L. Frank Baum

“ It was quite an acrobatic feat to navigate the incline, but they succeeded and everyone accepted the coffee gratefully.
"This place is nothing but a rock; an extinct volcano, probably," remarked Madeline, gazing thoughtfully over the island. ”

“ Even a duplicate of that gigantic wave which hurled us here would be unable to float us off, for our tremendous headway carried us beyond the reach of any tide. This island is of rock formation. I know at a glance that a solid bed of rock is under us. Therefore we cannot dig a channel to relaunch the Salvador."
"Couldn't we blast a channel?" asked Mr. Tupper.
The captain merely gave him a reproachful glance.
"To be sure," replied Chesty Todd, seriously. "We'll have Kane invent a sort of dynamite that will blast the rocks and won't hurt the ship. Good idea, Mr. Tupper. Clever, sir ”

“ Steve ran to assist in lowering the launch. It had to be unlashed from its rack, first of all, and the tank filled with gasoline, the engine oiled and the boat prepared for action. The men worked with a will, however, and within half an hour the launch was lowered to the rocks and slid safely into the water. The landing-steps being impracticable, a rope ladder was lowered and by this means Madeline easily descended to the launch. Mr. ”