Blown to Bits: The Lonely Man of Rakata, the Malay Archipelago by R. M. Ballantyne (red novels TXT) đ
- Author: R. M. Ballantyne
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Here is what the men of science sayâas far as we can gather and condense.
The fine dust blown out of Krakatoa was found, under the microscope, to consist of excessively thin, transparent plates or irregular specks of pumiceâwhich inconceivably minute fragments were caused by enormous steam pressure in the interior and the sudden expansion of the masses blown out into the atmosphere. Of this glassy dust, that which was blown into the regions beyond the clouds must have been much finer even than that which was examined. These glass fragments were said by Dr FlĂŒgel to contain either innumerable air-bubbles or minute needle-like crystals, or both. Small though these vesicles were when ejected from the volcano, they would become still smaller by bursting when they suddenly reached a much lower pressure of atmosphere at a great height. Some of them, however, owing to tenacity of material and other causes, might have failed to burst and would remain floating in the upper air as perfect microscopic glass balloons. Thus the dust was a mass of particles of every conceivable shape, and so fine that no watches, boxes, or instruments were tight enough to exclude from their interior even that portion of the dust which was heavy enough to remain on earth!
Now, to the unscientific reader it is useless to say more than that the innumerable and varied positions of these glassy particles, some transparent, others semi-transparent or opaque, reflecting the sunâs rays in different directions, with a complex modification of colour and effect resulting from the blueness of the sky, the condition of the atmosphere, and many other causesâall combined to produce the remarkable appearances of light and colour which aroused the admiration and wonder of the world in 1883.
The more one thinks of these things, and the deeper one dives into the mysteries of nature, the more profoundly is one impressed at once with a humbling sense of the limited amount of oneâs knowledge, and an awe-inspiring appreciation of the illimitable fields suggested by that comprehensive expression: âThe Wonderful Works of God.â
Some days after the wreck of the Sunshine, as described in a previous chapter, Captain Roy and his son stood on the coast of Java not far from the ruins of Anjer. A vessel was anchored in the offing, and a little boat lay on the shore.
All sign of elemental strife had passed, though a cloud of smoke hanging over the remains of Krakatoa told that the terrible giant below was not dead but only sleepingâto awake, perchance, after a nap of another 200 years.
âWell, father,â said our hero with a modest look, âit may be, as you suggest, that Winnie Van der Kemp does not care for me more than for a fathom of salt waterââ
âI did not say salt water, lad, I said bilgeâa fathom oâ bilge water,â interrupted the captain, who, although secretly rejoiced at the fact of his son having fallen over head and ears in love with the pretty little Cocos-Keeling islander, deemed it his duty, nevertheless, as a sternly upright parent, to make quite sure that the love was mutual as well as deep before giving his consent to anything like courtship.
âIt matters not; salt or bilge water makes little difference,â returned the son with a smile. âBut all I can say is that I care for Winnie so much that her love is to me of as much importance as sunshine to the worldâand we have had some experience lately of what the want of that means.â
âNonsense, Nigel,â returned the captain severely. âYouâre workinâ yourself into them up-in-the-clouds, reef-point-patterinâ regions againâwhich, by the way, should be pretty well choked wiâ Krakatoa dust by this time. Come down out oâ that if ye want to hold orânary intercourse wiâ your old father. Sheâs far too young yet, my boy. You must just do as many a young fellow has done before you, attend to your dooties and forget her.â
âForget her!â returned the youth, with that amused, quiet expression which wise men sometimes assume when listening to foolish suggestions. âI could almost as easily forget my mother!â
âA very proper sentiment, Nigel, veryâespecially the âalmostâ part of it.â
âBesides,â continued the son, âshe is not so very youngâand that difficulty remedies itself every hour. Moreover, I too am young. I can wait.â
âThe selfishness of youth is only equalled by its presumption,â said the captain. âHow dâee know she will wait?â
âI donât know, father, but I hope she willâIâthink she will.â
âNigel,â said the captain, in a tone and with a look that were meant to imply intense solemnity, âhave you ever spoken to her about love?â
âNo, father.â
âHas she ever spoken to you?â
âNoâat leastânot with her lips.â
âCome, boy, youâre humbugginâ your old father. Her tongue couldnât well do it without the lips lendinâ a hand.â
âWell thenâwith neither,â returned the son. âShe spoke with her eyesânot intentionally, of course, for the eyes, unlike the lips, refuse to be under control.â
âHm! I seeâreef-point-patterinâ poetics again! Anâ what did she say with her eyes!â
âReally, father, you press me too hard; it is difficult to translate eye-language, but if youâll only let memory have free play and revert to that time, nigh quarter of a century ago, when you first met with a certain real poetess, perhapsââ
âAh! you dog! you have me there. But how dare you, sir, venture to think of marryinâ on nothinâ?â
âI donât think of doing so. Am I not a first mate with a handsome salary?â
âNo, lad, youâre not. Youâre nothinâ better than a seaman out oâ work, with your late ship wrecked in a cocoa-nut grove!â
âThatâs true,â returned Nigel with a laugh. âBut is not the cargo of the said ship safe in Batavia? Has not its owner a good bank account in England? Wonât another ship be wanted, and another first mate, and would the owner dare to pass over his own son, who is such a competent seamanâaccording to your own showing? Come, father, I turn the tables on you and ask you to aid rather than resist me in this matter.â
âWell, I will, my boy, I will,â said the captain heartily, as he laid his hand on his sonâs shoulder. âBut, seriously, you must haul off this little craft and clap a stopper on your tongueâay, and on your eyes tooâtill three points are considered anâ made quite clear. First, you must find out whether the hermit would be agreeable. Second, you must look the matter straight in the face and make quite sure that you mean it. For better or for worse. No undoinâ that knot, Nigel, once itâs fairly tied! And, third, you must make quite sure that Winnie is sure of her own mind, anâ thatâthatââ
âWeâre all sure all round, father. Quite right. I agree with you. âAll fair anâ aboveboardâ should be the sailing orders of every man in such matters, especially of every seaman. But, will you explain how I am to make sure of Winnieâs state of mind without asking her about it?â
âWell, I donât exactly see my way,â replied the captain slowly. âWhat dâee say to my soundinâ her on the subject?â
âCouldnât think of it! You may be first-rate at deep-sea soundings, father, but you couldnât sound the depths of a young girlâs heart. I must reserve that for myself, however long it may be delayed.â
âSo be it, lad. The only embargo that I lay upon you isâhaul off, and mind you donât let your figurehead go by the board. Meanwhile, here comes the boat. Now, Nigel, none oâ your courtinâ till everything is settled and the wind fairâdead aft my lad, and blowinâ stiff. You and the hermit are goinâ off to Krakatoa to-day, I suppose?â
âYes. I am just now waiting for him and Moses,â returned Nigel.
âIs Winnie going?â
âDonât know. I hope so.â
âHumph! Well, if we have a fair wind I shall soon be in Batavia,â said the captain, descending to business matters, âand I expect without trouble to dispose of the cargo that we landed there, as well as that part oâ the return cargo which I had bought before I left for Keelingâat a loss, no doubt, but that donât matter much. Then Iâll come back here by the first craft that offersâarter which. Ay!âAy! shove her in here. Plenty oâ water.â
The last remark was made to the seaman who steered the boat sent from the vessel in the offing.
A short time thereafter Captain Roy was sailing away for Batavia, while his son, with Van der Kemp, Moses, Winnie, and Spinkie, was making for Krakatoa in a native boat.
The hermit, in spite of his injuries, had recovered his wonted appearance, if not his wonted vigour. Winnie seemed to have suddenly developed into a mature woman under her recent experiences, though she had lost none of her girlish grace and attractiveness. As for Mosesâtime and tide seemed to have no effect whatever on his ebony frame, and still less, if possible, on his indomitable spirit.
âNow you keep still,â he said in solemn tones and with warning looks to Spinkie. âIf you keep fidgitinâ about youâll capsize de boat. You hear?â
Spinkie veiled his real affection for the negro under a look of supreme indifference, while Winnie went off into a sudden giggle at the idea of such a small creature capsizing the boat.
Mindful of his fatherâs warning, Nigel did his best to âhaul offâ and to prevent his âfigureheadâ from going âby the board.â But he found it uncommonly hard work, for Winnie looked so innocent, so pretty, so unconscious, so sympathetic with everybody and everything, so very young, yet so wondrously wise and womanly, that he felt an irresistible desire to prostrate himself at her feet in abject slavery.
âDear little thing,â said Winnie, putting her hand on Spinkieâs little head and smoothing him down from eyes to tail.
Spinkie looked as if half inclined to withdraw his allegiance from Moses and bestow it on Winnie, but evidently changed his mind after a momentâs reflection.
âO that I were a monkey!â thought Nigel, paraphrasing Shakespeare, âthat I mightââ but it is not fair to our hero to reveal him in his weaker moments!
There was something exasperating, too, in being obliged, owing to the size of the boat, to sit so close to Winnie without having a right to touch her hand! Who has not experienced this, and felt himself to be a very hero of self-denial in the circumstances?
âMosâ awrful hot!â remarked Moses, wiping his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt.
âYou hot!â said Nigel in surprise. âI thought nothing on earth could be too hot for you.â
âDatâs your ignerance,â returned Moses calmly. âUs niggers, you see, ought to suffer more froâ heat dan you whites.â
âHow so?â
âWhy, donât your flossiphers say dat black am better dan white for âtractinâ heat, anâ ainât our skins black? I wish weâd binâ born white as chalk. I say, Massa Nadgel, seems to me dat dereâs not much left ob Krakatoa.â
They had approached near enough to the island by that time to perceive that wonderful changes had indeed taken place, and Van der Kemp, who had been for some time silently absorbed in contemplation, at last turned to his daughter and saidâ
âI had feared at first, Winnie, that my old home had been blown entirely away, but I see now that the Peak of Rakata still stands, so perhaps I may yet show you the cave in which I have spent so many years.â
âBut why did you go to live in such a strange place, dear father?â asked the girl, laying her hand lovingly on the hermitâs arm.
Van der Kemp did not reply at once. He gazed in his childâs face with an increase of that absent air and far-away look which Nigel, ever since he met him, had observed as one of his characteristics. At this time an anxious thought crossed him,âthat perhaps the blows which his friend had received on his head when he was thrown on the
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