and placed the others in his pocket. ”

“ Since that time there has been more or less trouble with the negroes, but at present the island is at rest.”
“And what do the people do for a living?” asked Darry.
“They raise sugar and coffee principally, and also some fruit. The country is also becoming something of a health resort, the climate, especially among the hills, being fine.”
“I’ve often heard of Jamaica rum,” said Hockley.
“Yes, the island produces more of that than is good for the people at large,” answered the professor. “It also exports large quantities of log-wood, and the price received is, at present, very good.” ”

“ Such was Amos Strong’s decision, and he told them they had better go to bed without delay. Mark and Frank were willing enough and were soon in the land of dreams. But Darry and Sam sat by an open window discussing the situation.
“After his experience with Dan Markel in Caracas you would think Hockley would turn over a new leaf,” said Darry. “But he seems bound to be wild, no matter what the cost.”
“We mustn’t judge too hastily, Darry. It is barely possible that everything is all right.” ”

“ At the streams they passed they would often come upon native women washing clothes and numerous youngsters in bathing. Youngsters also filled the roadway at certain villages, running and shouting in their sport. The majority wore but little clothing, and in some cases they acted as if even this was a burden to them. A good many would run away on seeing the Americans and shout out in Spanish, “the shooters!” thinking of the soldiers that had fought on the island during the late war.
“This whole territory was in a state of suspense during the war,” said Professor Strong. ”

“ What do you mean?” queried Darry, innocently.
“We’ve all got pitch in our shoes, and it hurts like creation!” spluttered Frank, and began to work at the foot coverings once more, while Mark and Sam did the same.
“Pitch,” repeated Darry, and then as the humor of the situation dawned on him he laughed loudly. “Well, this is rich! All stuck, eh, like flies on flypaper. Ha! ha! ha! You won’t get your shoes [167] off for a week!” And he burst into another fit of laughter.
“I’ll bet he did it,” cried Hockley. “If I can prove it I’ll make you buy me a new pair of shoes!” ”

“ As my old readers know, La Guayra is only a small seaport, located on a stretch of land between the water and the high cliffs of the mountains. It is a dirty, ill-smelling place, and nobody lives there who can help it.
“I’m glad we haven’t to stop here long,” said Sam. “It smells like dead fish and oil mixed. Where is the steamer?”
An hour later found them on board of the craft, [21] an old-fashioned, tub sort of an affair named the Chester. She was an English boat devoted to the carrying trade between Trinidad, La Guayra, Kingston, and other points in the Caribbean Sea. ”

“ Soon all of the baseball players were out on the diamond and the game began with the Cuban team at the bat.
“It’s funny Mark doesn’t come,” said Darry. “He always thinks so much of a ball game.”
“He went off to see the players,” answered Frank. He looked toward the “bench.” “I declare there he is now, talking to one of the substitute players!”
“Then he’s at home,” laughed Darry. “You won’t get him back here, unless the umpire drives him from the field.”
[128] When Hockley saw Mark sitting on the “bench” he was green with envy. ”