"We must get away from this spot!" gasped Jack. "If we don"t, we"ll be buried alive!"
The rope had fallen at his feet. He picked it up. There was a noose at one end and this he whirled upward.
Twice he missed the object for which he aimed, but the third time the rope caught fast to a projecting rock.
"Now, Plum, up you go!" he said, and gave his companion a lift. Fear lent the Yankee lad strength and he went up hand over hand in rapid fashion.
Jack followed, and in a moment more both stood on the surface of the island.
The sight that met their gaze was enough to make them shudder. On all sides the darkish-green water was spouting from the holes and cuts in the lake bed. Some of the columns arose to a height of a hundred feet, the water falling back into the basin with a tremendous report, and causing the drops to fly in all directions. At one point in the lake the water was already a foot or more deep.
"To the sh.o.r.e!" yelled Jack, and flew for a pony, while Plum did likewise.
The animals were crazy with fear and could scarcely be controlled.
As they left the island there came another movement of the earthquake, followed by a crash behind them. They looked back, to see the lonely pimento tree fall into the very hole they had just left!
"Gosh! what a narrer escape!" gasped Plum.
"We are not out of it yet, Plum," answered Jack. "Come, we must ride for all we are worth. Perhaps we had better throw away the gold."
"No! no! Don"t do it!" screamed the Yankee lad. "We can make the sh.o.r.e if we hurry."
Down they plunged side by side from the island and into the water that was now flowing in all directions around the mound. They made a bee line for the rocky ridge beyond.
"Look out for holes!" cried Jack, but even as he spoke his pony plunged downward, nearly causing our hero to take a header. But he clung fast, and, struggling up, the pony went forward as before.
It was a ride that can scarcely be described. Soon the water was up to the bodies of the ponies and then they were carried off their feet. They swam a short distance, and then, coming to a shallow spot, galloped on as before.
It was a wild ride, and dripping from foam and water the ponies kept on until once again they had to swim.
Then came a roar from the bottom of the lake, and steeds and riders were hurled high in the air, to fall again with a noise in the spume of the boiling lake.
"We--we air lost!" panted Plum. "Th--the wind is gone out o" me!"
"Keep on, we have only a short distance further to go!" cried Jack.
The earth was shaking again and the water appeared to swing away from them toward the island.
Then it came on with a rush, carrying ponies and riders far up the rocky ridge. Then the water went back as before, boiling and foaming furiously, while a mist blotted out the immediate landscape.
"Come, don"t stop here!" yelled Jack, urging his pony forward. "To higher ground, before it is too late!"
Again they went on, but not for far. Another earthquake threw them flat and Plum rolled down under his pony. Then the quaking ceased; and that was the last of the earthquake. Arising, Jack helped his companion and found that the Yankee youth was uninjured. Both looked down the rocks toward the lake. The water was boiling and foaming as before, but gradually the surface of the lake grew calm. Then Jack gave another exclamation:
"The island! It is sinking from sight!"
It was true, the island was going down slowly but surely. In a few minutes it was but a mere speck on the surface, and then even this disappeared.
"Gone!" gasped Plum. "But we got the gold--or a good part o" it!"
"Thank heaven that our lives were spared!" murmured Jack. "I never want to go through another such experience--not for all the gold in the world!"
A few words more and we will bring our tale to a close.
When they had rested, Jack and Plum rejoined the others of the party. The story of the hunt for gold was told, much to the amazement of the rest, and, later, the gold was taken down to the seacoast and placed with some reliable bankers. The boiling lake was inspected and found to be deeper than ever. Strange to say, the lake remained where it was for about two months, when it gradually disappeared, and that was the last seen of it.
The ground around where the pimento island had been was greatly upheaved, and a long search in that vicinity failed to bring any more gold to light.
The treasure that had been found proved to be worth nearly thirty thousand dollars, one-third of which went to Plum and the rest to Jack. Out of his share our hero paid all the expenses of the trip and also rewarded handsomely all those who had accompanied him into the mountains.
With a portion of his money Jack continued to develop his nitrate fields and shipped vast quant.i.ties of the stuff to this country and elsewhere. He soon became immensely wealthy, and then settled down with his wife, Jenny, in Boston, where we will bid him farewell.
The End.