Part 3 - The Secret of the Island: Chapter 19

by Jules Verne

　　The next day, the 8th day of January, after a day and night passed at thecorral, where they left all in order, Cyrus Harding and Ayrton arrived atGranite House.

　　The engineer immediately called his companions together, and informedthem of the imminent danger which threatened Lincoln Island, and from whichno human power could deliver them.

　　"My friends," he said, and his voice betrayed the depth of his emotion,"our island is not among those which will endure while this earth endures.It is doomed to more or less speedy destruction, the cause of which itbears within itself, and from which nothing can save it."

　　The colonists looked at each other, then at the engineer. They did notclearly comprehend him.

　　"Explain yourself, Cyrus!" said Gideon Spilett.

　　"I will do so," replied Cyrus Harding, "or rather I will simply affordyou the explanation which, during our few minutes of private conversation,was given me by Captain Nemo."

　　"Captain Nemo!" exclaimed the colonists.

　　"Yes, and it was the last service he desired to render us before hisdeath!"

　　"The last service!" exclaimed Pencroft, "the last service! You will seethat though he is dead he will render us others yet!"

　　"But what did the captain say?" inquired the reporter.

　　"I will tell you, my friends," said the engineer. "Lincoln Island doesnot resemble the other islands of the Pacific, and a fact of which CaptainNemo has made me cognizant must sooner or later bring about the subversionof its foundation."

　　"Nonsense! Lincoln Island, it can't be!" cried Pencroft, who, in spite ofthe respect he felt for Cyrus Harding, could not prevent a gesture ofincredulity.

　　"Listen, Pencroft," resumed the engineer, "I will tell you what CaptainNemo communicated to me, and which I myself confirmed yesterday, during theexploration of Dakkar Grotto.

　　This cavern stretches under the island as far as the volcano, and is onlyseparated from its central shaft by the wall which terminates it. Now, thiswall is seamed with fissures and clefts which already allow thesulphurous gases generated in the interior of the volcano to escape."

　　"Well?" said Pencroft, his brow suddenly contracting.

　　"Well, then, I saw that these fissures widen under the internal pressurefrom within, that the wall of basalt is gradually giving way and that aftera longer or shorter period it will afford a passage to the waters of thelake which fill the cavern."

　　"Good!"replied Pencroft, with an attempt at pleasantry. "The sea willextinguish the volcano, and there will be an end of the matter!"

　　"Not so!" said Cyrus Harding, "should a day arrive when the sea, rushingthrough the wall of the cavern, penetrates by the central shaft into theinterior of the island to the boiling lava, Lincoln Island will that day beblown into the air--just as would happen to the island of Sicily were theMediterranean to precipitate itself into Mount Etna."

　　The colonists made no answer to these significant words of the engineer.They now understood the danger by which they were menaced.

　　It may be added that Cyrus Harding had in no way exaggerated the dangerto be apprehended. Many persons have formed an idea that it would bepossible to extinguish volcanoes, which are almost always situated on theshores of a sea or lake, by opening a passage for the admission of thewater. But they are not aware that this would be to incur the risk ofblowing up a portion of the globe, like a boiler whose steam is suddenlyexpanded by intense heat. The water, rushing into a cavity whosetemperature might be estimated at thousands of degrees, would be convertedinto steam with a sudden energy which no enclosure could resist.

　　It was not therefore doubtful that the island, menaced by a frightful andapproaching convulsion, would endure only so long as the wall of DakkarGrotto itself should endure. It was not even a question of months, nor ofweeks, but of days; it might be of hours.

　　The first sentiment which the colonists felt was that of profound sorrow.They thought not so much of the peril which menaced themselves personally,but of the destruction of the island which had sheltered them, which theyhad cultivated, which they loved so well, and had hoped to render soflourishing. So much effort ineffectually expended, so much labor lost.

　　Pencroft could not prevent a large tear from rolling down his cheek, nordid he attempt to conceal it.

　　Some further conversation now took place. The chances yet in favor of thecolonists were discussed; but finally it was agreed that there was not anhour to be lost, that the building and fitting of the vessel should bepushed forward with their utmost energy, and that this was the sole chanceof safety for the inhabitants of Lincoln Island.

　　All hands, therefore, set to work on the vessel. What could it avail tosow, to reap, to hunt, to increase the stores of Granite House? Thecontents of the storehouse and outbuildings contained more than sufficientto provide the ship for a voyage, however long might be its duration. Butit was imperative that the ship should be ready to receive them before theinevitable catastrophe should arrive.

　　Their labors were now carried on with feverish ardor. By the 23rd ofJanuary the vessel was half-decked over. Up to this time no change hadtaken place on the summit of the volcano. Vapor and smoke mingled withflames and incandescent stones were thrown up from the crater. But duringthe night of the 23rd, in consequence of the lava attaining the level ofthe first stratum of the volcano, the hat-shaped cone which formed over thelatter disappeared. A frightful sound was heard. The colonists at firstthought the island was rent asunder, and rushed out of Granite House.

　　This occurred about two o'clock in the morning.

　　The sky appeared on fire. The superior cone, a mass of rock a thousandfeet in height, and weighing thousands of millions of pounds, had beenthrown down upon the island, making it tremble to its foundation.Fortunately, this cone inclined to the north, and had fallen upon the plainof sand and tufa stretching between the volcano and the sea. The apertureof the crater being thus enlarged projected towards the sky a glare sointense that by the simple effect of reflection the atmosphere appearedred-hot. At the same time a torrent of lava, bursting from the new summit,poured out in long cascades, like water escaping from a vase too full, anda thousand tongues of fire crept over the sides of the volcano.

　　"The corral! the corral!" exclaimed Ayrton.

　　It was, in fact, towards the corral that the lava was rushing as the newcrater faced the east, and consequently the fertile portions of the island,the springs of Red Creek and Jacamar Wood, were menaced with instantdestruction.

　　At Ayrton's cry the colonists rushed to the onagers' stables. The cartwas at once harnessed. All were possessed by the same thought-to hasten tothe corral and set at liberty the animals it enclosed.

　　Before three in the morning they arrived at the corral. The cries of theterrified musmons and goats indicated the alarm which possessed them.Already a torrent of burning matter and liquefied minerals fell from theside of the mountain upon the meadows as far as the side of the palisade.The gate was burst open by Ayrton, and the animals, bewildered with terror,fled in all directions.

　　An hour afterwards the boiling lava filled the corral, converting intovapor the water of the little rivulet which ran through it, burning up thehouse like dry grass, and leaving not even a post of the palisade to markthe spot where the corral once stood.

　　To contend against this disaster would have been folly--nay, madness. Inpresence of Nature's grand convulsions man is powerless.

　　It was now daylight--the 24th of January. Cyrus Harding and hiscompanions, before returning to Granite House, desired to ascertain theprobable direction this inundation of lava was about to take. The soilsloped gradually from Mount Franklin to the east coast, and it was to befeared that, in spite of the thick Jacamar Wood, the torrent would reachthe plateau of Prospect Heights.

　　"The lake will cover us," said Gideon Spilett.

　　"I hope so!" was Cyrus Harding's only reply.

　　The colonists were desirous of reaching the plain upon which the superiorcone of Mount Franklin had fallen, but the lava arrested their progress. Ithad followed, on one side, the valley of Red Creek, and on the other thatof Falls River, evaporating those watercourses in its passage. There was nopossibility of crossing the torrent of lava; on the contrary, the colonistswere obliged to retreat before it. The volcano, without its crown, was nolonger recognizable, terminated as it was by a sort of flat table whichreplaced the ancient crater. From two openings in its southern and easternsides an unceasing flow of lava poured forth, thus forming two distinctstreams. Above the new crater a cloud of smoke and ashes, mingled withthose of the atmosphere, massed over the island. Loud peals of thunderbroke, and could scarcely be distinguished from the rumblings of themountain, whose mouth vomited forth ignited rocks, which, hurled to morethan a thousand feet, burst in the air like shells. Flashes of lightningrivaled in intensity the volcano's eruption.

　　Towards seven in the morning the position was no longer tenable by thecolonists, who accordingly took shelter in the borders of Jacamar Wood. Notonly did the projectiles begin to rain around them, but the lava,overflowing the bed of Red Creek, threatened to cut off the road to thecorral. The nearest rows of trees caught fire, and their sap, suddenlytransformed into vapor, caused them to explode with loud reports, whileothers, less moist, remained unhurt in the midst of the inundation.

　　The colonists had again taken the road to the corral. They proceeded butslowly, frequently looking back; but, in consequence of the inclination ofthe soil, the lava gained rapidly in the east, and as its lower wavesbecame solidified others, at boiling heat, covered them immediately.

　　Meanwhile, the principal stream of Red Creek Valley became more and moremenacing. All this portion of the forest was on fare, and enormous wreathsof smoke rolled over the trees, whore trunks were already consumed by thelava.

　　The colonists halted near the lake, about half a mile from the mouth ofRed Creek. A question of life or death was now to be decided.

　　Cyrus Harding, accustomed to the consideration of important crises, andaware that he was addressing men capable of hearing the truth, whatever itmight be, then said,--

　　"Either the lake will arrest the progress of the lava, and a part of theisland will be preserved from utter destruction, or the stream will overrunthe forests of the Far West, and not a tree or plant will remain on thesurface of the soil. We shall have no prospect but that of starvation uponthese barren rocks--a death which will probably be anticipated by theexplosion of the island."

　　"In that case," replied Pencroft, folding his arms and stamping his foot,"what's the use of working any longer on the vessel?"

　　"Pencroft," answered Cyrus Harding, "we must do our duty to the last!"

　　At this instant the river of lava, after having broken a passage throughthe noble trees it devoured in its course, reached the borders of the lake.At this point there was an elevation of the soil which, had it beengreater, might have sufficed to arrest the torrent.

　　"To work!" cried Cyrus Harding.

　　The engineer's thought was at once understood. it might be possible todam, as it were, the torrent, and thus compel it to pour itself into thelake.

　　The colonists hastened to the dockyard. They returned with shovels,picks, axes, and by means of banking the earth with the aid of fallen treesthey succeeded in a few hours in raising an embankment three feet high andsome hundreds of paces in length. It seemed to them, when they hadfinished, as if they had scarcely been working more than a few minutes.

　　It was not a moment too soon. The liquefied substances soon after reachedthe bottom of the barrier. The stream of lava swelled like a river about tooverflow its banks, and threatened to demolish the sole obstacle whichcould prevent it from overrunning the whole Far West. But the dam heldfirm, and after a moment of terrible suspense the torrent precipitateditself into Grant Lake from a height of twenty feet.

　　The colonists, without moving or uttering a word, breathlessly regardedthis strife of the two elements.

　　What a spectacle was this conflict between water and fare! What pen coulddescribe the marvelous horror of this scene--what pencil could depict it?The water hissed as it evaporated by contact with the boiling lava. Thevapor whirled in the air to an immeasurable height, as if the valves of animmense boiler had been suddenly opened. But, however considerable might bethe volume of water contained in the lake, it must eventually be absorbed,because it was not replenished, while the stream of lava, fed from aninexhaustible source, rolled on without ceasing new waves of incandescentmatter.

　　The first waves of lava which fell in the lake immediately solidified andaccumulated so as speedily to emerge from it. Upon their surface fell otherwaves, which in their turn became stone, but a step nearer the center ofthe lake. In this manner was formed a pier which threatened to graduallyfill up the lake, which could not overflow, the water displaced by the lavabeing evaporated. The hissing of the water rent the air with a deafeningsound, and the vapor, blown by the wind, fell in rain upon the sea. Thepier became longer and longer, and the blocks of lava piled themselves oneon another. Where formerly stretched the calm waters of the lake nowappeared an enormous mass of smoking rocks, as if an upheaving of the soilhad formed immense shoals. Imagine the waters of the lake aroused by ahurricane, then suddenly solidified by an intense frost, and someconception may be formed of the aspect of the lake three hours alter theeruption of this irresistible torrent of lava.

　　This time water would be vanquished by fire.

　　Nevertheless it was a fortunate circumstance for the colonists that theeffusion of lava should have been in the direction of Lake Grant. They hadbefore them some days' respite. The plateau of Prospect Heights, GraniteHouse, and the dockyard were for the moment preserved. And these few daysit was necessary to employ in planking and carefully calking the vessel,and launching her. The colonists would then take refuge on board thevessel, content to rig her after she should be afloat on the waters. Withthe danger of an explosion which threatened to destroy the island therecould be no security on shore. The walls of Granite House, once so sure aretreat, might at any moment fall in upon them.

　　During the six following days, from the 25th to the 30th of January, thecolonists accomplished as much of the construction of their vessel astwenty men could have done. They hardly allowed themselves a moment'srepose, and the glare of the flames which shot from the crater enabled themto work night and day. The flow of lava continued, but perhaps lessabundantly. This was fortunate, for Lake Grant was almost entirely chokedup, and if more lava should accumulate it would inevitably spread over theplateau of Prospect Heights, and thence upon the beach.

　　But if the island was thus partially protected on this side, it was notso with the western part.

　　In fact, the second stream of lava, which had followed the valley ofFalls River, a valley of great extent, the land on both sides of the creekbeing flat, met with no obstacle. The burning liquid had then spreadthrough the forest of the Far West. At this period of the year, when thetrees were dried up by a tropical heat, the forest caught fireinstantaneously, in such a manner that the conflagration extended itselfboth by the trunks of the trees and by their higher branches, whoseinterlacement favored its progress. It even appeared that the current offlame spread more rapidly among the summits of the trees than the currentof lava at their bases.

　　Thus it happened that the wild animals, jaguars, wild boars, capybaras,koalas, and game of every kind, mad with terror, had fled to the banks ofthe Mercy and to the Tadorn Marsh, beyond the road to Port Balloon. But thecolonists were too much occupied with their task to pay any attention toeven the most formidable of these animals. They had abandoned GraniteHouse, and would not even take shelter at the Chimneys, but encamped undera tent, near the mouth of the Mercy.

　　Each day Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett ascended the plateau ofProspect Heights. Sometimes Herbert accompanied them, but never Pencroft,who could not bear to look upon the prospect of the island now so utterlydevastated.

　　It was, in truth, a heart-rending spectacle. All the wooded part of theisland was now completely bare. One single clump of green trees raisedtheir heads at the extremity of Serpentine Peninsula. Here and there were afew grotesque blackened and branchless stumps. The side of the devastatedforest was even more barren than Tadorn Marsh. The eruption of lava hadbeen complete. Where formerly sprang up that charming verdure, the soil wasnow nothing but a savage mass of volcanic tufa. In the valleys of the Fallsand Mercy rivers no drop of water now flowed towards the sea, and shouldLake Grant be entirely dried up, the colonists would have no means ofquenching their thirst. But, fortunately the lava had spared the southerncorner of the lake, containing all that remained of the drinking water ofthe island. Towards the northwest stood out the rugged and well-definedoutlines of the sides of the volcano, like a gigantic claw hovering overthe island. What a sad and fearful sight, and how painful to the colonists,who, from a fertile domain covered with forests, irrigated by watercourses,and enriched by the produce of their toils, found themselves, as it were,transported to a desolate rock, upon which, but for their reserves ofprovisions, they could not even gather the means of subsistence!

　　"It is enough to break one's heart!" said Gideon Spilett, one day.

　　"Yes, Spilett," answered the engineer. "May God grant us the time tocomplete this vessel, now our sole refuge!"

　　"Do not you think, Cyrus, that the violence of the eruption has somewhatlessened? The volcano still vomits forth lava, but somewhat lessabundantly, if I mistake not."

　　"It matters little," answered Cyrus Harding. "The fire is still burningin the interior of the mountain, and the sea may break in at any moment. Weare in the condition of passengers whose ship is devoured by aconflagration which they cannot extinguish, and who know that sooner orlater the flames must reach the powder-magazine. To work, Spilett, to work,and let us not lose an hour!"

　　During eight days more, that is to say until the 7th of February, thelava continued to flow, but the eruption was confined within the previouslimits. Cyrus Harding feared above all lest the liquefied matter shouldoverflow the shore, for in that event the dockyard could not escape.Moreover, about this time the colonists felt in the frame of the islandvibrations which alarmed them to the highest degree.

　　It was the 20th of February. Yet another month must elapse before thevessel would be ready for sea. Would the island hold together till then?The intention of Pencroft and Cyrus Harding was to launch the vessel assoon as the hull should be complete. The deck, the upperworks, the interiorwoodwork and the rigging might be finished afterwards, but the essentialpoint was that the colonists should have an assured refuge away from theisland. Perhaps it might be even better to conduct the vessel to PortBalloon, that is to say, as far as possible from the center of eruption,for at the mouth of the Mercy, between the islet and the wall of granite,it would run the risk of being crushed in the event of any convulsion. Allthe exertions of the voyagers were therefore concentrated upon thecompletion of the hull.

　　Thus the 3rd of March arrived, and they might calculate upon launchingthe vessel in ten days.

　　Hope revived in the hearts of the colonists, who had, in this fourth yearof their sojourn on Lincoln island, suffered so many trials. Even Pencroftlost in some measure the somber taciturnity occasioned by the devastationand ruin of his domain. His hopes, it is true, were concentrated upon hisvessel.

　　"We shall finish it," he said to the engineer, "we shall finish it,captain, and it is time, for the season is advancing and the equinox willsoon be here. Well, if necessary, we must put in to Tabor island to spendthe winter. But think of Tabor island after Lincoln Island. Ah, howunfortunate! Who could have believed it possible?"

　　"Let us get on," was the engineer's invariable reply.

　　And they worked away without losing a moment.

　　"Master," asked Neb, a few days later, "do you think all this could havehappened if Captain Nemo had been still alive?"

　　"Certainly, Neb," answered Cyrus Harding.

　　"I, for one, don't believe it!" whispered Pencroft to Neb.

　　"Nor I!" answered Neb seriously.

　　During the first week of March appearances again became menacing.Thousands of threads like glass, formed of fluid lava, fell like rain uponthe island. The crater was again boiling with lava which overflowed theback of the volcano. The torrent flowed along the surface of the hardenedtufa, and destroyed the few meager skeletons of trees which had withstoodthe first eruption. The stream, flowing this time towards the southwestshore of Lake Grant, stretched beyond Creek Glycerine, and invaded theplateau of Prospect Heights. This last blow to the work of the colonistswas terrible. The mill, the buildings of the inner court, the stables, wereall destroyed. The affrighted poultry fled in all directions. Top and Jupshowed signs of the greatest alarm, as if their instinct warned them of animpending catastrophe. A large number of the animals of the island hadperished in the first eruption. Those which survived found no refuge butTadorn Marsh, save a few to which the plateau of Prospect Heights affordedasylum. But even this last retreat was now closed to them, and the lava-torrent, flowing over the edge of the granite wall, began to pour down uponthe beach its cataracts of fire. The sublime horror of this spectaclepassed all description. During the night it could only be compared to aNiagara of molten fluid, with its incandescent vapors above and its boilingmasses below.

　　The colonists were driven to their last entrenchment, and although theupper seams of the vessel were not yet calked, they decided to launch herat once.

　　Pencroft and Ayrton therefore set about the necessary preparations forthe launching, which was to take place the morning of the next day, the 9thof March.

　　But during the night of the 8th an enormous column of vapor escaping fromthe crater rose with frightful explosions to a height of more than threethousand feet. The wall of Dakkar Grotto had evidently given way under thepressure of gases, and the sea, rushing through the central shalt into theigneous gulf, was at once converted into vapor. But the crater could notafford a sufficient outlet for this vapor. An explosion, which might havebeen heard at a distance of a hundred miles, shook the air. Fragments ofmountains fell into the Pacific, and, in a few minutes, the ocean rolledover the spot where Lincoln island once stood.