o do. Malines,
however, was cool and collected. He had been in various volcanic
regions of the world, and undertook to comfort them.

"Don't be afraid," he said, when the most of the people had gathered
round him. "I've often seen this sort o' thing, on the coast o' South
America and among the Malay Islands. It passes away after a while, and
often without doin' much damage--though I _have_ seen a town shook
almost to pieces in about five minutes."

"And what did they do?" asked Jabez Jenkins.

"Och, whirri-hoo!" shouted Teddy Malone, for at that moment another
shock was felt, more violent than the preceding. The earth seemed
absolutely to roll, and one or two of the huts that had been carelessly
built, fell asunder in partial ruin.

"Where is my brother--and the doctor?" demanded Pauline, running up to
the group at the moment.

"They're away up the mountain, with Joe and Otto," answered little
Buxley; "I saw 'em start soon after daybreak--to explore, they said."

"What do you think should be done?" asked Pina, turning naturally to the
mate, as being the most intelligent of those around her.

"If it's goin' to be bad," said Malines, "I would advise you all to git
on board the ship as fast as ye can, for the land isn't so safe as the
water when it takes to quakin'."

"You seem to have had some experience of it. Is it going to be bad,
think you?"

"Earthquakes are deceptive--no man can tell."

"Well, then, we must do our best at once," said the queen, with an air
of calm decision worthy of her rank. "Go, Mr Malines, with your
sailors, and get all the boats ready. And you, my people, carry down
what you esteem most valuable and get on board the ship without loss of
time--for the rest, we are in the hands of a loving and merciful God."

While these events were enacting on the shore, Dominick, Otto, the
doctor, and Joe Binney were seated near the summit of the highest peak,
enjoying a cold breakfast. It was their first visit to that particular
peak, which had a slight hollow or basin of perhaps fifty feet diameter
in the centre.

Just before the first tremulous shock the doctor had been explaining to
the prime minister the nature of volcanoes, and stating his opinion that
the cup-like hollow before them was an extinct crater. The slight shock
stopped him in his discourse, and caused the party to look at each other
with serious faces.

"It's not extinct yet," exclaimed Otto excitedly, pointing to the