The Island Queen Part 26

"It was Mr Malines, not I, who suggested the plan," returned the queen.

"Hadn't you better go on board yourself?" said the doctor, "and leave us to manage."

"No, I am not a mere puppet, sir," answered Pauline, with a little smile, yet firmly. "My place is here till all my subjects are safe!

And your duty is to a.s.sist in the embarkation, not to offer advice to your queen!"

With a laugh the doctor went off to do his duty, muttering, "My _queen_, indeed!" fervently.

For some time the volcano, which had thus sprung into sudden activity, partially subsided, yet there were occasional tremulous motions of the earth and low growlings in the heart of the mountain on Big Island, while several minor explosions occurred in the crater, so that the thoroughly alarmed settlers hastened the embarkation with all despatch.

Before night had closed in they were all safely on board with most of their lighter valuables and tools, though, necessarily, much of their heavier property was left behind. Where life is threatened, however, men are not apt to mind such losses.

It now became a question whether they should remain at anchor where they were and abide the issue, or proceed at once to sea. Some were for remaining, others were for putting off to sea. There was much wrangling over it at first, and the people seemed in their anxiety to have quite forgotten their queen, when she stepped forward, and, raising her clear silvery voice, produced a dead calm at once.

"Joe," she said, "go down to the cabin and await me there."

The prime minister obeyed instantly.

"Now," said Pauline, turning to the people, "choose among you six of your number to consult with me, and do it at once."

Of course, the men well-known as the best among the settlers were instantly named we need scarcely add that among them were Dominick, the doctor, and Malines.

While these were engaged in consultation below, a terrible outburst of the volcano settled the matter for them, and brought them all hastily on deck.

The summit of the crater seemed to have been blown up into the air with a most terrific noise, while a dense ma.s.s of smoke, steam, and ashes was hurled upwards, and seemed to blot out the sky. Twilight, which had been deepening, was converted into blackest night in a moment, and darkness profound would undoubtedly have continued, had it not been for the lurid glare of the fires which flashed at intervals from the crater.

Suddenly the waters of the sea became agitated. The s.h.i.+p rocked uneasily, and jerked at her cable, while the terrified people clung to shrouds and ropes, and belaying-pins. Then the fire on the mountain-top increased tenfold in volume and intensity. Another moment, and several large holes opened in the mountain-side nearest to them, from which streams of molten lava burst forth and began to descend towards the deserted settlement.

At that moment there was a great shout. It had been discovered that in the confusion little Brown-eyes had been forgotten!

A small boat hung at the davits on the port side. It was manned instantly. The doctor jumped to the helm, Otto followed, and, before any could interpose, the queen suddenly stepped in.

"You are mad!" cried the doctor.

"Lower away!" said Pina, as if she had been a trained sea-captain all her life.

Instantly the ropes were eased off, and in a few seconds the boat was in the sea and on the sh.o.r.e. They found little Brown-eyes sound asleep in her crib, with a river of red-hot lava stretching its fiery tongues towards her as if eager for a meal!

Supple-limbed Otto was first; he seized the child and bore her off to the boat. Another terrible explosion occurred just then. Ashes and ma.s.ses of rock began to rain around them. A falling stone struck Pauline's head, and she fell. The doctor, who held her hand, seized her in his arms and bore her away. A few minutes more and they were all safe on board again.

But there was no time for congratulations. The sea which had before been agitated, now heaved in wild waves, though there was no wind. It was then seen that Big Island was actually crumbling--sinking into the water! The continuous rumbling of the volcano was terrible.

Intermittent explosions were frequent. To add to the horrors of the scene the darkness deepened. As the island went down the sea rushed tumultuously in to overwhelm it. Then it was that the stout cable, under G.o.d, saved them from immediate destruction. The s.h.i.+p was hurled from side to side like a cork on the boiling flood. But no cable could long withstand such a strain. The chain snapped at last, and they seemed to be rus.h.i.+ng with railway speed to their fate amid surrounding fire and overwhelming water, and roaring thunders, and raining ashes, when, suddenly, there was a perceptible diminution in the turmoil, and, gradually, the waves calmed down. With feelings of intense thankfulness the terrified people let go their second anchor, though the darkness was by that time so thick that they could barely see each other.

It may be imagined what a night of anxiety they spent. With Pauline and some others it was a night of earnest prayer.

When the light of day at last broke faintly in the east it revealed the fact that Refuge Islands had actually and totally disappeared, and that our settlers were floating on the bosom of the open sea!

CHAPTER TWELVE.

LAST CHAPTER.

An Island Queen no longer, Pauline Rigonda sits on the quarter-deck of the emigrant s.h.i.+p gazing pensively over the side at the sunlit sea.

Dethroned by the irresistible influences of fire and water, our heroine has retired into the seclusion of private life.

After escaping from the volcano, as described in the last chapter, the settlers resolved to proceed, under the guidance of Malines as captain, and Morris as mate, to the port for which they had originally been bound when the disaster on Refuge Islands had arrested them.

Of course this was a great disappointment to poor Pauline and her brothers, who, as may be imagined, were burning with anxiety to get back to England. Feeling, however, that it would be unreasonable as well as selfish to expect the emigrants to give up their long-delayed plans merely to meet their wishes, they made up their minds to accept the situation with a good grace.

"You see," said Otto to the ex-queen--for he was becoming very wise in his own eyes, and somewhat oracular in the midst of all these excitements--"when a fellow can't help himself he's bound to make the best of a bad business."

"Don't you think it would be better to say he is bound to accept trustingly what G.o.d arranges, believing that it will be all for the best?" returned Pauline.

"How can a bad business be for the best?" demanded Otto, with the air of one who has put an unanswerable question.

His sister looked at him with an expression of perplexity. "Well, it is not easy to explain," she said, "yet I can believe that all _is_ for the best."

"Ha, Pina!" returned the boy, with a little touch of pride, "it's all very well for you to say that, but you won't get men to believe things in that way."

"Otto," said Dr Marsh, who was standing near and listening to the conversation, "it is not so difficult as you think to prove that what we call a bad business may after all be for the best. I remember at this moment a case in point. Come--I'll tell you a story. Once upon a time I knew a gentleman with a stern face and a greedy soul, who believed in nothing, almost, except in the wickedness of mankind, and in his own capacity to take advantage of that wickedness in order to make money.

Money was his G.o.d. He spent all his time and all his strength in making it, and he was successful. He had many s.h.i.+ps on the sea, and much gold in the bank. He had also a charming little wife, who prayed in secret that G.o.d would deliver her husband from his false G.o.d, and he had a dear little daughter who loved him to distraction in spite of his `business habits!' Well, one year there came a commercial crisis. Mr Getall eagerly risked his money and over-speculated. That same year was disastrous in the way of storms and wrecks. Among the wrecks were several of Mr Getall's finest s.h.i.+ps. A fire reduced one of his warehouses to ashes, and, worse still, one of his most confidential and trusted clerks absconded with some thousands of pounds. All that was a very bad business, wasn't it?"

"It was," a.s.sented Otto; "go on."

"The upshot was a crash--"

"What!--of the burning warehouse?"

"No; of the whole business, and the Getalls were reduced to comparative beggary. The shock threw the poor little wife, who had always been rather delicate, into bad health, rendering a warm climate necessary for her at a time when they could not afford to travel. Moreover, little Eva's education was entirely stopped at perhaps the most important period of her life. That was a bad business, wasn't it?"

"That was a much worse business," a.s.serted Otto.

"Well, when Mr Getall was at the lowest stage of despair, and had taken more than one look over the parapet of London Bridge with a view to suicide, he received a letter from a long-neglected brother, who had for many years dwelt on the Continent, partly for economy and partly for a son's health. The brother offered him a home in the south of France for the winter, as it would do his wife good, he said, and he had room in his house for them all, and wanted their company very much to keep him from being dull in that land of warmth and suns.h.i.+ne! Getall was not the man to refuse such an offer. He went. The brother was an earnest Christian. His influence at that critical time of sore distress was the means in the Holy Spirit's hands of rescuing the miser's soul, and transferring his heart from gold to the Saviour. A joy which he had never before dreamed of took possession of him, and he began, timidly at first to commend Jesus to others. Joy, they say, is curative. The effect of her husband's conversion did so much good to little Mrs Getall's spirit that her body began steadily to mend, and in time she was restored to better health than she had enjoyed in England. The brother-in-law, who was a retired schoolmaster, undertook the education of Eva, and, being a clever man as well as good, trained her probably much better than she would have been trained had she remained at home.

At last they returned to England, and Mr Getall, with the a.s.sistance of friends, started afresh in business. He never again became a rich man in the worldly sense, but he became rich enough to pay off all his creditors to the last farthing; rich enough to have something to spare for a friend in distress; rich enough to lay past something for Eva's dower, and rich enough to contribute liberally to the funds of those whose business it is to `consider the poor.' All that, you see, being the result of what you have admitted, my boy, was a bad business."

"True, but then," objected Otto, who was of an argumentative turn, "if all that _hadn't_ resulted, it would have been a bad business still."

"Not necessarily--it might have turned out to be a good business in some other way, or for somebody else. The mere fact that we can't see how, is no argument against the theory that _everything_ is constrained to work for good by Him who rules the universe."

"What! even sin?" asked Otto, in surprise.

"Even sin," returned the doctor. "Don't you see that it was Getall's sin of greed and over-speculation, and the clerk's sin of embezzlement, which led to all these good results; but, of course, as neither of them had any desire or intention to achieve the good results which G.o.d brought about, they were none the less guilty, and were ent.i.tled to no credit, but, on the contrary, to condign punishment. What I wish to prove is that G.o.d causes _all things_ to work out His will, yet leaves the free-will of man untouched. This is a great mystery; at the same time it is a great fact, and therefore I contend that we have every reason to trust our loving Father, knowing that whatever happens to us will be for the best--not, perhaps, for our present pleasure or gratification, but for our ultimate best."

"But--but--but," said Otto, while premature wrinkles rippled for a minute over his smooth brow, "at that rate, is it fair to blame sinners when their very sins are made to bring about G.o.d's will?"

"Now, Otto, don't run away with a false idea. For you to sin with a view to bring about good, is one thing--and a very wicked thing, which is severely condemned in Scripture--but for G.o.d to cause good to result from your sin, and in spite of _you_, is a totally different thing.

Think of a pirate, my boy, a b.l.o.o.d.y-handed villain, who has spent his life of crime in gathering together enormous wealth, with which to retire into selfish enjoyment at last. But he is captured. His wealth is taken from him, and with it good men establish almshouses for the aged poor, hospitals for the sick, free libraries and free baths everywhere, and many other good and beneficent works. The pirate's labours have, in G.o.d's providence, been turned into this channel. Is the pirate less guilty, or less deserving of punishment on that account?"

Further discussion on this point was interrupted by a sharp order from Malines to reduce sail, and the consequent bustling about of the sailors.