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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Flaming Mountain, by Harold Leland Goodwin
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Flaming Mountain
+
+Author: Harold Leland Goodwin
+
+Release Date: April 18, 2010 [EBook #32038]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FLAMING MOUNTAIN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                         THE FLAMING MOUNTAIN
+
+                 A RICK BRANT SCIENCE-ADVENTURE STORY
+
+                            BY JOHN BLAINE
+
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS
+NEW YORK, N. Y.
+1962
+
+ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
+
+_Printed in the United States of America_
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: _Rick swung the Sky Wagon onto a northward course that
+would take them past the volcano_]
+
+
+
+
+                           _THE FLAMING MOUNTAIN_
+
+     Rock, melting like butter on a hot stove! It is hard to believe,
+     but that is what happens on San Luz, a small island off the coast
+     of South America. When Rick Brant and his pal Dan Scott fly to the
+     famous resort island to join Rick's father, head of the Spindrift
+     Scientific Foundation, a seemingly inactive volcano is about to
+     explode in an eruption which could easily blow San Luz off the map.
+
+     The immediate threat is to a small town at the foot of the volcano,
+     where the air reeks with the fumes of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur
+     dioxide, and it is here that Rick and Scotty help Dr. Brant and his
+     scientist associates set up headquarters, in the hope of finding a
+     way of controlling an eruption that is growing into a certainty
+     with fantastic speed.
+
+     But their efforts to save the island town are hindered by the
+     superior forces of nature, the superstitious fatalism of the
+     people--and sabotage!
+
+     With the earth opening up all around them, Rick, Scotty, and the
+     scientists have little hope of preventing a catastrophe, until a
+     decision is made to unleash the awesome power of atomic energy in a
+     desperate last attempt to fight the volcanic eruption.
+
+     Jam-packed with excitement and swift, tense action, _The Flaming
+     Mountain_ has all the elements that have made the Rick Brant
+     Science Adventure series a favorite with boys all over the world.
+
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+
+       I VULCAN'S HAMMER
+
+      II SAN LUZ
+
+     III FIRING PARTIES
+
+      IV SEISMIC TRACINGS
+
+       V DYNAMITE MISSING
+
+      VI DANGEROUS TRAIL
+
+     VII CASA GUEVARA
+
+    VIII THE GOVERNOR VANISHES
+
+      IX THE YELLOW GROUND
+
+       X THE VOLCANIC PIPE
+
+      XI EARTHQUAKE!
+
+     XII THE RISING MAGMA
+
+    XIII ARMED REVOLT
+
+     XIV NIGHT PATROL
+
+      XV STALEMATE
+
+     XVI THE BRANT APPROACH
+
+    XVII SOLUTION: NUCLEAR
+
+   XVIII THE SEABEES
+
+     XIX THE OLD ONE YIELDS
+
+      XX A FEW SOUVENIRS
+
+
+
+
+List of Illustrations
+
+
+_Rick and Scotty's scale model of San Luz Island_
+
+_Spindrift Island_
+
+_Rick swung the Sky Wagon onto a northward course that would take them
+past the volcano_
+
+_Connel was alone in the jeep_
+
+_The three invaders waited while the long minutes ticked away_
+
+_"They're shooting at us!" Rick exclaimed, and gave the plane the gun_
+
+
+
+
+THE FLAMING MOUNTAIN
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+Vulcan's Hammer
+
+
+The entire staff of the world-famed Spindrift Scientific Foundation
+gathered in the conference room of the big gray laboratory building on
+the southeast corner of Spindrift Island. It was unusual for the whole
+staff to be called to a meeting. Even more unusual--not a single member
+knew what the meeting was about.
+
+Rick Brant, son of the Spindrift Foundation's director, Dr. Hartson
+Brant, was perhaps even more mystified than the professional scientists.
+His father had phoned from Florida with brief instructions. "Rick, I
+want you and Scotty to make a scale model of San Luz Island. It's off
+the coast of Venezuela. You'll find it on the sailing chart of the area,
+and there are references in the library. Be as complete and detailed as
+possible, and have the model ready by Saturday. Pick me up at Newark
+Airport Saturday noon. I'll have a guest. Ask Hobart Zircon to call a
+full staff meeting for two o'clock Saturday."
+
+Rick and his pal Don Scott had completed the model, which was now
+resting on a table at the front of the lab conference room. One hour ago
+he had flown with Scotty in his plane, the Sky Wagon, to Newark Airport
+where he had picked up his father and a short, white-haired elderly man
+by the name of Dr. Esteben Balgos.
+
+[Illustration: _Rick and Scotty's scale model of San Luz Island_]
+
+Rick, a teen-aged version of his long-legged, athletic father, was
+consumed with curiosity. He could tell that the scientist was deeply
+concerned over something. It seemed likely Dr. Balgos was at least
+involved in that concern, if not the actual cause. But Rick still knew
+of nothing that would relate Spindrift Island off the coast of New
+Jersey to San Luz, an island off the coast of northern South America.
+
+The Spindrift scientists were gathering, pausing to examine the model on
+the table before they took their seats. Hobart Zircon, the huge, bearded
+senior physicist and associate director of the Foundation, looked at the
+model in company with Tony Briotti, the youthful staff archaeologist.
+Dr. Howard Shannon, chief biologist, came in with Julius Weiss, the
+famous mathematical physicist.
+
+A slender, attractive dark-haired girl, Rick's own age, moved through
+the crowd to his side. He gave her a smile of welcome. Jan Miller was
+the daughter of one of the staff physicists, Dr. Walter Miller.
+
+"What's all this about, Rick?" Jan asked. "And where are Barby and
+Scotty?"
+
+"I wish I knew what it's all about," Rick replied. "Barby and Scotty are
+at the house with Dad's guest, a Dr. Esteben Balgos. We picked Dad and
+Balgos up at Newark an hour ago. They'll be over in a few minutes." Rick
+had come to the lab ahead of the others to be sure there were sufficient
+chairs set up and that the model was in position on the table.
+
+"You must have some idea," the girl insisted. "You and Scotty made the
+model."
+
+"Sure we did. But we don't know why. Dad called from the University of
+Florida and gave instructions, and I didn't have a chance to ask any
+questions."
+
+"It must be important," Jan commented. "The whole staff hasn't been
+together since Christmas."
+
+Rick nodded. That had been a social occasion, not business, and on the
+day after Christmas he, Scotty, and Dr. Parnell Winston had taken off
+for Cairo where they had become involved in intrigue and a major
+scientific mystery. The episode was now referred to as _The Egyptian Cat
+Mystery_. The boy wondered if this meeting was a beginning of something
+exciting, too, and in the same instant he was sure that it was.
+
+"Here comes Barby," Jan said suddenly. "Excuse me, Rick."
+
+Barby Brant, Rick's pretty blond sister, paused in the doorway until she
+saw Jan hurrying to meet her. The two girls conferred briefly, then
+hurried to take seats in the exact center of the front row.
+
+It was the custom at Spindrift to include the island's young people in
+staff activities, and Rick had been a part of the various projects and
+discussions since he could remember. But not until Jan Miller's arrival
+on the island, during the adventure of _The Electronic Mind Reader_, had
+Barby bothered to attend the scientific discussions. Jan, as bright as
+she was attractive, had succeeded in persuading Rick's sister that
+science was not only exciting, but understandable.
+
+The buzz of talk in the room stopped as Hartson Brant and his guest
+entered, followed by Scotty. The husky, dark-haired ex-Marine at once
+joined Rick. The two had been close friends and constant companions
+since the day Scotty joined the staff during _The Rocket's Shadow_
+project. An orphan, Scotty was now a permanent member of the Spindrift
+family.
+
+Hartson Brant did not need to rap for attention. There was an expectant
+hush as he began immediately. "Our guest today is Dr. Esteben Balgos, of
+whom many of you have heard. Until his retirement a few years ago, he
+was considered by his colleagues as the dean of South American
+geophysicists. His primary field of interest was--and still
+is--volcanology."
+
+Rick leaned forward. Volcanology, study of volcanoes. The mountain that
+formed the backbone of San Luz had once been a volcano, but it had been
+dead or inactive since prehistoric times. El Viejo--the Old One--was its
+name. Rick wondered if it might not be the connecting link between San
+Luz and Spindrift, but he couldn't yet see how.
+
+"Dr. Balgos reached me at Florida University while I was lecturing
+there. We talked, and I agreed that we would examine his problem. It is
+so unusual and challenging that I wanted all of you to hear what he has
+to say. Rick and Scotty have built a scale model of the island to help
+Dr. Balgos describe the problem to us."
+
+"So that's why we built it," Scotty whispered. "I've been wondering."
+
+Rick grinned. So had he.
+
+Dr. Balgos acknowledged Hartson Brant's introduction, took a moment to
+wipe his horn-rimmed spectacles, and got down to business, using a
+pencil as a pointer. He spoke perfect English with a soft, musical
+Spanish accent which Rick found pleasant.
+
+"This, young ladies and colleagues, is San Luz. I retired to this island
+from my native Peru a few years ago, so it is now my home. Its
+relationship to South America is the same as that of Bermuda to the east
+coast of your country. In other words, it is an island vacation resort.
+There are about 32,000 people on San Luz, engaged in caring for
+tourists, in fishing, in farming bananas and cacao, and in digging and
+exporting pumice."
+
+Rick knew this from his research. He hoped Dr. Balgos wouldn't linger
+too long over descriptions.
+
+"The tourist facilities are along the south coast, which is one
+continuous beach, starting at the main town of Calor, and running to
+Redondo, a fishing village at the northern tip of the island. There are
+several excellent hotels and guest homes."
+
+Dr. Balgos pointed with his pencil to a cluster of buildings at the base
+of the mountain. "The location of this hotel is an exception. It is
+called the Hot Springs Hotel, and it is one of our biggest. It is named
+for the hot springs at the base of the mountain. You will see at once
+that El Viejo--this mountain--is clearly a volcano. The presence of hot
+springs at its base indicates that it is not entirely dead."
+
+Now they were getting somewhere, Rick thought.
+
+"Starting a few months ago, earthquakes in the vicinity began to
+increase in frequency. Since we are on the edge of a major geological
+fault, earthquakes are not at all unusual, and the increase attracted
+little attention. However, I have corresponded with seismologists
+throughout the area, and it is clear that the increase is due to
+activity directly under our island."
+
+The Peruvian scientist held up his pencil, like a teacher addressing a
+class. "I see that you consider this significant. So do I. There is one
+other bit of information that is also significant. The flow from the hot
+springs has changed in character. There is an occasional outpouring of
+hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide. Also, the average temperature of
+the springs has gone up several degrees."
+
+The area must smell pretty bad, Rick thought. Hydrogen sulfide was what
+gave the characteristic aroma to rotten eggs, and sulfur dioxide wasn't
+exactly perfume. He wasn't surprised when Dr. Balgos added that the
+hotel had been virtually abandoned.
+
+"My data is not sufficient for any conclusion, but the general one that
+some kind of volcanic activity is increasing. However, I'm sure most of
+you depend, as I do, on intuition as well as on data. This intuition is
+simply the result of years of experience. Mine tells me that El Viejo is
+about to become active again."
+
+There was a murmur from the scientists.
+
+"I am aware," Balgos went on, "that this is a conclusion which cannot
+yet be supported. But I am certain in my own mind that such is the case.
+I do not believe the present mild activity causing the earthquakes will
+subside. But more than that, I believe the activity will grow in a
+particularly disastrous way."
+
+The scientist pointed to the volcano. "I have examined this cone. It is
+ancient, covered with jungle growth. It is clearly stable. The crater is
+filled in with compacted, weathered lava. If there should be a normal
+eruption, it would have to vent through the hot springs, which is the
+only active channel. Notice that the town of Calor would then be right
+in line with the eruption."
+
+Rick could see it clearly. The contours of the terrain were such that a
+lava flow of any magnitude would engulf the little city.
+
+"I believe the volcano will vent through the hot springs," Balgos went
+on. "But my examination of the volcano leads me to expect that it will
+vent with fantastic violence. The hot-springs channel is purely seepage.
+There is no open vent. This means the mountain will resist the growing
+forces under it until it is forced to give with great suddenness. To be
+as concise as possible, what I see here is another Krakatoa."
+
+There was a concerted gasp from the assembled group. Rick felt his
+scalp prickle. He had expected nothing like this. Krakatoa, he knew from
+his reading, had been the greatest cataclysm in recorded history. The
+volcano, in the East Indies, had blown up with enormous violence. The
+island on which it was located had been literally blasted to bits;
+nothing was left. Nearby islands were blazed clean. No one knew how many
+people had perished instantly. The blast was felt completely around the
+world, and the dust of Krakatoa had so filled the world's skies that the
+weather was changed. Winters came earlier and stayed longer, until the
+dust settled at last.
+
+"This is our problem," Balgos said simply. "It is made more difficult by
+two things, our people and our politics. The people are superstitious
+fatalists. I know them too well to expect that they will move from the
+island. And where would they move? San Luz is claimed by three
+countries: England, Colombia, and Venezuela. But we consider ourselves
+independent. We have our own legislature. We cannot go to any one
+country for help without acknowledging its sovereignty over us. We
+cannot go to all three at once, because the diplomatic difficulties of
+getting three nations together would take too much time. Besides, I do
+not know what any nation could do. And so, I come to you, on behalf of
+our governor, and of myself."
+
+There was silence when Balgos finished. Then big Hobart Zircon boomed,
+"If we assume your conclusions are correct, what can be done? There is
+no way of stopping a volcanic eruption, much less an explosion. Man is
+helpless before such natural forces. It would be easier to stop a
+hurricane than another Krakatoa."
+
+Balgos shrugged. "I agree. Yet, can we stand by and wait without even
+making an attempt?"
+
+"Certainly not," Hartson Brant replied. "First, we must develop more
+data. Dr. Balgos had said that his conclusions are based on intuition,
+and not facts. I, for one, trust his intuition. But we must know the
+exact situation before we can even begin to study the possibilities of
+doing something."
+
+Tony Briotti objected. "Even with a study, what can be done? I'm not a
+physical scientist, so this is outside of my field. But I've never heard
+of anyone even attempting to change the direction of a lava flow, much
+less control an eruption."
+
+Dr. Balgos spread his hands expressively. "In mythology, Vulcan was the
+blacksmith, the god of fire and volcanoes. We have grown too wise to
+believe in myths, but we do believe in the scientific method. I come to
+you, as some of its most famous practitioners. If anything can be
+done--and I do not know if it can--then you are the scientific team that
+can do it. If you can do nothing, then San Luz will die, violently,
+under Vulcan's hammer!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+San Luz
+
+
+Rick Brant awoke slowly. For a moment he lay with eyes closed while he
+tried to identify the strange odor that smote his nostrils. It was a
+noxious combination of medicine, burned matches, and ancient eggs. Then
+he remembered, and sat bolt upright in bed.
+
+San Luz! The smell of the hot springs burned his nose even through the
+air-conditioning system. It must be awful outside, he thought. It had
+been bad enough last night.
+
+He looked over to the other bed in the luxurious room and saw Scotty,
+wrapped like a cocoon in sheet and blanket. For a moment he was tempted
+to heave a pillow at the ex-Marine, then reconsidered. Scotty needed
+sleep. Let him wake up naturally.
+
+Rick lay back on his pillow and closed his eyes. He could do with a
+little more shut-eye himself. So much had happened in the past few days
+that he was still spinning from the speed of it.
+
+The arrival of Dr. Esteben Balgos had upset Spindrift more thoroughly
+than anything else Rick could remember. He and Scotty had sat through
+hours of argument and heated debate. Jan and Barby had given up when the
+scientific arguments got far beyond their ability to understand. Rick
+hadn't understood much either, but he had stuck it out to the end.
+
+The conclusion was that probably nothing could be done. There was simply
+no way to check the eruption of a volcano. If El Viejo was going to blow
+its top, well . . . that was that. But the Spindrift Scientific
+Foundation was not known for its eagerness to drop seemingly insoluble
+problems, so the staff had agreed that a study should be made, at the
+very least.
+
+Hartson Brant had chosen Hobart Zircon and Julius Weiss to work with
+him, then he had persuaded an old friend, Dr. Jeffrey Williams, to drop
+his work for a short time and join the party. Dr. Williams was a noted
+seismologist. From the U. S. Geological Survey, Hartson Brant had
+borrowed Dr. David Riddle, a geologist with considerable experience in
+volcanology.
+
+The scientific team departed at once for San Luz, leaving Rick and
+Scotty to bring up the rear. The boys loaded scientific equipment into
+the Sky Wagon and took off for San Luz. It took three days for the
+little plane to make the trip, the longest flight of Rick's flying
+career. Only once before had he flown so far over water, and then only
+to the Virgin Islands. The plane had made it easily, but he and Scotty
+had sweated it out.
+
+Ordinarily, Hartson Brant would have taken the boys by commercial air,
+but he wanted Rick's plane on hand. Since the senior scientist did not
+know what difficulties the scientists might encounter, he wanted a way
+of making aerial surveys and photographs, plus ready communication with
+the mainland and nearby islands.
+
+The boys had arrived early the evening before, only to be whisked to the
+Executive Mansion where the governor of San Luz, the Honorable Luis
+Montoya, was holding a reception for the visiting scientists.
+
+The governor, a charming little man who looked like Rick's idea of a
+Spanish grandee, knew why the scientists were there, of course. But the
+secret was confined to the governor himself and to Balgos. Even Jaime
+Guevara, the lieutenant governor, did not know.
+
+The agreement was that the scientific group would seem to be interested
+only in the hot springs. The purpose of their visit, the governor had
+announced to the local press and radio, was to investigate the change in
+the springs that had ruined a principal San Luz resort hotel.
+
+By ten o'clock, when the reception ended, the boys were exhausted. But
+the end was not yet. They were riding in Zircon's jeep--five jeeps had
+been assigned to the party by the governor--and Zircon had to meet the
+last member of the party, Bradley Connel, a geologist borrowed from an
+oil company in Caracas, Venezuela, by Dr. Balgos.
+
+It was nearly midnight before the boys got to sleep, after nearly three
+days with minimum rest. So, both were tired. In the middle of thinking
+how tired he was, Rick dropped off to sleep again.
+
+He awoke with Scotty's voice in his ears. "Come on, old buddy. Dad's
+calling a staff meeting in fifteen minutes."
+
+Rick sat up. "How do you know?"
+
+"Didn't you hear the phone ring? Boy, you must be tired! Let's go. Time
+for a quick shower and coffee. I've had mine."
+
+Rick saw that a breakfast tray was on a bedside table. He had slept
+through Scotty's arising, shower, and delivery of breakfast. He shook
+his head, still groggy.
+
+A quick shower woke him up. He sipped coffee and ate toast while getting
+into his clothes, then the two hurried down the corridor of the luxury
+hotel to the conference room Hartson Brant had taken over as
+headquarters.
+
+The scientists were already there, taking seats around the room as the
+boys walked in.
+
+Rick looked at the new faces. It was the first time he had seen them in
+daylight. Dr. Jeffrey Williams was a plump, round-faced man with a shock
+of pure-white hair. Dr. David Riddle was tall, dark, lean, and heavily
+tanned. He looked like a mining engineer, or perhaps a forest ranger.
+Bradley Connel was short, heavy set, with straw-colored hair and the
+kind of complexion that is always sunburned and peeling so long as the
+days are hot--which meant always, this close to the equator.
+
+"Let's get to work," Hartson Brant said. "It's obvious that visual
+inspection is not going to tell us much. We'll have to get tracings
+before we have any real idea of what's going on under us. Dave, have you
+found anything of importance?"
+
+David Riddle shook his head. "It's a typical formation. Nothing unusual
+about it at all. El Viejo is simply a dead volcano, its cone filled in,
+and plenty of jungle on the slopes. The hot springs are just a seepage
+point, as Dr. Balgos knows. So far as I can tell, they're the weakest
+point, so if the mountain lets go, that is where the blowoff will come.
+Of course, this could be wrong and there may be weaker channels we don't
+suspect. We'll know when we start shooting."
+
+Hartson Brant looked at Dr. Williams. "Anything to add, Jeff?"
+
+"Not much. I've gone over the seismic data Esteben got from the
+seismologists in the area, and it's clear that the epicenter of most
+recent earthquakes in the area is right under us. Something is happening
+down in the earth under the mountain, but I can't say what it is. It may
+be volcanism or it may be a fault shifting."
+
+Rick knew that a fault was like a great crack in the earth's structure,
+but he had thought the scientists had agreed that the earthquakes were
+caused by volcanic action. He asked, "Sir, doesn't the change in the
+springs mean something?"
+
+"Perhaps, Rick," Dr. Williams answered. "We don't really know. Dr.
+Balgos thinks they mean a great deal, and I have respect for his
+opinions. But I'm only a seismologist. I have to depend on traces from
+earthquakes, and the traces tell us nothing but the single fact that
+something is going on far below."
+
+Hartson Brant nodded. "The answer will depend on more data, so today
+we'll start to collect it. Rick and Scotty brought apparatus, and the
+governor has supplied us with dynamite and two experienced helpers, Ruiz
+and Honorario."
+
+"How do we split up?" Julius Weiss asked.
+
+"Into firing and recording teams. Since we have only two recorders, we
+can have only two teams for data collection. But we can have three
+firing parties. Dave Riddle will work with Honorario, Brad Connel with
+Ruiz, and Hobart Zircon with Rick and Scotty. Julius, you and I will
+form one recording party, and Esteben and Jeff will form the other. Each
+team will have a jeep. Now, if you'll all gather around this model the
+boys made, we'll pick approximate locations for stations."
+
+The boys had brought the model with them. Now the group gathered around
+and discussed the best locations for both firing and recording parties.
+
+Dave Riddle was assigned a station on the slope of El Viejo near the
+town of Redondo on the north end of the island. Brad Connel was given a
+location on the northwestern slope, and Zircon and the boys were shown a
+position on the west near the place where pumice, a foamy volcanic rock,
+was mined. Hartson Brant and Julius Weiss were to place one recording
+station on the eastern slope of the mountain, while Dr. Williams and
+Dr. Balgos were assigned a station on the northern coast.
+
+Hartson Brant handed a wrist chronometer to each team leader. Each team
+was also to have a transit, with which to take bearings for the purpose
+of locating the stations with precision.
+
+"The hotel restaurant has packed lunches for us," Hartson Brant stated.
+"If we get under way at once, we can start shooting at one o'clock.
+Let's try for three shots each this afternoon. Each firing team will
+move one mile in a clockwise direction between shots, and we'll need to
+space the shots fifteen minutes apart. Hobart, you'll start shooting at
+1:00, Brad at 1:15, Dave at 1:30. At 2:00, we'll start the cycle over
+again. That should bring us all back to the hotel by suppertime."
+
+Big Hobart Zircon clapped the boys on the shoulder. "Let's get going.
+Scotty, you pick up our lunches. Rick, we'll load equipment."
+
+The five jeeps were lined up outside. Rick carried out a transit, the
+tripod slung over his shoulder, and found the two local helpers waiting.
+Ruiz was a short, swarthy man with gleaming white teeth and a
+Mexican-style sombrero. Honorario was only slightly taller, and so thin
+a strong breeze would blow him away. The two San Luzians greeted him
+courteously. "_Buenos días, señor._"
+
+Rick knew enough Spanish to be equally polite. "_Buenos días, señores.
+Cómo están ustedes?_"
+
+The two switched to English. Rick hoped it wasn't a reflection on his
+Spanish accent, acquired at Whiteside High School the year before. "We
+are well, señor," Ruiz answered, and Honorario added, "We hope you will
+enjoy San Luz, señor."
+
+Rick said that he expected to enjoy it very much indeed. He wondered if
+the two knew that their mountain was getting ready to blow its top. He
+asked, "Do you have the dynamite, _amigos_?"
+
+"In the shed, señor. Also the caps and the detonators. If you will come,
+I will show you." Ruiz gestured toward a concrete shed that stood some
+distance away.
+
+"What was the shed used for?" Rick asked as they walked toward it.
+
+"It is a shed for a pump, señor. The pump is for the hotel's water,
+which must be brought up the hill from Calor."
+
+In a moment Rick saw for himself. The pump was operating noisily. Along
+one wall were shelves, one of which contained two cases of dynamite and
+boxes of caps. On another shelf were three detonators. He selected one,
+then picked out six sticks of dynamite. He handled the stuff gingerly,
+even though he knew it was safe as so much soap. Dynamite, for all its
+explosive power, is stable stuff, and difficult to set off by accident.
+
+The dynamite caps were much less safe, however. Each was packed
+carefully in its own protective wrapping, but Rick took no chances. He
+put each one in a different pocket. Then, feeling like a keg of
+gunpowder with a sputtering fuse, he walked back to the jeep.
+
+Hobart Zircon and Scotty came out of the hotel as he approached.
+
+"Stand back," Rick said grimly. "I may go off like the Black Tom
+explosion if you touch me."
+
+Big Hobart Zircon chuckled. "Don't worry, Rick. If you do, we'll go off
+with you. Would it make you happier if I carried the explosives?"
+
+Rick considered. "It doesn't matter," he said. "If the stuff goes off,
+we'll all go into orbit at the same time and the jeep will go with us.
+Let's go."
+
+Scotty looked at him curiously. "Where are the caps?"
+
+Rick patted his pockets one at a time. "One in each breast pocket and
+one in my watch pocket. Don't push me around, buddy. I'm loaded."
+
+Scotty grinned. "I'll keep my distance."
+
+The rest of the party was loading jeeps now, too. Scotty hoisted the
+equipment and lunches into the back of the jeep and got in with them.
+Rick climbed gingerly into the front passenger seat and Zircon got ready
+to drive. He handed Rick a map. "You navigate. Our first destination is
+marked with a cross. We start out on the road leading west from the
+hotel. That will take us to the pumice works."
+
+"Okay," Rick began, but he never finished. The jeep began to rock under
+him. For an insane instant he thought it must have a perfectly silent
+motor, then he realized Zircon had not yet turned on the ignition
+switch. Sudden dizziness made him clutch at the seat, and instinctively
+he clapped an arm across his chest to protect the dynamite caps.
+
+He was vaguely conscious of yells from around him, and he struggled to
+sit up straight. His stomach was churning and he felt nauseated. Zircon
+let out a bellow like a wounded steer.
+
+From inside the hotel Rick heard the sudden crash of shattering glass
+and gripped the jeep seat tighter with his free hand.
+
+Then, as suddenly as it had come, it was over. He straightened up,
+dizzy. "Wh-what happened?" he asked shakily.
+
+He heard Dr. Balgos. "A warning, my friends. The most serious one yet."
+He pointed up to where the peak of El Viejo loomed. "The Old One must be
+working faster than I thought."
+
+"But what was it?" Rick asked again and at the same time was afraid that
+he knew.
+
+"Earthquake," Zircon boomed. He pointed.
+
+Rick stared. In a zigzag line across the hotel parking lot was a
+fissure, one that hadn't been there a minute before. The concrete gaped
+in widths varying from a crack to a few inches.
+
+The earth had opened up!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+Firing Parties
+
+
+It was a shaken group of scientists that moved off in their jeeps to the
+preselected stations. Most of the adults had experienced earthquakes
+before, but none had seen the earth split almost at their feet. To Rick,
+the sensation had been as upsetting as any he had ever experienced.
+
+"The one thing we learn to depend on," Zircon said, "is that the earth
+under our feet is solid and dependable. When it shakes like a jelly, it
+causes a kind of emotional shock, apart from any physical damage it may
+do."
+
+"It certainly did with me," Rick agreed.
+
+"Ditto," Scotty added.
+
+Zircon put the jeep in gear and moved away from the hotel. He drove
+slowly over the narrow part of the crack in the parking lot, then picked
+up speed. Rick looked around. Bradley Connel and Ruiz were following in
+their own vehicle.
+
+Zircon took a blacktop road to the west, close to the base of the
+mountain. Fortunately for Rick's peace of mind, the road was fairly
+smooth. He had never carried dynamite caps before, but he knew they
+contained fulminate of mercury, which is one of the most unstable and
+violent chemical substances, pound for pound, ever created.
+
+The big scientist sensed his uneasiness. "Relax, Rick. Those caps won't
+go off without a substantial knock against something. Enjoy the
+scenery."
+
+Rick grinned. "I'll try."
+
+The scenery was tropical. Once away from the hotel grounds, there was
+heavy growth, vines, creepers, and broad-leafed plants. He saw palmetto
+and wild banana interspersed with Judas palms and other typical
+vegetation. The growth clung to the side of El Viejo like a thick green
+carpet. Now and then the jeep passed an open space in the vegetation and
+he saw the plains stretching away to the sea on his left.
+
+The jeep climbed gradually and Rick realized that their direction had
+changed. They were now heading on the more northerly course. The
+vegetation was thinner, too, and he guessed it was because they were
+higher up the mountainside. At a rough estimate, the jeep had climbed
+nearly a thousand feet.
+
+"Pumice quarry ahead," Zircon announced.
+
+Rick saw ramshackle wooden buildings, then piles of grayish rock. A
+hundred yards farther on he saw an open pit. This was where the San
+Luzians mined pumice for export.
+
+"Is there much of a market for it?" Scotty asked.
+
+"Not as much as there was years ago," Zircon replied. "Pumice, as you
+probably know, is volcanic rock. But not an ordinary one. It's a kind of
+foamy lava honeycombed with gas bubbles. It's used as an abrasive.
+Modern industrial products have replaced it in general use, but
+apparently there's still enough demand so that the San Luzians are able
+to export a little. Our firing station is about a mile from here."
+
+Rick looked at the rough terrain. "Think we can get through?"
+
+"Easily. According to the map, we have an unpaved road part of the way."
+
+The unpaved road turned out to be a pair of wagon tracks. But at least
+there were no trees in the way. Rick held on tight as Zircon shifted
+into four-wheel drive and forged ahead.
+
+The big scientist kept an eye on his odometer, or mileage counter, while
+the boys watched for a clearing. It was slightly over a mile before they
+found one, and Zircon pulled off the road to let Brad Connel and Ruiz go
+by.
+
+The jeep stopped as the two came abreast and the geologist called, "Want
+to trade stations?"
+
+"We like this one," Zircon replied with a grin.
+
+"Don't blame you. I have another three miles through this stuff. Well,
+so long."
+
+The jeep started off and was soon lost as the path curved slightly.
+
+Zircon looked at his watch. "Plenty of time, but we might as well get
+ready."
+
+A few minutes search disclosed a spot far enough away from the clearing
+for safety, with no trees to be uprooted by the blast. Zircon took two
+of the dynamite sticks Rick carried and one of the caps. He placed the
+cap over one stick and used a special tool, like a jar opener, to crimp
+it into place.
+
+"This is the only really delicate part of the operation," he said. "If
+the crimpers slip, they could set off the cap and the dynamite. So be
+careful when you do it. Keep the crimpers low on the flange of the cap."
+
+He found a rubber band in his pocket and used it to hold the two sticks
+together. A coil of wire was produced next, and the connection made to
+the dynamite cap. Zircon dug a shallow hole with his heel and put the
+dynamite sticks in, then backed off unwinding wire as he went.
+
+The detonator had been left in the jeep. Rick got it and carried it to
+where Zircon waited with the pair of wires.
+
+"How does this thing work?" Scotty asked.
+
+"It's a dynamo," Zircon replied. "When the handle is pushed down it
+engages gears that spin a flywheel, which operates the dynamo long
+enough to send an electrical charge through the wires."
+
+"So don't sit on the handle," Rick joked.
+
+"And don't kick it," Scotty added.
+
+Zircon connected the wires to a pair of terminals on top of the
+detonator, then looked at his watch. "Plenty of time. We might as well
+take it easy. Anyone hungry?"
+
+No one was. It was too soon after breakfast. Instead, Rick took the
+opportunity to ask questions.
+
+"I can understand the general principle of what we're doing, but can you
+tell us exactly what happens?"
+
+"Sure. When the dynamite charge goes off, it sends shock waves through
+the earth in all directions. Whenever a shock wave strikes something of
+different density, its direction and velocity change. For instance, if
+there is denser rock a few hundred feet down, that will cause a change
+of both velocity and direction. With me so far?"
+
+"I think so," Scotty said. "The denser the stuff the wave strikes, the
+faster it moves. Like sound waves. I mean, sound moves faster in water
+than in air, and faster in a steel rail than in water. Is it the same?"
+
+"Just about," Zircon agreed. "The shock waves radiate away from us,
+through the earth, and eventually reach the recorders on the other side
+of the mountain. You can see what happens, I think. Waves will arrive at
+different times, depending on the path they took and the kind of
+material they went through."
+
+Rick nodded. "So if there's molten rock, or magma somewhere in the way,
+the shock wave that goes through it will slow down and arrive at the
+recorder later?"
+
+"That's it. The tracings we get can be analyzed to give us a kind of
+cross-sectional look at the mountain. You see, we know how fast the
+waves travel through different kinds of earth structure. Also, we will
+know the point of the explosion and the location of the recorder for
+each shot. Which reminds me. We'd better get out the equipment and
+locate ourselves precisely."
+
+"How?" Rick asked. "What will we use for landmarks?"
+
+"The top of the mountain, for one, and if you'll look carefully to a
+point slightly south of east between those two banana palms, you'll see
+the top of the control tower at the airport."
+
+Rick shook his head. "Good thing you're with us. I completely forgot to
+watch for landmarks."
+
+"That was the first thing I had in mind in looking for a spot," Zircon
+told him.
+
+The transit gave a precise angle between the two landmarks. Zircon drew
+a line on the map connecting the southern tip of the mountain and the
+airport tower. Then, with that as his base line, it was easy to draw two
+lines at the correct angles from each of the points. The transit's
+position was where the two lines intersected.
+
+By the time the scientist had finished, it was nearly one o'clock. The
+three walked to the detonator. "Pull the handle up," Zircon directed.
+Rick did so. "I'll count down from ten seconds. Push down on zero."
+
+It was like the countdown for a rocket firing, Rick thought. Zircon
+called out the time starting at one minute, then called off the last ten
+seconds. As he reached zero, Rick pushed the handle home.
+
+The dynamite went off with a roar that sent leaves and dirt flying, and
+Rick felt the shock wave slam against his ears with stunning force.
+
+"Open your mouth next time," Zircon said. "I forgot to warn you." He was
+already reeling in the wire. "Let's get going. One mile farther on for
+the next shot."
+
+At the next station the same procedure was repeated, but before it was
+time, there was a far-off explosion. Zircon looked at his watch. "Brad
+Connel. Right on time." In another fifteen minutes there was an even
+more distant sound as David Riddle's first shot went off. They ate their
+lunch and listened to the echo off the mountain.
+
+Zircon and the boys were ready when their time came. Location this time
+had been made on sightings toward the mountain, and a flagpole at Cape
+San Souci on the western side of the island.
+
+The road petered out and they were forced to go cross-country to reach
+the third shot station. Fortunately, Brad Connel had left a path of
+crushed vegetation, so it was only necessary to follow where he had led.
+
+After the third shot, the three collected their equipment and drove back
+to the hotel.
+
+They were the first back. All three were sticky from the heat, and
+somewhat insect bitten. By unanimous consent they headed for the
+showers.
+
+Rick dressed except for his shoes, then stretched out on his bed. He
+wondered what the day's work would show. The memory of the earthquake
+was still fresh, and he was anxious to see if it had come from rising
+magma far below, or from some other source. He had a mental image of
+white-hot rock rising sluggishly, melting a path to the surface. Now and
+then the magma struck water, or gas-producing minerals, and then there
+was a tightly held explosion that made the earth shudder.
+
+Well, it was probably like that, from what he had read about volcanic
+action. Anyway, he could do without earthquakes. They were unnerving.
+
+Scotty finished dressing, and Rick slipped on his shoes. It was time for
+the others to be back. Connel should have arrived only a few minutes
+behind them, but it would take longer for the others because they had
+gone around the mountain in the other direction.
+
+The boys walked to the staff conference room and found Hartson Brant and
+Julius Weiss. The two were busy unrolling long strips of paper covered
+with blue shadings.
+
+"Find anything yet?" Rick asked his father.
+
+"No. We're just getting ready to take a look. How did it go?"
+
+"No trouble. Zircon must still be in the shower. Probably Connel is,
+too. He must have been right behind us."
+
+The scientists started poring over the traces.
+
+"Here's your first shot," Hartson Brant said. He pointed to where a
+series of squiggles began. Rick could see nothing of interest. All the
+pen marks looked about the same to him. It would take expert analysis to
+make anything out of them.
+
+The boys left the scientists to their work and wandered out into the
+parking lot. "I want to take a closer look at that crack," Rick said.
+
+"Same here. Suppose it goes to China?"
+
+Rick grinned at his pal. "That's a myth. If you drilled a hole straight
+down through the center of the earth from here you wouldn't come out
+anywhere near China. You'd be in the Southern Hemisphere."
+
+"Don't get technical on me, boy."
+
+The crack, however, went down only about three feet, gradually narrowing
+until it was closed. Even so, it was impressive. Rick knew that the
+actual break must continue down into the earth for some distance,
+perhaps for hundreds of feet. The force it took to shake the earth like
+that was awesome. Again he was reminded sharply of the kind of forces
+against which the Spindrift group was trying to contend, and he felt for
+the first time that the job was completely hopeless. What could mere men
+do?
+
+A horn honking wildly brought him to quick attention. He turned and saw
+a jeep coming along the western road into the parking lot. Brad Connel!
+But where was Ruiz? Then, as the jeep neared, Rick saw. The San Luzian
+was lashed to an improvised stretcher lying across the back of the jeep!
+
+The geologist drew to a stop, his face chalky.
+
+"Get a doctor!" he shouted. "Quickly! Ruiz got caught in the last
+explosion. I think he's dead!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+Seismic Tracings
+
+
+Ruiz, the short, friendly San Luzian, was not dead, but he was only
+barely alive. Within a half hour he was on his way to the hospital at
+Calor, crushed and unconscious.
+
+Brad Connel was badly shaken. "I thought he was behind me," the
+geologist explained. "But he had gone back to check the cap connection.
+At least, that's what he must have gone back for. I fired, then turned
+around, and he wasn't there. He was blown fifty feet at least. If only I
+had checked! But he was there with me, and I just kept my eye on the
+chronometer. He didn't say anything. He just walked off."
+
+There was nothing much to be said. It was the kind of accident that
+seems absolutely senseless. Both Connel and Ruiz were old hands with
+explosives, yet the San Luzian apparently had wandered back to the
+charge just as it went off.
+
+Rick and Scotty walked toward the hot springs behind the hotel and
+talked it over.
+
+"Pretty stupid thing for anyone to do," Scotty said soberly.
+
+Rick agreed. "Especially an old hand. Ruiz was supposed to be
+experienced, but I can't imagine how a veteran could pull a stunt like
+that."
+
+It made absolutely no sense. Ruiz spoke English. Rick knew that from his
+conversation with the San Luzian. So he must have known Connel was
+counting down, getting ready to push the plunger home. Why would he walk
+into the blast, unless he was tired of living? But he didn't believe
+Ruiz would try to get himself killed deliberately. The little San Luzian
+had seemed like a sane, happy individual.
+
+Rick gave up. Maybe when Connel calmed down a little he could shed more
+light on the accident. "The smell from the springs is getting pretty
+strong," Scotty remarked.
+
+It certainly was. The wind had been from the hotel toward the hot
+springs most of the day, and the odor hadn't been bad. Now, in the
+vicinity of the springs, it was making Rick's eyes water and his nose
+smart.
+
+"Think we can get close enough for a look?" Rick asked.
+
+"We can try. There's the building ahead."
+
+A cement walk led from the hotel to the springs, rising up a gradual
+incline that was not too steep for wheel chairs, or for the elderly. The
+boys had heard that many invalids had come here, to bathe in the hot
+springs, to drink the mineral water, and to soak in warm mud.
+
+"How'd you like a nice hot mud bath?" Rick asked.
+
+Scotty grinned. "Can't say it appeals to me, but there must be something
+to it. There are mud baths and hot springs in Europe, too. With plenty
+of customers."
+
+Rick took out his handkerchief and dried eyes that were watering from
+the fumes. He doubted that the gases were good for them, but he was
+curious. He wanted to see where the volcano would blow its top, if it
+was going to.
+
+In spite of the irritating fumes, they persisted and got a quick look at
+the former health area. There was a series of pools for bathers, ranging
+from big ones for large groups to individual tublike affairs, all nicely
+tiled. There was one area of mud baths. Rick had an impression of two
+areas, one of bubbling mud, the other of steaming water. It was enough.
+The boys turned and got out of there.
+
+Back at the hotel, the scientists were working. All were present, except
+for Brad Connel, who had asked to be excused. He was in his room,
+apparently still badly upset over the accident.
+
+Dr. Jeffrey Williams had obtained a large sheet of paper and had
+sketched an outline of the volcano and the earth under it as seen in
+cross section. As Hartson Brant read off data from the day's tracings,
+Dr. Williams plotted points far underground. Now and then he connected
+points, or put in a light line.
+
+Rick and Scotty watched with interest. The tracings meant nothing to
+them; analysis was a job for trained scientists. But Dr. Williams was
+slowly producing a picture on the paper.
+
+"That's all," Hartson Brant said finally. "How does it look, Jeff?"
+
+The seismologist shook his head. "Not good." He held his pencil almost
+flat to the paper and began shading in an area bounded by the points he
+had made. "According to what we have, this is the shape of a magma
+front." He drew in other lines, rising vertically through the earth into
+the volcano. "Apparently these discontinuities indicate old channels,
+now filled in. Notice that the magma is not following the original
+channels. This seems to confirm what Esteben has been telling us."
+
+The volcanologist nodded. "It seems to. Jeff, do you have any doubt
+about this area being magma?"
+
+"I'm afraid not. The data fits. Of course it's still pretty far below
+the surface."
+
+Rick could see that the ominous shading was nearly twice as far
+underground as the top of the volcano was above sea level.
+
+Julius Weiss spoke up. "The next step is to find out how fast the magma
+is rising."
+
+"A series of shots every day for the next few days should tell us that,"
+Hartson Brant agreed. "Hobart, you've been pretty quiet. Any comments?"
+
+"None of any importance," the big physicist boomed. "Only this: what can
+we possibly do about a situation like this?"
+
+Hartson Brant shrugged. "I don't know. At least we can keep track of the
+magma."
+
+David Riddle, the geologist, added, "It will allow time to warn the
+population. I can see no other means of saving them except to get them
+off the island."
+
+Rick had reached the same conclusion. It didn't take a scientist to
+realize the gravity of the situation. El Viejo was getting ready for
+something big, unless the magma subsided. Since no one was really sure
+about the physics of volcanology, no one had a good guess why the
+volcanic action had begun again. No one could be sure it would not
+decrease, either.
+
+"This picture is pretty rough," Dr. Williams said. "I'll refine it a
+little after dinner, Hartson. It will give us a better basis for
+plotting tomorrow's results."
+
+"Good idea," Hartson Brant agreed. "And speaking of dinner, it's about
+time. Let's wash up and meet in the dining room in a half hour."
+
+"Better call Brad Connel," Zircon said. "I know how upset he must be,
+but it will be better if he joins us and eats something."
+
+Rick and Scotty returned to their room and washed for dinner. Both were
+quiet. The appearance of the magma under them, almost like a mushroom
+cloud in shape, was pretty ominous. Like sitting on a volcano, Rick
+thought. It was the most appropriate expression he could think of. No
+wonder the earth had split.
+
+Scotty mused aloud. "Rock. Melting like butter on a stove. Thousands of
+tons of it. Makes you appreciate natural forces, doesn't it?"
+
+"Even hydrogen bombs are pretty feeble by comparison," Rick agreed. "It
+makes me uneasy to think of all that stuff boiling up under us."
+
+"I caught myself looking down a couple of times," Scotty said with a
+grin. "I wouldn't be surprised to see steam coming up through the rug."
+
+Rick consulted his watch. "Maybe food will make us feel better. Come on.
+It's about time."
+
+The scientific party was alone in the hotel, except for a reduced staff.
+The governor had made arrangements for the hotel to operate so that the
+visitors could have service. Rick almost wished they had stayed at a
+beach hotel with other people around them. The huge resort was like an
+abandoned city, with a few ghosts left in it.
+
+They walked through the conference room on their way into dinner and
+found Connel looking over the sketch Williams had made. He looked up as
+they entered and greeted them casually.
+
+"Hello, Rick, Scotty. I see we do have magma below us."
+
+"That's what Dr. Williams said," Rick agreed. "How do you feel, Mr.
+Connel?"
+
+The geologist shrugged. "How can I feel? Ruiz was--is--a nice little
+guy. I still don't know what happened, why he should walk back to the
+charge. I was concentrating on getting the charge off on time, and there
+was no reason for him to go back."
+
+"You said he went to check the cap connection," Scotty reminded.
+
+"It's the only reason I can think of, and it isn't a very good one. He
+made the connection himself. Maybe he wanted another quick look."
+
+The geologist transferred his attention back to the sketch. "The stuff
+is still pretty far down. Good thing, too. That will give time for
+evacuating the island. We've probably got several months yet."
+
+The subject wasn't brought up during dinner, but over coffee Esteben
+Balgos commented, "We must keep the governor informed. Jeff, if you will
+lend me your sketch, I'll take it to the Executive Mansion first thing
+in the morning and bring it back before we begin shooting. I think the
+governor will want to start planning for evacuation, if he has not yet
+done so."
+
+Williams nodded. "Help yourself, Esteben. I'll probably have the sketch
+in my room. Knock on the door in the morning if you want it."
+
+The talk turned to heat-transfer mechanisms in the earth, and from there
+to the whole problem of solar-energy input and outflow. The subject was
+not one in which Rick had any background, and it wasn't long before he
+lost interest. Besides, he was still tired from the trip, and the day's
+events had added their own burden of fatigue.
+
+Scotty yawned, and Rick took the opportunity to suggest, "Let's go to
+bed."
+
+"I'm with you."
+
+The boys excused themselves and in a short time were settled down for
+the night. Rick fell asleep almost instantly.
+
+He awoke with Scotty shouting in his ear. "Let's go, Rick! Trouble!"
+
+Rick was on his feet, into trousers and shoes before he was fully awake.
+Scotty had already dashed into the corridor. Rick joined him and the
+rest of the scientists, who were standing in a group in front of Jeffrey
+Williams' room. The white-haired scientist was holding a handkerchief to
+a bloody bruise on his head. Rick hurried up just in time to hear him
+tell the group:
+
+"I don't know what happened. My door wasn't locked, so anyone could have
+come in. I didn't see a soul. I must have dozed off."
+
+"What's going on?" Rick demanded.
+
+His father answered. "Someone came into Jeff's room and slugged him,
+apparently while he was dozing over the tracings. Both the tracings and
+the sketch are gone!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+Dynamite Missing
+
+
+"There's only one reason I can think of why anyone would want to steal
+the tracings," Rick said. He held on for a moment as Zircon steered the
+jeep over a bump in the trail. "If word has leaked out about why we're
+really here, maybe someone in the tourist business would steal the
+evidence to keep business from being ruined."
+
+Scotty spoke up from the rear seat. "There's one big fat flaw in that
+argument, boy. Would anyone care so much about business that he'd want
+to stay and be blown up? Who thinks more of business than he does of his
+own skin?"
+
+Zircon chuckled. "There may be such people, but I suspect they're
+scarce."
+
+Rick had to agree. He stared through the windshield at the tail of Brad
+Connel's jeep. The geologist was leading the way to the firing area, and
+he was alone. Hartson Brant had tried to assign one of the boys as a
+helper, but Connel had balked. He insisted that he did not need a
+helper, that he was used to handling charges alone, that he did not want
+to take the risk of an accident like that of yesterday.
+
+"Connel was pretty determined to go it alone," Rick remarked.
+
+"He's upset over the accident to Ruiz," Zircon pointed out. "He probably
+feels bad because he couldn't see Ruiz when he visited the hospital."
+
+Connel had gone into town with Dr. Balgos, and had paid a call at the
+Executive Mansion. While Balgos talked with Governor Montoya, recreating
+the stolen sketch from memory, Connel had been taken to the hospital by
+Lieutenant Governor Jaime Guevara. The hospital reported that Ruiz was
+on the danger list, his condition unchanged. He could have no visitors.
+Apparently both Guevara and Governor Montoya had tried to assure Connel
+that he should not be so depressed over what was obviously a freak
+accident.
+
+The trio stopped at their first station, and Connel waved, then
+continued on his way. Rick watched him out of sight, then turned to go
+to work. He remembered what the geologist had said the night before.
+
+"Connel figures we have months before the volcano blows," he remembered.
+
+"What?" Zircon looked up sharply. "How did he arrive at that
+conclusion?"
+
+"From Dr. Williams' sketch."
+
+"Hmmm." The big scientist checked the detonator thoughtfully. "He must
+have figured on a straight upward flow of the magma. But from the shape
+of the magma front, I think it's highly unlikely that it will progress
+in any such regular fashion. Instead, the front probably will increase
+erratically, but in a kind of progression. It may double its frontage at
+approximately regular periods."
+
+Scotty scratched his chin. "Double its frontage, huh? What does that
+mean?"
+
+"Maybe four hundred square feet today, eight hundred tomorrow, and
+sixteen hundred the day after. We won't know the rate of growth, or the
+time scale, until we've watched it for a while. But I talked with Balgos
+and Hartson last night at some length, and their opinion is that we
+probably have a couple of weeks, maybe even three or four. But not
+months."
+
+Rick whistled. "That fast? When will we be sure?"
+
+Zircon shrugged. "Can't tell. We'll keep shooting on a daily schedule,
+and perhaps in three or four days we'll see enough growth in the front
+to make an estimate. But even that can be misleading. If the magma
+strikes a softer area, it can grow even more rapidly. Our best bet will
+be to keep a daily watch from now on."
+
+Rick looked up at the extinct cone of El Viejo. In his imagination he
+saw the top blow off in an earth-shaking explosion and millions of tons
+of white-hot lava spurt high in the air. Then, when the lava came
+down ...
+
+"We'd better get on the ball," he said. "Almost time for our first
+shot."
+
+"Want to connect up?" Zircon asked.
+
+"I guess so." Rick had never handled dynamite before, but there was no
+time like the present to get started. He took sticks from his pocket,
+then a cap. Zircon handed him the crimping tool. He put a cap in place;
+then, with infinite care, put the crimping tool in position. He took a
+deep breath and squeezed. Nothing happened, except that the cap was now
+held tightly.
+
+Rick let his breath out and grinned. Zircon and Scotty grinned back.
+
+"When you get real salty," Scotty said, "you'll crimp the caps on with
+your teeth."
+
+"Ha!" Rick said. "And blow my head off?"
+
+"It's possible," Zircon agreed. "It has happened. My advice is, don't
+try it. I've seen men do it, but it always gives me the shudders. Come
+on. Let's plant the charge and lay the wire."
+
+The shots went off on schedule, and the party returned to the hotel.
+Later, in analyzing the shots and making a new sketch, Jeffrey Williams
+thought the magma front had grown slightly from the previous day, but
+since the first tracings were gone, there was no way of being sure.
+
+David Riddle and Brad Connel walked in as he finished. The two, using
+respirators, had been to inspect the hot-springs area.
+
+"Nothing new," Riddle reported. "The only sign of activity is a fresh
+outpouring of hydrogen sulfide. It's bubbling up through the mud, and it
+could be a pocket of gas that was suddenly released. The springs won't
+tell us much."
+
+Hartson Brant said thoughtfully, "I'm afraid you're right, Dave.
+Nothing for it but to keep shooting. And we'll lock up the papers at
+night, so we can keep track of what's going on. One thing we'd better do
+is start a survey of the entire cone, above the level where our shots
+give us information. I'd like to be sure we're not overlooking any new
+gaps or fissures in the mountain itself. But can we do it with the
+manpower we have available and still keep shooting?"
+
+Rick spoke up. "I know how we can help, Dad. Scotty and I can handle our
+stations alone now. That will leave Dr. Zircon free for other things.
+Then, if we change stations with Brad Connel, and he takes the closer
+ones, he can get back a good hour earlier and do other work."
+
+"No!" Brad Connel exploded.
+
+Hartson Brant and the other scientists looked at him with surprise. "Why
+not?" Dr. Brant asked. "It seems like a sensible suggestion, Brad."
+
+"It is," Connel said hurriedly. "It's just that ... well, maybe I'm
+still too upset over that accident, but I know the terrain now, and
+these kids don't. They should stick to the stations where they've been
+operating, and I'll handle my own. It's just that I don't want any risks
+whatever. My own part of the mountain is a lot rougher, and they'd be
+carrying dynamite and caps over pretty bouncy trails. I don't like it. I
+think we should stick to our own stations."
+
+The geologist obviously felt strongly about it, and Hartson Brant
+agreed. "Since you feel that way, Brad, we'll let things go as they are.
+Hobart, can the boys handle the shots?"
+
+"Sure," Zircon stated. "As long as Rick doesn't crimp caps with his
+teeth. Of course if he does we'll still get a reading, but we may lose
+Rick."
+
+"No danger," Rick retorted. "Besides, you wouldn't get a reading because
+the shot wouldn't be timed right."
+
+Hartson Brant saw that the big scientist was joking. "If Rick feels
+adventurous he can kick mountain lions for sport instead. I'm told there
+are some on the mountain."
+
+"Jaguars," Dr. Balgos offered. "Not your typical North American cats.
+These are much fiercer. They react faster to a kick--if you can get
+close enough to kick one."
+
+Brad Connel laughed heartily. "The boys can lure 'em with catnip," he
+said.
+
+Rick glanced at the geologist. The laugh hadn't rung true.
+
+"I suggest we also save time by shooting in the early morning," Hartson
+Brant added. "That will leave the afternoon for other activities. Jeff,
+if you can manage to keep your head out of the way of blunt instruments,
+perhaps you'd like to make a better sketch of the magma front. We can
+assign the boys as guards, if you like."
+
+Dr. Williams caressed the bruise on his head. "Not necessary, Hartson.
+I'll lock my door and keep my face toward the window. But for now, how
+about dinner?"
+
+There was no disagreement.
+
+After dinner, Rick and Scotty lingered over coffee with Dr. Balgos,
+Julius Weiss, and Hartson Brant. The others had excused themselves and
+gone back to their rooms. The boys were trying to learn more about
+volcanoes, but the scientists had a tendency to get involved in
+discussions of some of the finer points of geophysics and long minutes
+would pass before Rick or Scotty could bring them back to the main point
+with a question.
+
+In the midst of an interesting discussion of the Hawaiian volcanoes by
+Dr. Balgos, Honorario burst into the dining room and hurried to the
+Peruvian scientist. Rick couldn't follow the rapid Spanish, but Balgos
+jumped to his feet, his face white, and translated swiftly.
+
+"Honorario says all the dynamite is gone!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+Dangerous Trail
+
+
+The search for the missing dynamite had failed completely. Rick, Scotty,
+and the scientists were equally puzzled. Why steal dynamite? What was
+there to be gained?
+
+At a conference early the following morning Hartson Brant voiced the
+question.
+
+Julius Weiss was the first to respond, and his answer was another
+question. "What was to be gained by stealing the tracings and Jeff's
+sketch? Isn't the theft of the dynamite in the same category?"
+
+"I suppose it is," Hartson Brant agreed. "I see no motive whatever for
+either theft. After all, it was simple enough to make additional
+tracings, and it will not be difficult to obtain more dynamite. So I go
+back to my original question. What is to be gained by the theft?"
+
+"Dynamite has some value," Zircon boomed.
+
+"To be sure. But the tracings had none, except to us."
+
+Rick said what had been on his mind. "Both thefts resulted in only one
+thing . . . delay. The tracings put us a day behind, and the dynamite
+might delay us even longer. It depends on how fast we can get more."
+
+"Maybe Rick has something there," David Riddle said. "But who gains from
+a delay in the project?"
+
+"No one," Brad Connel said testily. "I think we're looking for a motive
+that doesn't exist. The tracings probably were stolen by someone on the
+hotel staff, because they looked important. Maybe the thief thought they
+could be sold. Certainly the dynamite can be sold. What motive do we
+need other than the usual profit a thief expects?"
+
+"Perhaps none," Hartson Brant admitted. "The question is, what now? We
+can proceed no further without explosives."
+
+"I will go to the governor and see if he can obtain more for us,"
+Esteben Balgos announced. "If he has none here on San Luz, there are
+other islands close by. A few telephone calls will locate a supply."
+
+"Fine. And while you're doing that, there is little the rest of us can
+do except relax. Will you let us know by telephone what the governor
+says?"
+
+"Yes, at once. Any of you care to go with me?"
+
+Williams and Riddle volunteered to go along. Weiss announced that he
+wanted to make some calculations and asked Hartson Brant and Zircon to
+help him.
+
+Rick and Scotty, left on their own, considered the possibilities for
+amusement and found none except the ocean itself--which was plenty.
+They decided on a swim and hurried back to their room to put on trunks
+under their slacks. Zircon readily gave permission to use the jeep.
+
+As they changed clothes, a jeep motor roared into life. Scotty walked to
+the window and opened the draperies. "Balgos and the others," he
+announced.
+
+A few minutes later another jeep motor started up. Rick went to the
+window and was just in time to see Brad Connel start across the parking
+lot in his jeep. He was alone.
+
+The boy turned away from the window, very thoughtful. "That was Connel.
+Wonder where he's going?"
+
+"Maybe to Calor, for shopping or sightseeing," Scotty replied. "What's
+on your mind?"
+
+"He worries me," Rick said bluntly. "I don't really know why. Only he's
+certainly determined to keep us away from his firing stations, isn't
+he?"
+
+"Go on. Something's biting you, and I want to know what it is."
+
+Rick stared at his dark-haired pal without really seeing him. He
+struggled to put into words the vague thoughts in the back of his mind.
+
+"Well, he acted worried about Ruiz, but I don't really think he was. It
+was kind of overdone, you know? His face didn't match his words."
+
+Scotty shook his head. "You're on thin ice, boy. People don't react to
+accidents in a standard way. It might have been overdone, but it might
+not, too. What else?"
+
+"He didn't want us to go along as helpers after Ruiz was hurt. I know
+that doesn't mean much, and he said he was just afraid of another
+accident, but wouldn't you think he'd like some company? Besides, two
+accidents like that just don't happen. Then, when we suggested changing
+stations so he could have more time to work on other things, he yelled
+pretty fast."
+
+"Because we don't know his terrain," Scotty pointed out. "At least
+that's what he said."
+
+"Sure. But what's to know about the terrain? All we'd have to do would
+be to follow his jeep tracks, and shoot where the ground is already torn
+up from his earlier shots. If it's safe for him to carry caps and
+dynamite, it's safe for us."
+
+Scotty scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I see what you mean. But the
+evidence isn't very conclusive, is it?"
+
+"No," Rick admitted. "Only where's he going now? If he planned to go to
+town, he'd invite anyone who wanted to go, wouldn't he? That's what most
+people would do."
+
+Scotty chuckled. "One thing I like about you. When you get a notion in
+that noggin, it doesn't come out easily. Next you'll be suggesting that
+he slugged Williams and stole the dynamite."
+
+"He could have," Rick pointed out. "Apparently he was alone in his room
+both times. At least no one said he was with them."
+
+Scotty held up his hands in surrender. "Okay. What do we do about it?"
+
+"Let's see where he's going."
+
+"I knew it," Scotty said resignedly. "Okay. But we'd better hurry."
+
+There was a clear view from the front of the hotel down the slopes of
+the foothills to the town of Calor. The road wound around and
+occasionally vanished from sight in clumps of green growth, but the boys
+watched for several minutes and saw no sign of Connel. The jeep with
+Balgos and the others was rolling along in the distance, but it was
+still close enough to see three occupants.
+
+"He didn't go to town," Rick said finally, "and there's only one other
+road out of here."
+
+"To the shot stations," Scotty agreed. "Unless he cut off and headed for
+San Souci." That was a little fishing village on the west coast. Neither
+boy had been there, but they had used a flagpole on the tip of the cape
+near the town as a sighting marker.
+
+"Let's go see," Rick suggested.
+
+They hurried through the hotel to the parking lot and got into the jeep.
+Rick started the vehicle, crossed the fissure in the lot, and took the
+road west. According to the map, the road was paved as far as the pumice
+works. Beyond that it was graded dirt. If Connel had taken the dirt
+road, instead of the trail to the shot stations, they should see dust.
+
+He kept the jeep rolling at good speed as far as the pumice-works
+shacks, then stopped to look for signs of a dust haze. There was none.
+At the end of the blacktop, he and Scotty got out and examined the road
+surface. There were signs of traffic, but none very recent so far as
+they could tell. Rick drove the jeep a few hundred yards along the road,
+then got out and looked again. The heavy treads of his vehicle were
+clearly visible in the dust. If Connel had gone this way, he would have
+left similar marks.
+
+"He took the trail," Rick said.
+
+Scotty nodded. "Looks like it. Do we follow?"
+
+"We sure do. What reason would he have for going to the station without
+dynamite?"
+
+"None that I know of. Let's go."
+
+Rick turned the jeep into the trail and sped along it as fast as the
+ruts allowed. As they reached their third station with no sign of
+Connel, Scotty spoke suddenly. "Suppose we find him? How do we explain
+why we're following him?"
+
+Rick considered. He rejected a casual trip as explanation. Connel
+wouldn't buy it.
+
+"We can park the jeep in the jungle," he said finally. "It will be well
+hidden. Then we can go on foot. If we see him coming, we can take to the
+bush. We'll be invisible a few feet away."
+
+The jeep was driven into the area where their shots had been set off. It
+was invisible from the trail. The boys left it and started hiking.
+
+It was hard going. The heat and humidity were both high, and they were
+sweating before a quarter mile was covered. The film of perspiration
+seemed to attract insects, too, and before long the pests were driving
+them to distraction. Rick brushed futilely at the shining swarm of gnats
+around his head. "I'm not sure it's worth it," he said grimly.
+
+"Neither am I," Scotty agreed. "But we've started. Let's keep plugging."
+
+They reached the first of Connel's shot stations without a sign of the
+geologist. It was much like their own, a small clearing with the ground
+torn by the dynamite.
+
+The second station, a mile farther on, was similar except that there
+were more trees and fewer scrub palms. Rick identified one giant tree as
+mahogany.
+
+They strode up the trail, grimly determined to find the geologist. One
+more station remained ahead. Rick doubted that he had gone farther than
+that. He wiped his streaming face and squinted his eyes to protect them
+from the whining gnats. They swarmed around but didn't seem to sting or
+bite. He was grateful for that much.
+
+Suddenly Scotty let out a warning gasp. The dark-haired boy threw
+himself sideways, on top of Rick, and the two of them crashed to the
+ground.
+
+"Roll away," Scotty said urgently. "Back! Hurry!"
+
+The ground opened up a few feet away. Rick felt a giant hand pick him
+up, shake him, then slam him into a palmetto. Bruised and dazed, he
+grabbed the palmetto for support and lacerated his hands on the rough
+covering. He slid to the ground, consciousness slipping from him.
+
+For a moment Rick lay slumped at the base of the palmetto. He didn't
+lose consciousness completely, but he was stunned and unable to function
+either mentally or physically. He had neither sight or hearing for the
+first few seconds, then these faculties slowly returned. He became
+aware that he was looking down at a broad green leaf, and that the leaf
+was gradually turning crimson.
+
+He watched, his vision clearing, and suddenly realized that the red
+pigment was dripping onto the leaf in a steady series of drops that was
+almost a stream. At almost the same instant he knew that the red was
+blood and that it was his. He shook his head to clear it, and the red
+spray flew from side to side. Through the periphery of vision he saw
+that it was coming from his nose.
+
+Rick realized that he was on his hands and knees. He rose to a kneeling
+position and fished for his handkerchief. He put it to his nose and it
+came away stained red. He sighed with relief. Nosebleed. For a moment he
+had wondered. . . .
+
+A few feet away Scotty was slowly stretching one limb after another,
+checking to be sure he was functioning. Satisfied, the ex-Marine sat up,
+with some effort. Rick saw that his nose was bleeding, too.
+
+"You've got a nosebleed," Rick said faintly.
+
+Scotty touched his nose with the back of his hand and examined the red
+trace. "Uhuh," he agreed.
+
+"What happened?" Rick asked weakly. His voice sounded far away!
+
+Scotty's answer was barely audible. "We found the missing dynamite. I
+saw a length of wire along the trail. Are you okay?"
+
+"I think so." Rick got to his feet, feeling as though his body were in
+sections. "We must have been close when it went off."
+
+The two held onto each other for mutual support while strength came back
+into them.
+
+"We weren't too close," Scotty said finally. He gestured up the trail.
+Rick looked, and saw a gaping hole some distance away. Beyond it, coming
+toward them at as high a speed as the trail allowed, was Brad Connel in
+his jeep.
+
+The geologist stopped as he reached the hole, then swung off the trail
+and plowed through some scrub and back onto it again. He drew up next to
+the boys.
+
+"So it was you who stole the dynamite!" the geologist said grimly. "What
+happened? Did it explode while you were fooling around with it?"
+
+The boys stared at him, dazed and openmouthed.
+
+"You're crazy," Rick managed finally. "We didn't steal it, but we almost
+got blown up in it. If Scotty hadn't seen the wire, we both would have
+been blown to bits."
+
+The geologist's eyes narrowed. "Do you mean to tell me someone tried to
+blow you up? That's nonsense!"
+
+"That's what happened, nonsense or not," Rick said curtly.
+
+Scotty added, "And what were you doing here?"
+
+"Came to get my wallet," the geologist answered readily. "I missed it
+and figured I must have dropped it up here. It wasn't anywhere else I'd
+been. Better get in and let me take you back. If you were close enough
+to get nosebleeds you must be shaken up quite a bit."
+
+"We're shaken," Rick agreed. "Our jeep is down at our shot station. We
+decided to leave it there and take a hike."
+
+They climbed into the back of Connel's jeep. The nosebleeds had stopped
+now, but their faces were smeared with blood. Neither felt like talking,
+nor, apparently, did Connel. He stopped at their third station and
+asked, "Can you make it? Or do you want to ride back with me?"
+
+"We can make it," Rick said. "Thanks for the lift."
+
+"I'd better stay behind you to make sure," Connel stated.
+
+The boys headed straight back to the hotel, Connel a hundred yards to
+their rear. In the parking lot they thanked him again for the lift, then
+hurried in to let warm water wash away the traces of their experience.
+
+Later, stretched out on their beds, they talked it over.
+
+"You saved our bacon," Rick stated. "But what really happened?"
+
+"I'm not sure," Scotty replied. "There are two possibilities. One, we
+sprung a booby trap. I don't really credit that one much, because we
+were rolling away when the stuff let go. If we'd hit a trip wire or
+something similar, the dynamite would have gone off right then. So,
+second possibility, someone was waiting for us. We jumped back just as
+he pushed the plunger. Or, maybe he saw we had spotted the trap and
+tried to get us, anyway."
+
+"Who's he?" Rick asked.
+
+"Persons unknown," Scotty answered. "Or maybe one person not unknown."
+
+"Meaning Connel? He could have done it. Suppose he set the trap, then
+took his jeep up the hill out of sight. Then he could have walked back,
+fired the shot, hurried back for his jeep, and driven down."
+
+"Could be," Scotty agreed. "Only, did he know we were coming?"
+
+Rick shrugged. "How can we know that? For all we know, from his third
+shot station he might be able to look right down on the trail. He sees
+us, hurries into position, fires the charge, and hurries back. We can't
+really tell until we get to that third station. Personally, I vote for
+Connel."
+
+"Not proven," Scotty warned.
+
+Rick knew it. "It may never be proven, on account of no witnesses. But
+suppose it was some unknown party? Why wouldn't that party try for
+Connel? Why wait until he's passed, and we're coming into position?
+Would an unknown thief be that interested in us?"
+
+"Too many questions," Scotty objected. "I haven't any answers. But you
+make a good case for its being Connel. Also, did you notice how he
+jumped on us for stealing the dynamite? That probably would have been
+his story if we'd been killed. Now tell me what his motive is. Why
+should he try to delay the project?"
+
+Rick had no answer to that. "Makes no sense," he agreed. "Unless there's
+something he doesn't want us to see. That dynamite sure discouraged our
+trip to his third station!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+Casa Guevara
+
+
+The scientific party lost only one day because of the dynamite theft.
+Governor Montoya supplied more explosives and the firing schedule
+continued. Now, however, the dynamite was guarded by police supplied by
+His Excellency. Police also were in evidence around the Hot Springs
+Hotel. No more chances were being taken.
+
+After three days, the scientists began to have a better idea of what was
+going on in the earth beneath them, but Rick and Scotty could make
+little sense of the mass of data. Even the picture being filled in by
+Dr. Williams was confusing. Now, two magma areas were showing where only
+one had shown before.
+
+Esteben Balgos answered Rick's plea for an explanation. Over an
+excellent dinner of roast suckling pig and bananas steamed with lemon
+juice, the volcanologist took time to answer their questions.
+
+"There is much we do not know about volcanoes," the Peruvian scientist
+began. "For example, we do not know exactly what causes magma to form.
+Magma is, in simplest terms, molten rock. Some event takes place far
+below, where the earth's crust ends and the mantle begins, and the rock
+melts."
+
+"How far below?" Rick asked.
+
+"The distance varies. Under the ocean trenches, for example, the mantle
+may begin only four miles down. Under some of the mountainous land
+masses it may be closer to forty miles."
+
+Scotty whistled. "That's a whale of a distance. How can you tell how far
+down it is?"
+
+"By the seismic traces from earthquakes, or from explosive shots like
+the ones we are shooting. When the shock waves have reached the zone
+between the earth's crust and the mantle, we see the results on our
+tracings."
+
+"Is it really a sharp line?" Rick queried.
+
+"Probably not. No one is sure yet. It may be a kind of transitional
+zone, from one kind of material to another, or it may be a distinct
+layer. We call it the Mohorovicic Discontinuity, after the Yugoslav
+scientist who discovered it by analysis of seismic tracings. At any
+rate, it is somewhat above this discontinuity that magma is formed. We
+don't know how."
+
+"Then it rises?" Scotty asked.
+
+"It forces its way up, by expansion. Sometimes the magma strikes water
+and there is an explosion--a steam explosion. But generally the magma
+rises through a fairly small channel. It forms a pool under the volcano.
+The pool is actually a reservoir of molten rock. Generally it is shaped
+like a lens. The magma gathers. Eventually it forces its way to the
+surface, again through channels."
+
+"What kind of channels?" Rick asked.
+
+"It depends on the kind of volcano. Sometimes the channels are
+weaknesses in the whole surrounding earth structure, and the magma flows
+through cracks and emerges as sheets of lava. Sometimes there is a
+central channel through which the magma can rise."
+
+"Which do we have?" Scotty wanted to know.
+
+"Probably neither or perhaps both. There was once a central channel in
+El Viejo. It is closed now, and we do not know if it is weaker than the
+rest of the mountain. There is a weak fissure under the hot springs. So,
+El Viejo can vent either way."
+
+Rick shook his head. He had learned enough of natural forces to know
+there are often no definite answers to questions, but this was critical.
+
+"So the volcano could blow off on top or side, and we can't guess
+which?"
+
+"That is correct. However, explosive action in a volcano usually comes
+when the magma meets enough water to create steam. Now, our closest
+magma front is still far below the floor of the surrounding ocean. You
+follow me? Good. When the magma rises to the level of the ocean floor,
+what do you think will happen?"
+
+Rick could see the picture in his mind. He said slowly, "It will
+probably meet water. Plenty of it, from seepage of the ocean downward
+through cracks in the ocean floor. Maybe there are cracks like the one
+in the parking lot, caused by earthquakes."
+
+"Precisely. And when the magma meets the water, then what?"
+
+"The water turns to steam instantly." Scotty answered grimly. "The steam
+expands instantly--and boom!"
+
+"Boom," Balgos agreed solemnly. "But how big a boom we do not know. It
+may blow the top off El Viejo. It may blow a gap along one of the
+cracks. We don't know."
+
+Rick digested this information in silence. The picture was certainly not
+a cheerful one. "How far down are the magma fronts?" he asked.
+
+"As closely as we can tell, the bottom one is right above the
+discontinuity, which is about six miles below us at this point. The
+upper one is about a mile below the top of El Viejo. This puts it about
+a quarter of a mile below the floor of the ocean."
+
+"Too close," Scotty muttered. "What now?"
+
+"We keep shooting, to try and keep track of the upper front. Also, we
+will place instruments called tiltometers on the mountain slope. These
+are devices that really measure tilt. You see, if the lens of magma is
+increasing, El Viejo will swell up slightly. The tiltometers will show
+it, and we will then have further proof of what is coming."
+
+"But what can we do about it?" Rick demanded.
+
+Balgos shrugged. "_Quién sabe?_ The Spanish phrase is a good one,
+because it does not only ask 'who knows,' it also carries the meaning of
+a kind of resignation. There does not seem to be anything we can do."
+
+Rick stared across the dining room, eyes unseeing. It was hard to
+imagine that molten rock was gathering below them in sufficient quantity
+to make a mountain move; but once you succeeded in imagining it, the
+picture was terrifying.
+
+Motion attracted his glance and his eyes focused in time to see Brad
+Connel rise from the table and excuse himself. He watched the geologist
+walk out of the room and turned to Scotty. His pal nodded. He had seen
+Connel leave, too.
+
+Rick quickly counted noses. All others were present. Connel was the
+first to leave. He wondered where the geologist was going, and his eyes
+narrowed.
+
+Connel had been very anxious about his and Scotty's condition, once the
+hotel was reached. Rick was sure his anxiety was strictly phony. Both
+boys had been stiff and sore, but a medical examination showed nothing
+seriously wrong, thanks to Scotty's fast action. Hartson Brant had been
+reluctant to accept Rick's opinion that Connel had stolen the dynamite
+and booby-trapped them. He pointed out that the geologist had no motive;
+he had never even been on San Luz before.
+
+Rick had to agree. There was no apparent motive, but that didn't mean
+Connel was innocent. He might have a motive that no one suspected.
+
+Scotty cocked an eyebrow at Rick and made a slight motion of his head
+toward the door where Connel had vanished. Rick got the signal. He
+nodded.
+
+The boys thanked Dr. Balgos for his explanation, then excused
+themselves. They wandered casually from the dining room.
+
+Once outside, Rick grinned at Scotty. "So you're wondering where Connel
+has gone?"
+
+"Aren't you?"
+
+"Sure. But why not ask the others what he said when he excused himself?"
+
+Scotty shook his head. "They didn't think much of our theory about
+Connel causing our troubles, did they? If we asked, they'd think we were
+pushing the same point too hard."
+
+Rick agreed. "Where did he go?"
+
+"I don't know. But if he leaves the hotel, it will be by jeep. There's
+nothing within walking distance. If we get out back of the pump shed
+we'll see him if he comes out."
+
+"Aye, aye. And if he jeeps out of here, we'll be on his tail. Roger?"
+
+"You said a Brantish mouthful. Let's go."
+
+A quick reconnaissance disclosed no sign of the geologist outside, and
+the boys hurried across the dark parking lot to the shadow of the pump
+shed. A police officer materialized from the darkness and greeted them
+courteously. "Good evening, señores. _A sus órdenes._"
+
+By placing himself at their orders, the officer was politely asking
+their business, Rick knew. He replied, "We came out to see if anyone had
+made another try for the dynamite, Señor _Teniente_." Calling the
+officer "lieutenant" was a form of flattery.
+
+"_Sargento, muchas gracias_," the officer replied. White teeth flashed
+in a grin. "But who can tell the future? If I capture the thief, it may
+soon be lieutenant instead of sergeant."
+
+"We hope so," Scotty said politely.
+
+Rick noted that the three were hidden from the parking lot by the pump
+house. The position was satisfactory. If Connel was going to take a
+jeep, he probably would do so right away. Otherwise, why should he be
+the first to leave the dining room?
+
+"Why would anyone steal dynamite?" Rick asked the police officer. He
+wanted only to keep a quiet conversation going behind the pump house.
+
+The officer had theories. Perhaps revolutionaries had stolen it. Also,
+although it was against the law and brought severe punishment, fishermen
+were known to dynamite fish. This also was a possibility. But the
+explosion of the dynamite on the mountainside was certainly a puzzle.
+
+Rick didn't think so, but he agreed politely. It was bewildering, he
+said. Why steal explosives and then use it on a harmless scientific
+group?
+
+Perhaps fear of discovery caused the thief to set a trap, the officer
+guessed. He admitted it wasn't a good guess.
+
+A jeep roared into life and the boys stiffened. The officer strolled out
+of the shadow for a look. "One of your associates is going for a ride,"
+he said.
+
+Rick waited until the jeep lights cut across the parking lot and moved
+down the western road, then he said, "It's a nice night for a ride,
+Scotty. What say we take a jeep and look over the country, too?"
+
+"Good idea," Scotty agreed readily.
+
+They bade the officer good night and started to where Zircon's jeep was
+parked. It was a temptation to hurry, but they suppressed it and
+sauntered to the jeep. Fortunately, no keys were needed. The jeep
+ignition was turned on by a simple switch. Rick got into the driver's
+seat and started up. He waited, the motor idling, until he was sure
+Connel was out of sight around the mountain, then he drove slowly across
+the parking lot and followed.
+
+Fortunately, there was enough moonlight to see the road. Once out of
+sight of the hotel, Rick stopped and switched off the lights. As his
+eyes adjusted to the dimness he started off again as fast as vision
+allowed.
+
+Once he sighted Connel's lights. They were ahead and higher on the
+mountain. He lost sight of them again as foliage blocked the view.
+"Suppose he's heading for the shot station?" he asked.
+
+Scotty shrugged. "We'll soon know."
+
+They reached the pumice works without seeing the geologist's lights
+again, and Rick stopped at the turnoff. "Now what?" he asked. "Did he go
+up the trail or not?"
+
+Scotty sniffed the air. "Smell anything?"
+
+Rick breathed deeply. There was the odor of rank vegetation, and, very
+faintly, the odor of sulfur from the hot springs. But there was another
+smell, too. After a moment he identified it. "Dust!"
+
+"Seems so," Scotty agreed. "Which means he didn't take the trail to the
+stations. No dust on those tracks. He must have taken the dirt road to
+San Souci."
+
+"But why?" Rick was already moving ahead to where the pavement ended.
+"What's in San Souci?"
+
+Scotty chuckled. "Ask Connel. Don't ask me."
+
+"I thought Marines knew everything," Rick gibed.
+
+"Almost everything," Scotty corrected.
+
+The jeep moved onto the dirt road and in a moment their own cloud of
+dust obscured any slight haze that Connel's passing might have left.
+They were in strange territory now, and Rick slowed down somewhat.
+Connel had the advantage of lights. They wouldn't be able to gain on
+him.
+
+"He can't get far," Scotty said reassuringly. "The road goes to San
+Souci and nowhere else. It can't be much of a town, so we'll find him."
+
+Scotty was right. San Souci wasn't much of a town. There were a handful
+of fishermen's huts, a dock with a number of fishing boats, racks for
+drying fish, a single store, and nothing else. There was a paved road
+leading from the town to the main city of Calor, but Connel hadn't taken
+it. Nor was the jeep in San Souci.
+
+Rick's halting Spanish was sufficient to communicate with a fisherman
+who spoke equally halting English. He had been taking the air all
+evening. No other vehicle had come to San Souci.
+
+"Now what?" Rick asked helplessly.
+
+"He went somewhere," Scotty responded. "And that somewhere has to be a
+turnoff between here and the pumice works. We must have missed it
+because we traveled without lights. Let's go back and look."
+
+"I'm with you," Rick agreed. "But wherever he turned off must be a
+trail, because there are no side roads on the map." He swung the jeep
+around and started back. He had turned on the headlights as they
+approached the fishing village; he kept them on.
+
+They found the turnoff about a mile from San Souci. The road widened
+slightly, and there was an opening in the foliage just wide enough for a
+car. Twin gateposts of concrete marked the passage. Rick turned the
+jeep, and the headlights picked out a name cut in the concrete pillars:
+_Casa Guevara_.
+
+"Someone's house," Rick said. "Name of Guevara. We can't very well go
+rolling up a private driveway, can we?"
+
+"Especially with that sign," Scotty added. He pointed to a wooden sign
+set slightly to one side of the private road just beyond the gate. It
+read _No Entrar_. No Trespassing.
+
+"Question," Rick said thoughtfully. "Did Connel go up this road or is
+there another one?"
+
+"No evidence," Scotty replied.
+
+Rick pointed to the gatepost. "Who do we know that's named Guevara?"
+
+Scotty breathed, "Sure! The lieutenant governor!"
+
+"And he took Connel to the hospital to see Ruiz," Rick reminded, "so
+they're acquainted."
+
+He switched off the lights. "That's probably the answer. Connel was
+invited to pay a social call. Why not? This probably has nothing to do
+with the project at all."
+
+Scotty sighed audibly. "The trouble with you is that you come up with
+sensible answers. We might as well go on back to the hotel."
+
+"Might as well . . ." Rick began, then stopped as light appeared dimly
+through the foliage up the private driveway. They were headlights!
+
+"We've got to get out of here," he said, and threw the jeep into gear.
+For a moment he hesitated. If he went up the dirt road to the hotel,
+Connel would surely see them. If Rick went back toward San Souci and the
+oncoming car was not Connel, but someone from Casa Guevara, the car
+might also turn toward San Souci, and the boys would be seen.
+
+Rick thought quickly. About a hundred yards toward San Souci there was a
+break in the foliage that he had almost investigated until he saw that
+no tracks led into it. He quickly switched into four-wheel drive and
+swung the jeep in its own length. The lights were closer now. Rick
+accelerated and found the opening through the jungle scrub. The jeep
+bounced as he drove into it, then swung until they were behind a screen
+of palmetto. He killed the engine.
+
+Scotty piled out, Rick close behind him. They hurried to the edge of the
+highway, careful to keep masked by the palmetto, and watched.
+
+A jeep emerged from the driveway to Casa Guevara. In the back-scattered
+light from its headlights they saw that Connel was the driver. He was
+alone. They watched until his taillights flickered out beyond a bend in
+the road.
+
+[Illustration: _Connel was alone in the jeep_]
+
+"Interesting," Rick said. "Does a social call last for less than a half
+hour? Answer: no, not in San Luz. There's Spanish-style hospitality
+here, and Connel would have been there for hours."
+
+"He came on business," Scotty said slowly. "But what kind of business
+would he have with the lieutenant governor?"
+
+"That," Rick said grimly, "is what we need to find out."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+The Governor Vanishes
+
+
+Far below the surface of San Luz, white-hot rock, flowing like
+incandescent molasses, forced its way upward under enormous pressure.
+Sometimes the magma remained quiet for hours, pulsing slightly like a
+living thing. Then it would melt its way through to a weakness in the
+earth's structure, creating a new channel for its upward flow.
+
+In one new channel was basaltic rock with a higher moisture content than
+the magma had encountered before. As the moisture turned instantly to
+steam, it expanded with sudden violence, and the earth shook with the
+force of the explosion.
+
+Far above the pocket, Rick Brant felt the earth tremble, and shook his
+head. The temblors were increasing in frequency, although none had been
+as violent as that first day's earthquake. The boy looked at Scotty. His
+pal's face was grim.
+
+The scientists around the worktable had paused, too, as they felt the
+earth tremble.
+
+Esteben Balgos said quietly, "El Viejo is getting ready. If we are going
+to act, it must be soon."
+
+"Act?" Connel demanded. "How?"
+
+Balgos shrugged. "That is what we are here to decide."
+
+Rick watched the geologist's face. He was sure that Connel, for reasons
+unknown, was trying to slow down the project. He was satisfied that the
+man had stolen both the initial tracings and the dynamite. He also knew
+that Connel lied. On their return from trailing him to Casa Guevara, the
+boys had found Connel having a cup of coffee in the dining room and had
+asked casually where he had gone. He had muttered something about going
+into Calor for a supply of cigars.
+
+Hartson Brant asked, "What do you make of this series of tracings? My
+own opinion is that we have found a structural weakness through which
+the magma will move. But the weakness does not extend far enough upward
+to give any idea of the channel the magma will take to the surface."
+
+The scientist pointed to a series of blue lines as he spoke. Dr.
+Williams examined the lines, then took his pencil and began to sketch
+rapidly on his cross-section drawing of the volcano and the earth under
+it. Rick watched as the sketch took shape. From the upper lens-shaped
+magma front Williams was drawing a series of lines that changed
+direction, moving toward the western side of the island. Then, across
+the top of the upward-moving lines Williams drew a horizontal line.
+
+"Those upward strokes are the fissures shown by the tracings," he said.
+"Notice that they stop at the horizontal line. My guess is that the
+horizontal line represents an unbroken stratum that will probably stop
+the magma temporarily. We may even have another one of those lens-shaped
+pools develop."
+
+Big Hobart Zircon poked at the sketch with a huge finger. "Jeff, how far
+below the surface is this stratum?"
+
+"Slightly over a quarter of a mile, I'd guess. It's hard to be accurate
+within a few feet. On that side of the mountain the ocean bottom is a
+few hundred feet below sea level, and I'd say the hard rock is probably
+a thousand feet below that."
+
+Zircon rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "If we could somehow breach that
+hard rock and allow room for the magma to flow upward, what would
+happen?" he inquired.
+
+Esteben Balgos exclaimed excitedly, "Once through the layer of hard
+rock, the magma would encounter plenty of surface water. Look at Jeff's
+sketch. Above the hard rock there are many fissures, which must have a
+high water content. If the magma reaches those, we will have violent
+eruption through the western side of the mountain, probably right about
+sea level."
+
+Rick could see instantly what Balgos meant. "Dad, an eruption on the
+west side would be perfect! The mountain itself would protect Calor and
+the rest of the island!"
+
+"That's true, Rick," Hartson Brant agreed. "The problem is, how can we
+possibly create a break in a layer of hard rock so far underground?"
+
+David Riddle answered him. "There's one way. Drive a tunnel down through
+it."
+
+All eyes looked at him.
+
+"Can it be done?" Julius Weiss demanded.
+
+"Yes. If there's enough time, enough machinery, and enough manpower. But
+look at the problem. Once the magma starts to move upward through those
+faults Jeff has drawn, it will move fast. The tunnel would have to be
+done before the magma started to move. Otherwise, the heat would be too
+great for men to work, and even if they could work they'd be drilling
+right into magma."
+
+"This stuff is beyond me," Connel said. "Let me know what you decide,
+will you?" He turned and walked from the room.
+
+Rick's eyes met Scotty's. The ex-Marine nodded, and in a moment quietly
+slipped out of the room.
+
+Julius Weiss demanded, "Are you seriously proposing that we drive a
+tunnel for over a quarter mile, almost straight down, through solid
+rock?"
+
+Riddle shrugged. "Do you know any other way of releasing the magma
+safely? I don't."
+
+"Perhaps it could be done," Hartson Brant said thoughtfully. "But, as
+Dave says, we'd need time, machinery, and manpower. I'm sure we can get
+the machinery and the manpower from the governor. But do we have time?"
+
+Balgos and Williams looked at each other. They were the experts. It was
+up to them to say.
+
+"How long, Jeff?" Balgos asked.
+
+"I don't know. If we assume the magma will continue rising at roughly
+the same rate we've measured during the past few days, I'd guess perhaps
+two or three weeks. On the other hand, the magma could find weaknesses
+we haven't detected. We may have only a few days."
+
+"We'll have to try," Hartson Brant stated. "If the governor can give us
+the entire labor force of the island, and all available earth-moving
+machinery, we have a chance at least. If we do nothing, there's no
+chance at all. I think we should pay a visit to the governor right now."
+
+Scotty came back into the room. "Connel's in his room," he reported. "I
+think he made a telephone call, but I can't be sure without checking
+with the switchboard. Shall I?"
+
+"It doesn't matter," Rick told him. "We're on our way to see the
+governor. Connel can't stop things now."
+
+The scientists were already moving through the door and to the jeeps.
+Within a few moments the small convoy was moving down the mountainside
+toward Calor and the executive offices.
+
+Inside the cool, white stone building the group waited while Esteben
+Balgos went to see if the governor was available. He came out of the
+executive suite with a look of concern on his face.
+
+"The governor is not in," he reported. "His secretary does not know
+where he is. The secretary's worried. Montoya didn't show up at all this
+morning and his residence says he left at the usual time. I think we'd
+better see the lieutenant governor."
+
+Rick started to speak, but thought better of it. Connel had not come
+with them, and his visit to Guevara could mean nothing.
+
+Jaime Guevara was a tall, thin man with a hawk face and a tiny goatee.
+Hartson Brant, as spokesman, got to the point right away. He described
+the reason for their coming, and their findings to date. He stressed the
+need for fast action. In the governor's absence, he stated, they would
+need the active support of Señor Guevara. If he would issue orders at
+once, the scientific group would be happy to organize and supervise the
+work.
+
+Guevara listened until the scientists had finished, then he smiled. "A
+strange tale," he said. "It is difficult to believe El Viejo is getting
+ready to erupt. Surely your imaginations have run away with you."
+
+"We do not depend on imagination," Balgos said curtly. "We depend on
+scientific investigation. The situation is precisely as Dr. Brant
+outlined it."
+
+"No doubt," Guevara said soothingly. "But surely you realize I cannot
+disrupt the economy of the entire island simply to dig a hole. Why, the
+people would laugh their heads off. No, señores, I am helpless. You had
+better see the governor."
+
+"The governor isn't here and there is no time to lose," Hartson Brant
+said flatly. "You must act immediately if the island is to be saved. The
+lives of your people are in your own hands."
+
+"Perhaps the governor will return soon," Guevara said. "He will
+doubtless believe your story and take action. I regret that I cannot.
+And now, if you will excuse me?"
+
+"Then you will not move even to save the island?"
+
+"I do not believe the island is in danger, Dr. Brant," Guevara said
+coldly. "Convince the governor--if you can find him. Meanwhile, have the
+favor to cease bothering me with your silly tales!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+The Yellow Ground
+
+
+Governor Luis Montoya could not be located. Neither his family nor his
+staff knew his whereabouts. There was great alarm over his unexplained
+absence. The police were searching for the missing executive, but with
+no success.
+
+Hartson Brant called a council of war and told the scientific group that
+his most recent phone call to Guevara had even resulted in a turndown
+when he asked for more dynamite. The lieutenant governor evidently was
+not content with refusing to help, he was going to obstruct.
+
+"There is dynamite on Trinidad," Hartson Brant said. "Plenty of it. I
+made a phone call to a friend at the U. S. Air Base there, and he agreed
+to get it for us. Rick, you and Scotty fly over to Port of Spain right
+away. The information is written down here." He handed Rick a slip of
+paper.
+
+"If you leave now, you can get there before dark, spend the night and
+come back in the morning. Bring all the dynamite you can carry, with
+caps and a few reels of primer cord. We'll need more wire, too. Get
+hopping, now."
+
+"Yes, sir," Rick said. He and Scotty ran to their room for toothbrushes,
+stuffed their pockets with extra socks and underwear, and ran to the
+parking lot for the jeep.
+
+The weather was fine and clear, and the flight uneventful. When they
+landed at the U. S. base they found that Hartson Brant's friend, Colonel
+Tom Markey, had arranged for a full load of dynamite, and full gas tanks
+for the plane. The boys spent the night at bachelor officers' quarters
+at the base and took off at dawn, the Sky Wagon sluggish from its load
+of dynamite cases.
+
+Back at the Hot Springs Hotel, they unloaded the dynamite from the jeep
+and stored it under police protection in the pump house. Then they went
+to look for the scientists.
+
+Hartson Brant, David Riddle, and Julius Weiss were in the conference
+room working over drawings. Rick saw that they were sketches of a
+tunnel.
+
+The scientists welcomed them, and Rick asked, "Any progress, Dad?"
+
+"No, Rick. The governor is still missing. We can't get help until he's
+found."
+
+"Where are the others?" Scotty asked.
+
+"Placing tiltometers on the mountain," his father told him. "The
+instruments were ordered by phone from Caracas right after you left and
+got in on the first morning plane."
+
+Rick glanced at Scotty. He asked, "Exactly where are the others?"
+
+"Balgos and Connel are at the north end of the mountain, above Redondo.
+Williams and Zircon are up above us somewhere. They started the climb
+behind the hot springs."
+
+"I think we'll get a bite to eat," Rick said. "Unless you need us."
+
+"No. There's nothing for you to do right at the moment, but Balgos wants
+you to take some photos from the air later this afternoon."
+
+"Okay, Dad." Rick gestured, and Scotty followed him out.
+
+"All's quiet," Rick told his pal. "And a quiet time is a good time to do
+a little investigating. Let's go to the kitchen, get a couple of
+sandwiches, and eat them on the way."
+
+"To where?" Scotty asked. He grinned. "Don't tell me. To see what Connel
+is hiding over at his stations."
+
+"On the button. Let's get going."
+
+There was nothing whatever of interest at Connel's first two stations.
+The ground was torn up somewhat from the series of shots, but the boys
+could find no trace of anything unusual. They got back into the jeep,
+and Rick drove up the trail to the last station. He followed the path of
+broken vegetation Connel's jeep had made, noticing that the trail was
+dipping downward to a spot lower on the mountain than the other
+stations.
+
+They reached a patch of crushed and yellowed growth where Connel
+obviously had parked his jeep. There were oil stains on some of the
+broken leaves.
+
+Scotty pointed to a brown-paper cigarette stub. "Ever see Connel smoke
+one of those?"
+
+Rick hadn't. "He smokes cigars. Where do you suppose that came from?"
+
+Scotty got out of the jeep and bent over the butt. "The tip is still
+damp," he said. "Someone's been here very recently. We'd better keep an
+eye open."
+
+Trampled vegetation showed them the path to the firing place. Moving
+cautiously, the boys walked down the path, eyes constantly searching for
+signs of movement in the heavy growth.
+
+The clearing where Connel had placed his shots was only a short distance
+down the path. Rick examined it carefully, but it looked like all the
+others, except for one thing. The broken earth was yellow, and of a
+different texture than the deep jungle loam at the other stations.
+
+Rick walked into the shattered area and picked up a piece of the yellow
+ground. It broke in his hands. "Funny-looking stuff," he said.
+
+"Yes," Scotty agreed. "Take a look around while I keep a watch. I have a
+funny feeling we're not alone here."
+
+There was a fairly deep crater in the middle of the area. Rick stepped
+into it and kicked yellow earth out of his way. He was puzzled. There
+was nothing visible in the area except the yellow ground, and there was
+nothing about that to give him a clue to Connel's determination to keep
+them away.
+
+His foot dislodged a clump of earth. It rolled to the bottom of the
+shot crater, exposing two large crystals. Rick picked them up and rubbed
+the dirt off. They felt rather greasy. He didn't think they were quartz.
+His mind ranged over the possibilities. Probably datolite, he decided.
+The color was about right, and he knew datolite was found in igneous
+rocks of volcanic origin. He put the crystals in his pocket.
+
+A trace of blue caught his eye and he knelt, digging with his hands. He
+uncovered a few more of the datolite crystals and put them in his
+pocket. They weren't particularly good specimens; he had some in his
+rock collection that were perfectly formed and clear, but at least they
+were something to take home.
+
+Digging uncovered a layer of hard blue rock, heavily pockmarked and
+filled with the yellow ground. He saw one place where the blue actually
+blended in with yellow and decided that the blue and yellow were
+probably the same rock. The slaty blue simply turned to yellow when it
+was exposed to the air for a while.
+
+There were loose pieces of blue, broken by the dynamite blasts. He
+picked up a couple of smaller pieces, then added a piece of yellow to
+his collection. He uncovered another crystal, too, a large one nearly
+the size of a golf ball and put that in his pocket.
+
+Scotty was getting restless. "Let's get going," he said. "I don't like
+this."
+
+Rick had seen enough, and it had told him nothing. He was just as
+puzzled over Connel's motive as ever. Obviously, the answer was not
+here--or, if it was, they couldn't see it.
+
+"Okay," he said. "Move out."
+
+Scotty led the way back to the jeep. Rick got into the driver's seat and
+started the motor. He backed and turned in the narrow space Connel's
+jeep had created, and finally got his wheels straight for the run back.
+
+From somewhere behind them a voice called, "_Parada!_"
+
+"Who's that yelling at us to stop?" Rick asked.
+
+"I can't see anyone," Scotty replied. His eyes were scanning the jungle.
+"But I don't know anyone around here we want to talk to. I've got a
+hunch we should get going."
+
+Rick felt the same. He released the clutch and the jeep moved ahead.
+
+"_Parada!_" the voice yelled again, and on the echo came the clear crash
+of a rifleshot. A jagged star suddenly appeared on the windshield
+between them!
+
+Rick reacted instinctively. He shoved the gas pedal to the floor and
+bent low, the skin of his back crawling with the expectation of a rifle
+bullet hitting it. The jeep leaped ahead and he steered as best he
+could. He shifted into second and the vehicle picked up speed. The rifle
+snapped again and he heard the sound of the slug hitting metal in the
+rear of the jeep. Then the trail turned and there was heavy jungle
+growth between them and the unseen sniper.
+
+Not until they reached the second station, a mile away, did Rick slow
+down. He looked at Scotty, his face grim. "The place was guarded. What
+else can you make out of it?"
+
+"Just that," Scotty agreed. "The guard must have been making a tour
+around the shot station. He got back just as we were taking off."
+
+"Funny he didn't hear the jeep when we came," Rick said.
+
+"Not very. Sound gets lost pretty fast in this heavy growth. You
+couldn't hear us a hundred yards away. Probably there's just the one
+guard, and he goes around the station in a big circle."
+
+"I'll buy it," Rick agreed. "But why? Why guard a chunk of jungle with
+nothing in it but some torn up yellow ground?"
+
+"When I find out," Scotty replied, "I'll let you know first thing."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+The Volcanic Pipe
+
+
+Hartson Brant and Julius Weiss were still at work in the conference room
+when Rick and Scotty returned. David Riddle had gone, and the others had
+evidently not finished placing the tiltometers.
+
+The two listened to Rick's story in silence, then Hartson Brant sighed.
+"I don't know how you do it, Rick. But if there's trouble around, you
+and Scotty will find it. Are you sure the rifleman shot at you?"
+
+"We've got a bullet hole in the windshield and one just under the rear
+seat," Scotty said. "One might be an accident, but not two."
+
+"I agree." Hartson Brant nodded. "Let's see the samples of earth you
+brought back, Rick."
+
+He took both the yellow and blue pieces from his pocket and put them on
+the table. Hartson Brant and Weiss examined them with interest.
+
+"Unusual," Weiss said. "I think you are right in assuming that the
+yellow is simply an oxidized form of the blue, Rick. But I can't tell
+you what the material is. I've never seen anything like it before."
+
+"The grain is pretty fine," Hartson Brant added. "It could be igneous or
+sedimentary in origin. I'm not enough of a rock hound to know. David
+Riddle can tell us when he returns."
+
+"Connel would know, too," Scotty reminded. "He's a geologist. Wouldn't
+you think he would have mentioned an unusual formation like this when he
+found it?"
+
+"Perhaps it's not unusual to a geologist," Weiss pointed out.
+
+"Where is Riddle?" Rick asked.
+
+"He went to his room a few minutes ago. He should be back shortly. Rick,
+I think you'd better tell us the whole story. Why do you suspect Connel?
+Why was it important for you to look at his shot station?"
+
+Rick started at the beginning. "It wasn't any one thing, it was a series
+of little offbeat things. We thought it was funny he didn't even want
+company after Ruiz was hurt. Then he reacted so violently when we
+proposed swapping stations. It just seemed odd. The theft of the
+tracings bothered us, too. No ordinary thief would steal papers and
+leave Dr. Williams' wallet in his pocket, or leave his pocket transistor
+radio and stuff like that."
+
+"But you can't connect Connel with the theft of the papers," Weiss
+objected.
+
+"No, sir, we can't. But we almost got caught in the stolen dynamite, and
+he could have set that off. It was while we were on the way to his third
+station."
+
+Scotty added, "Today, when we got to the station, I took a look along
+the trail. There's only one bend in it. If he was keeping a watch at
+the bend, he could have seen us arrive at the second station, hurried
+down the trail, set off the charge, then returned through the jungle to
+get his jeep."
+
+"But the fact that he could have, does not mean that he did," Hartson
+Brant stated.
+
+"We can't prove it," Scotty agreed.
+
+Rick continued. "Then we trailed him to Casa Guevara. He couldn't have
+been paying a social call, because he wasn't there long enough. And what
+business does he have with Guevara? I don't know, but I'll bet his
+business is the reason we can't get Guevara to move."
+
+"Possibly," Hartson Brant agreed. "I can see the reason for your
+suspicions, but you lack proof of anything, Rick. What motive could
+Connel have?"
+
+"We hoped to find out at the shot station," Rick replied. "But we drew a
+blank."
+
+Dr. David Riddle came into the room and joined them. Before anyone could
+speak, the geologist spotted the samples on the table and sucked in his
+breath sharply.
+
+"Where did these come from?" he demanded.
+
+"Connel's third shot station," Rick replied. "Do you know what the stuff
+is?"
+
+Riddle sank into a chair and picked up one of the samples, testing it
+between his fingers. "Yes," he said, "I do. I've seen it only once
+before, in Africa. It occurs in what is known as a volcanic pipe,
+actually an ancient channel that gets filled with the stuff for reasons
+we do not know."
+
+"A volcanic pipe," Hartson Brant said softly. "I'm beginning to see."
+
+Rick wasn't. "But what is it?" he asked.
+
+"The most valuable kind of ground in the world," Riddle said. "So far as
+anyone knew up to now, such pipes have occurred only in Africa. The one
+I saw was at Kimberley. The name came from there. This is kimberlite."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Rick knew of only one kind of valuable that was associated with
+Kimberley, and the thought was so staggering that he was almost afraid
+to say it out loud. "You mean that this is the stuff diamonds are found
+in?"
+
+"Exactly," Riddle said.
+
+Rick fished the handful of crystals from his pocket and stared at them
+unbelievingly. "Then these," he said hoarsely, "must be diamonds!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+Earthquake!
+
+
+"Everything adds up," Rick Brant said grimly. "And it isn't a pretty
+picture."
+
+Hartson Brant agreed. "It certainly seems to add up, Rick. I suggest you
+put those crystals in a safe place until we can find out for certain
+whether or not there is real value there."
+
+"Is there any doubt?" Scotty asked.
+
+David Riddle answered, "Yes, Scotty. There are many grades of diamonds.
+Until an expert takes a look at those Rick collected, we won't be sure
+that they're of gem quality. He may have industrial grade diamonds, of
+the type called bort."
+
+"Connel may already have had an expert take a look," Weiss pointed out.
+
+Rick examined the handful of crystals. It was hard to believe he had
+simply picked up diamonds like so many pebbles. What's more, he couldn't
+be sure whether he held a king's ransom in his hand or a few dollars'
+worth of industrial abrasives.
+
+"Why didn't Connel clean out all diamonds in the area?" he demanded.
+
+"How could he?" Hartson Brant retorted. "When has he had time for a real
+effort? I suspect he has picked up quite a few, but you found those just
+by kicking around, which would indicate he hasn't sifted that loose
+ground very thoroughly."
+
+David Riddle frowned. "It's odd that Rick found so many. Perhaps he was
+lucky enough to kick open a pocket that Connel missed. Diamonds just
+don't occur with such frequency, even in Kimberley."
+
+"They were pretty close together," Rick remembered. "It may have been a
+pocket, all right."
+
+"There is one other possibility," Riddle added, "and it's staggering to
+think of it. These crystals may have come from a single large crystal.
+Perhaps the dynamite explosions shattered the big one into a number of
+smaller ones."
+
+Scotty gulped. "But the original crystal would have had to be nearly the
+size of a grapefruit!"
+
+"True, Scotty. There have been crystals that big, or close to it.
+Usually the diamond that is cut from such a crystal is much smaller.
+There is considerable loss. But it's a possibility."
+
+Rick said abruptly, "I think we ought to sort of review the situation.
+To see where we stand."
+
+"A good idea," his father agreed. "Suppose you start?"
+
+Rick considered. "Well, Connel must have discovered the yellow ground
+the very first thing, probably while he was kicking a hole to lay the
+charge in. The reason I think so is because of Ruiz. That accident has
+always bothered me. Ruiz just wouldn't walk back to the charge while
+Connel was ready to set it off. He just wouldn't."
+
+Julius Weiss asked, "Are you implying that Connel deliberately blew Ruiz
+up?"
+
+"What else can we make of it?" Rick replied. "That kind of accident just
+doesn't happen. Not to an expert. But if Connel found the yellow ground
+while setting the charge, and took time to dig a little and be sure
+there was blue ground under it, he would certainly have known that he
+was standing on top of a volcanic pipe. He might even have picked up a
+crystal."
+
+"If word got out, he couldn't exploit the pipe," Scotty added. "So, Ruiz
+had to be eliminated. It would have been pretty easy. Connel had the
+watch. He could have kept track of the time, then asked Ruiz to make a
+final check and set the charge off while the poor guy was taking a look
+at the connections."
+
+"It could have happened that way," Hartson Brant agreed. "But I hate to
+think any human being could be so ruthless."
+
+"Connel had to keep others away, too," Rick went on. "Also, he had to
+slow things down so he could have time to set something up to exploit
+his find. So, he stole the tracings and the dynamite. That bought him a
+little time, didn't it? Then he tried to get Scotty and me, because we
+were following him and he was afraid we might find out what was going
+on."
+
+"It seems reasonable," Hartson Brant agreed.
+
+"Connel couldn't develop a diamond field in a foreign place without
+help, could he? He had to let someone in on it, locally. He sized up
+Guevara and figured the lieutenant governor could certainly help him
+out, so he brought Guevara in on it."
+
+"Pure speculation," Weiss said.
+
+"Yes, sir. But it fits. Guevara certainly wouldn't want people running
+around over there, so it's to his advantage to keep us from operating.
+If he thinks there's a fortune in the pipe, it's even to his advantage
+to kidnap the governor to make sure we can't follow our plans!"
+
+David Riddle shook his head. "A man would have to be insane to hold up
+an effort to save the island just to make himself rich."
+
+"He would if he believed the island was in danger," Scotty agreed. "But
+suppose he doesn't? I don't think Connel has the true picture. His time
+estimate was much longer than yours, and he hasn't been in on many of
+the discussions."
+
+The three scientists looked at each other. "You know," Riddle said,
+"Scotty is right. Connel has shown little interest in the magma flux. He
+may not have a true understanding of the situation at all!"
+
+"It's possible." Hartson Brant nodded. "Quite possible. After all, we
+borrowed him only to have another experienced man to handle the shots.
+His training certainly doesn't qualify him to understand the physics
+involved. He has concentrated on locating oil deposits, using standard
+data. This kind of thing is new to him."
+
+"We didn't get him to handle data analysis," Weiss remarked. "There are
+enough of us who can do that."
+
+Rick picked up his argument again. "If Connel doesn't believe there are
+only a couple of weeks, he would give the lieutenant governor his views,
+and he'd be believed, just because Guevara is so greedy he would believe
+anything that will make him rich. Of course I don't know for sure that
+Guevara is like that, but he certainly brushed us off, didn't he? And he
+didn't seem surprised when you told him about the danger."
+
+"The thing that bothers me," Scotty stated, "is why Connel and Guevara
+haven't started to mine the diamonds."
+
+"It takes organization," Rick pointed out. "Also, it couldn't be done
+while the governor was around, could it? He'd be sure to get wind of it.
+Connel and Guevara have to keep this quiet, or there will be a rush that
+will make the Klondike look like a picnic."
+
+Scotty nodded. "That must be why they put a guard up there, too.
+Probably just one trusted man, who has to make the rounds alone. We were
+lucky he was on his rounds when we got there, or we'd never have had a
+chance for a close look."
+
+"Well," Julius Weiss demanded, "what do we do now?"
+
+A sudden earth tremor made the group pause. It lasted only a few
+seconds.
+
+"Whatever we do, we'd better do it fast," Hartson Brant stated.
+
+"Find the governor," Rick said. "That's the first thing. We can't move
+unless we have official backing, and we certainly won't get it from
+Guevara!"
+
+Esteben Balgos walked in, closely followed by Brad Connel. "We placed
+the instruments without difficulty," Balgos began--and Connel's eye
+caught sight of the kimberlite samples on the table. The geologist
+realized instantly that his secret was known, and he knew, too, the
+conclusions that would be drawn. Among other things, he was guilty of
+the attempted murder of Ruiz.
+
+Connel bolted for the door.
+
+The geologist was fast, but Scotty was faster. The dark-haired boy
+charged across the room, then dove headlong. His extended arms caught
+the fleeting geologist around the thighs, then Scotty's shoulder smashed
+into him. Connel went down like a tackled ball carrier. Before he could
+recover, Scotty had shifted his grip and the geologist was helpless in a
+punishing hold.
+
+The scientists and Rick arrived a split second later.
+
+"Let him up," Riddle ordered. "But keep a grip on him."
+
+Scotty did so, and the geologist glared at the group with angry eyes. He
+didn't try to bluff; he knew it was useless.
+
+Rick hurried to find the hotel manager, who directed them to a tool
+closet on the outside of the hotel near the parking lot. It had no
+windows, a single, small ventilating duct, and only one door. Connel was
+pushed inside, and the door locked. Hartson Brant pocketed the key.
+
+"He'll have to stay there until we find the governor and arrange for
+trustworthy policemen," the scientist said. "I'm certain those who have
+been guarding the dynamite are all right, but we'd better have the
+governor's word for it."
+
+Rick agreed with the precaution.
+
+While Esteben Balgos was being briefed on the day's happenings, Zircon
+and Williams arrived and had to be briefed, too. Twice, small earth
+temblors interrupted the conference.
+
+"Something is happening below us," Balgos said. "I wish we knew exactly
+what!"
+
+The magma was pushing up relentlessly, melting its way into the channels
+Williams had marked on his sketch. In one of the channels was a large
+pocket in which water had collected over the centuries. Perhaps there
+was enough water to fill a substantial pond, perhaps even a small lake.
+There was also room in the porous rock for expansion, because the pocket
+was not entirely full. The magma neared the pocket, meeting small
+quantities of water on its way. Each meeting resulted in a small
+explosion, and a temblor that was felt far above.
+
+Then--the magma's heat turned the pocket itself to steam. The steam
+expanded in a mighty explosion that sent great shock waves smashing
+through the earth.
+
+Rick Brant's chair went over backward and he fell to a floor that was
+shaking like soft mud under him. He heard the crashing of glassware and
+the sounds of furniture falling. And he heard the ominous rumble of the
+building itself, splitting, cracking, falling.
+
+"Out!" Hartson Brant yelled. "Get outside!"
+
+Rick scrambled to hands and knees and saw that Scotty was bending to
+pick him up. He waved his pal away and got to his feet, fighting to keep
+his balance on the shaking floor. He was scared stiff, but far from
+paralyzed. Nor did he lose his head. He made sure the scientists were on
+their way before he followed them through the nearest door.
+
+"Back!" Scotty yelled.
+
+The group paused as a section of building cornice crashed to the ground
+just outside. Dust billowed. Scotty sprang through the opening and
+looked up.
+
+"Okay," he called. "Come on!"
+
+The Spindrifters poured through the doorway out onto the parking lot.
+They were in time to see another section of cornice break loose and fall
+to the ground. Hotel employees were pouring out, too, gathering in the
+parking lot beyond the reach of the crumbling hotel.
+
+Rick saw a great gap appear in one wall and waited breathlessly for the
+wall to fall, but it held. The ground still shook under his feet, and
+his insides were producing the queasy symptoms of motion sickness. Then
+the earth steadied again, leaving only a mild temblor that soon
+vanished.
+
+The group looked at each other, white-faced. The earthquake had been by
+far the worst yet. There was even some doubt that the hotel was still
+safe. Rick, seeing the manager busy counting noses to make sure all his
+employees were out, gasped, "Connel!"
+
+Hartson Brant ran for the tool closet, the others behind him. The
+scientist reached for the key, ready to let Connel out.
+
+The wall was tilted crazily. The door had sprung wide open.
+
+Connel was gone!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+The Rising Magma
+
+
+The Spindrift group held a council of war in their office-conference
+room. Inspection of the hotel had shown that damage was not as serious
+as first expected. The cornices, held only by mortar, had fallen, and
+the rear exterior wall had lost its brick veneer. The structural part of
+the wall, while cracked, was strong enough to hold up. The veneer was
+unsafe, however, and it was agreed that all should stay well away from
+the area where Connel had been imprisoned.
+
+"We must begin another series of shots at once," Hartson Brant said.
+"It's apparent that the magma has moved, and rapidly. But until we get
+more tracings, we won't know in what direction. Meanwhile, we _must_
+find the governor!"
+
+"How?" Rick asked. "How can we find him?"
+
+Hartson Brant smiled at his son. "It seems to me that you and Scotty
+have acquired considerable reputations as detectives, Rick. I suggest
+you earn them. Find the governor for us. We will give you Honorario as
+an interpreter, but it will be up to you. The rest of us must operate as
+best we can short-handed."
+
+"How about Connel?" Scotty demanded.
+
+The scientist shrugged. "He's the least of my worries. Let him develop
+his diamond mine. My concern is with this island and the people on it.
+If our guess is right, Connel will be lucky to have a few days in which
+to work--scarcely enough to do much mining."
+
+"Any ideas?" Rick asked.
+
+"Yes. Talk to the governor's family, and to his personal staff. Stay
+away from Guevara. Once Connel tells him we know about the diamonds, he
+may become dangerous. Do what you can, boys. After all, this isn't a big
+island and the governor must be somewhere on it."
+
+"If he's alive," Scotty added.
+
+Hartson Brant looked at the boy and his face grew grim. "Yes," he
+agreed. "If he's alive."
+
+Rick and Scotty had always relished the adventure and excitement of
+trying to solve a mystery. Sometimes the success or failure of a project
+had hung in the balance, but this one was different. The fate of an
+island and nearly 32,000 people depended on solving the riddle of the
+missing governor. Rick felt the weight of the responsibility.
+
+The plan he and Scotty developed was simple and logical. They would
+start with the governor's movements on the morning of his disappearance
+and continue from there.
+
+At the governor's residence they learned from his butler that Montoya
+had left the house promptly at eight o'clock, as he did every morning.
+He drove himself, in a small English car that he used for personal
+transportation. But, as they knew from the visit to the executive
+offices, he had never arrived.
+
+The next stop was to determine his route. It wasn't difficult; there was
+only one main road from the outskirts of Calor into town, although there
+were many side streets.
+
+With Honorario as interpreter, they began the time-consuming job of
+questioning householders along the route.
+
+Honorario was personally interested in the job. He had learned from them
+of Connel's perfidy, and he said quietly, "Ruiz is my friend. We do not
+yet know if he will live, or, if he lives, if he will be a whole man
+again. I owe it to him to do my best in this matter. You may depend on
+me."
+
+Not until they had reached the outskirts of Calor did they find what had
+happened. Through Honorario, an old lady who had seen it all through her
+window told them the story.
+
+"A big military truck was across the road," Honorario reported. "It was
+keeping cars from passing. The little car of the governor came, and it
+had to stop. An officer got in with the governor. The truck moved away
+and the governor drove off. The old woman thinks the officer was
+pointing a gun at the governor. She did not know it was the governor,
+but her words to describe him were enough."
+
+Rick whistled. "Military? Does that mean the governor got caught by some
+kind of revolutionary group?"
+
+Honorario shrugged. "Who knows? But I have heard of no revolution. The
+governor is popular, and the people are satisfied. But you should know,
+my friends, that on this island the _comandante_ of our small military
+is the lieutenant governor. I think we are not dealing here with
+revolution, but with Señor Jaime Guevara!"
+
+"We're stuck," Scotty said. "I suppose we could keep on asking and try
+to get a line on where the governor's car went, but that's pretty
+hopeless. Honorario, can we possibly find someone who is loyal to the
+governor and who knows the island?"
+
+Honorario thought it over. "In such a case," he replied, "there is only
+one way to be sure. It is, you understand, a matter of family. Among San
+Luzians, the family is first and all else is after. So, I think we
+should see the nephew of the governor. He is _el capitán_ Ricardo
+Montoya, who is deputy of police for the western part of the island."
+
+Captain Ricardo Montoya was young, capable, and alert. Honorario found
+him in the police headquarters in central Calor and invited him to join
+the boys for coffee at a nearby café.
+
+Rick looked the officer over as he entered the restaurant, and he liked
+what he saw. Montoya was built like a middleweight fighter, and his
+white uniform was spotless. He was lighter in complexion than most San
+Luzians, but even the wisp of mustache on his upper lip couldn't
+conceal the firmness of his face.
+
+He greeted them courteously, in good English. "_A sus órdenes, señores._
+This Honorario says you wish to speak with me?"
+
+"We place ourselves in your hands, Señor _Capitán_," Rick said quietly.
+"Because you are the governor's nephew and a police official, we must
+assume that you are completely loyal to him."
+
+The officer's brilliant dark eyes flashed. "It would be a grave insult
+to assume otherwise, señor. He is the brother of my father."
+
+"Good," Rick said. "No insult was intended. I think we had better tell
+you the entire story, then we can discuss what must be done." He started
+at the beginning, with the arrival of Balgos at Spindrift, and ended
+with the day's events.
+
+"You have cast much light on what has happened," the captain stated. "I
+am grateful. Now, señores, you must not believe I have been idle. I had
+already discovered how my uncle was kidnaped. It was clear that some
+military element was involved, but I rejected the idea of revolution.
+The motive puzzled me. It is puzzling no longer, thanks to you. Also,
+while I suspected Guevara, there was no proof. My suspicion, you
+understand, was based on his character."
+
+"Have you any idea where the governor was taken?" Scotty asked.
+
+"I have now," Montoya said grimly. "The best possibility--and about the
+only place we have not looked--is Casa Guevara."
+
+The boys exchanged glances. "Then we ought to make up a party of loyal
+people and invade the place," Rick stated.
+
+"No. If I know this man Guevara, any such move would mean the death of
+my uncle, if he still lives. We must find some other way."
+
+"Can you find loyal people?" Rick asked.
+
+"A few. You must understand most people do not feel as I do about
+Guevara. He is popular. Who knows where the loyalty of the people lies,
+between individuals? One cannot be certain. So, I must use only men
+loyal to me. There are such."
+
+Montoya rose. "We will be allies, since we fight for the same thing,
+which is San Luz. Let me see what kind of plan can be made. Go back to
+your hotel, and I will come for you there. We will work this thing out
+together." He shook hands with both boys, turned, and strode from the
+restaurant.
+
+Rick paid for their coffee and the boys joined Honorario, who was
+waiting outside in the jeep. "He's a good, tough _hombre_," Rick told
+the San Luzian. "You made a good choice."
+
+"I am glad," Honorario said. "Someday he will be governor, like his
+uncle."
+
+While the boys were in Calor, the scientists had conducted another
+series of shots. The tracings were spread out on the table when they
+returned, and the group was engrossed in checking them over.
+
+Rick and Scotty waited, watching. They knew from the quiet voices and
+tense attitudes that something serious had been found. Then Williams
+began to mark in the data on his sketch.
+
+"This is where the explosion took place," he said. "Probably the magma
+hit a quantity of water as it entered the new channel. Notice that the
+channel is one we marked on here earlier as a probable path. So far,
+we're guessing right. Now, my estimate is that the magma will move fast,
+stopping only when it reaches this dike of solid basalt."
+
+Hartson Brant wiped his face with his handkerchief. "It looks bad, Jeff.
+The magma will reach the solid layer before we could possibly get to it
+with a tunnel."
+
+"What does that mean?" Rick asked.
+
+Hobart Zircon answered him. "It means, Rick, that we no longer have time
+to dig a vent. It means the people of this island will be lucky if they
+can get away in time!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+Armed Revolt
+
+
+David Riddle had fired the last series of shots from Connel's stations.
+By unanimous consent, the last station at the volcanic pipe had been
+omitted. Two stations would have to do for now. All agreed it would be
+foolish to jeopardize a man by going near the guarded third station.
+
+Since Riddle had the longest distance to travel, he had not arrived when
+the boys returned to the hotel. Now, as Zircon finished his ominous
+statement, the government geologist strode into the room.
+
+"We're in trouble," he stated. "I'm only a few minutes ahead of
+soldiers. I came out of the trail onto the road and saw them just coming
+off the dirt road onto the pavement. They shouted for me to stop, but I
+wasn't of a mind to tangle with troops. I came as fast as I could."
+
+"Are they coming here?" Hartson Brant asked quickly.
+
+"They're either coming here or marching into Calor. Those are the only
+two places the road leads. My guess is that they're marching here."
+
+Rick said swiftly, "Connel got to Guevara! And Guevara is going to make
+sure we don't spread the word!"
+
+"Rick is probably right," Zircon snapped. "I suggest we clear out. If
+we're captured, we'll be unable to operate at all."
+
+"Grab the supplies and get into the jeeps," Hartson Brant ordered.
+"Quickly! Rick, you and Scotty move fast. Get your stuff into the jeep,
+then take as much dynamite as you can. Go up the road to where you have
+a good view and act as lookouts. Give us as much warning as you can.
+We'll take the rest of the dynamite and the equipment in the other
+jeeps!"
+
+Rick and Scotty dashed to their room. They threw clothes into their
+bags, slammed them shut without bothering to pack neatly, and hurried
+out into the parking lot. Rick backed the jeep up to the pump shed while
+Scotty ran to the door. To the policeman on duty he explained only that
+they were in a great hurry.
+
+The boys took time to load six cases, plus one of the detonators and a
+roll of wire, then they got into the jeep and roared off up the road
+toward the pumice works.
+
+"We've probably got ten minutes," Scotty estimated. "If they're marching
+at a normal pace, it would take them a little less than a half hour to
+walk from the pumice works."
+
+Rick drove a half mile up the road to where he had a good view of
+several hundred yards and stopped the jeep. "We'll be able to spot them
+from here." He turned the jeep around, ready to run as soon as the
+troops came in sight. "Where do you suppose the soldiers came from?"
+
+"Probably from a camp near San Souci," Scotty guessed. "Otherwise,
+they'd have come up the main road from Calor. There's probably a camp on
+the western shore somewhere."
+
+"Wish we had some way of slowing them down," Rick mused. "We need a
+mortar or a few military rockets. But all we've got is some dynamite,
+and we can't throw that very far."
+
+"Why do we have to throw it?" Scotty asked excitedly. "Listen. We'll put
+a charge by the side of the road and string wire back a way. Then we can
+park the jeep off the road next to the detonator. When they get within
+range, we'll push the plunger and run. We can time it so they won't get
+blown up, but they may think they're being shelled."
+
+"That should do it," Rick agreed. He shifted into gear and moved ahead
+slowly, searching for a likely spot. There was one a few yards ahead
+where a clump of wild banana plants would shield the jeep from view. He
+backed the jeep in next to the banana plants and made sure he could get
+out again easily, then he took the coil of wire and began unwinding it
+along the edge of the road. Scotty took out his scout knife and began to
+pry open a case of dynamite.
+
+Rick fed wire until he reached a spot a hundred yards up the road, then
+took out his knife and cut through the thin stuff. He started back to
+help Scotty and was just in time to see the dark-haired boy with a stick
+of dynamite in his mouth!
+
+Rick gasped. He started to run toward Scotty, but his pal waved him
+back. Then, as Rick watched, horrified, he saw Scotty take the stick out
+of his mouth and motion for him to come ahead.
+
+"What are you doing?" Rick demanded. "I thought for a minute you'd lost
+all your buttons and started eating dynamite."
+
+"We didn't have crimpers," Scotty explained. "The only way I could get
+the cap on was to crimp it with my teeth."
+
+Rick turned white. He gulped. No wonder Scotty looked a little pale!
+
+"It worked," Scotty said, a little shakily. "But I don't want to do it
+as a regular thing."
+
+"I should hope not!" Rick exclaimed fervently. "Give me that stick. I'll
+connect up. Will one be enough?"
+
+"Plenty," Scotty said. "Get going. I'll connect up the detonator."
+
+By the time Rick had placed the dynamite and connected the wires, Scotty
+was ready, the detonator in the front seat of the jeep between his legs.
+
+"I wish we had some regular fuse," he said. "Then we could put short
+fuses on a few sticks, light them, and throw them."
+
+Rick stared at him. "And crimp all the caps with your teeth? Boy, I'm
+glad we haven't any fuse!"
+
+Scotty's estimate was two minutes off. It took twelve minutes for the
+troops to come into sight. Watching from behind the banana plants, the
+boys saw them hiking down the road like a bunch of tenderfeet on their
+first five-mile hike. It was obvious that discipline in the San Luzian
+army was slack. The men wore sloppy brown uniforms and a variety of
+hats. They carried rifles and there were bandoliers of cartridges across
+their chests and grenades at their belts.
+
+"Can you see?" Rick whispered.
+
+"Fine," Scotty whispered back.
+
+They sat in the jeep, waiting. Rick kept the motor idling, knowing that
+the sound would be inaudible a short distance away.
+
+The troops reached the point the boys had selected. It was a big papaya
+about fifty feet beyond the dynamite. Scotty pushed the plunger. The
+dynamite exploded.
+
+Rick raced the motor, then shifted into gear. Scotty cut the wires loose
+with one flick of his knife and Rick lurched onto the road and fled
+toward the hotel as fast as he could accelerate.
+
+Through the rear-view mirror he could see the troops scatter and knew
+they had slowed things down for a few minutes at least. The last view he
+had was of one man, evidently an officer, trying to rally the troops
+again.
+
+Rick rounded the turn leading to the hotel grounds and saw that the
+scientists were waiting in the jeeps, ready to roll. He slowed long
+enough to yell, "Let's go," then led the way down the road to the front
+of the hotel and into Calor.
+
+The next problem was to find a place to stay. Honorario advised staying
+away from the big hotels on the beach and suggested a smaller but quite
+comfortable hostelry on the outskirts of town. Rick was pleased to see
+that it was located right on the water, at the point where the long San
+Luz beach began. But he doubted there would be time for swimming.
+
+The Hotel Internationale was comfortable, and more than adequate. The
+scientists congratulated each other on being able to get rooms.
+Fortunately, as the manager explained, it was not yet full _turista_
+time. If they were prepared to double up, two to a room, he could
+accommodate them.
+
+Rick and Scotty drew a room on the second floor. The bath was down the
+hall, but they didn't mind that. Hartson Brant and Hobart Zircon shared
+the largest room, and there was a large porch that could be used as a
+meeting place.
+
+The hotel also had a basement room that the manager was glad to turn
+over for the equipment--at a slight fee, naturally. But he boggled when
+the boys appeared with cases of dynamite on their shoulder.
+
+"Leave it to me," Honorario suggested. "I will find a place that will be
+safe."
+
+Rick was glad to leave it to Honorario. He was anxious to get in touch
+with Montoya, to explain what had happened. The police station was not
+far away. He and Scotty hiked over and found the young captain alone in
+his office.
+
+Montoya listened to their story, and his face became stern. "There are
+two possibilities," he said finally. "Either Guevara is mounting a big
+revolution, or he is interested only in the diamonds. If it is the
+diamonds, then he probably will keep the troops near the mountain, and
+the city may not be bothered at all."
+
+"How can we find out?" Rick asked. "Except by waiting to see if troops
+show up here."
+
+Montoya stared through the window at the tiny harbor of Calor. The boys
+waited while he thought it over.
+
+Finally the captain swiveled around and faced them. "We can find out, if
+you will take a chance. I do not think it is much of a chance, really,
+but it may be. Let us think of things from Guevara's point of view. He
+knows that you know of these diamonds. He also knows, because he is
+intelligent, that you surely realize the danger of talking about them.
+So, what would he do with you if he caught you? Perhaps detain you for a
+while, but no more. He knows that harm to foreigners would bring down
+trouble he could not handle. We would have Venezuela, Colombia, Great
+Britain, and the United States in here. The first three might bring in
+troops on the pretext of restoring order, but actually to back up their
+claims to the island. The United States would bring great pressure on
+all three to do something."
+
+"It makes sense," Rick agreed. "So you don't think we're in any great
+danger from Guevara?"
+
+"No. If you had been at the hotel, he would have kept you there, I
+think. But you were not, so we must see if he is prepared to follow you.
+My own opinion is that he wants to be let alone to mine diamonds, while
+he has time. It does not take an invasion of Calor to do this."
+
+"What do you want us to do?" Scotty asked.
+
+"Simply take a ride to the hotel, or as far as you can go. See what the
+situation really is. If I, or my men, should try this it would surely
+mean shooting. But you are _extranjeros_,--foreigners. You can get away
+with it."
+
+"You hope," Rick said.
+
+Montoya's teeth flashed in the first smile they had seen on his face.
+"Indeed," he agreed. "I hope."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+Night Patrol
+
+
+The jeep rolled out of Calor on the highway back to the Hot Springs
+Hotel. Scotty drove, while Rick relaxed in the seat beside him. They had
+taken time for a sandwich and coffee, because they were not sure when
+they might eat again.
+
+Hartson Brant and the scientists were at work on detailed analysis of
+the day's shots. It would take some time. When Rick told his father
+about the conversation with Captain Montoya, the scientist had nodded
+agreement. "It sounds like good sense, especially since there has been
+no sign of an invasion of the city. The troops could have been here
+before this. Go ahead, but be cautious. Always leave your escape route
+open."
+
+It was good advice, and the boys intended to take it.
+
+Scotty drove in silence for a few minutes, then said, "We're nearly at
+the fork in the road. Keep an eye open."
+
+"Will do," Rick assured him. The left fork was the main, paved road to
+San Souci. The right fork led up to the hotel.
+
+Scotty reached the fork and slowed.
+
+"There!" Rick pointed.
+
+Twenty yards up the right fork there was a barricade fence, newly made
+of small logs. Lounging against the fence were a half dozen soldiers.
+
+"We could go left to San Souci, but not to the hotel," Rick said. "Now
+what?"
+
+"Hold on and be ready for a quick take-off," Scotty muttered. He turned
+the jeep into the left fork, then shifted and backed around and up the
+right fork to where the soldiers waited.
+
+One soldier, with sergeant's stripes on his sleeve, sauntered over to
+them. He carried a rifle, but Rick noted that he didn't hold it at the
+ready. The boy called, "Do you speak English, sergeant?"
+
+"Leetle beet," the soldier replied. He smiled cordially. "What you
+weesh, señores?"
+
+"Can we get to the hotel?" Scotty asked.
+
+"No can, señor."
+
+"Why not?" Rick asked.
+
+"Ees ... how you say? ... big talk at hotel. Ees _el gobernador y_ ...
+and ... _el comandante_ Guevara. Also more mens. No one goes to hotel
+long time. Maybe when talk feenish."
+
+"The governor and lieutenant governor are having a big conference at the
+hotel?" Rick asked incredulously.
+
+"Ees so, señor."
+
+"How long will this conference last?" Scotty asked.
+
+The sergeant shrugged. "_Quién sabe?_ Maybe two day, maybe two
+_semana_ ... how you say?..."
+
+"Weeks," Rick supplied. "What are they talking about?"
+
+"Ees ... how you say?... _seguridad nacional_. Thees ees what _el
+comandante_ speaks to us."
+
+Rick glanced at Scotty. "National security conference. Those can last a
+long time." He looked at the sergeant again. "We could go to San Souci,
+and from there to the hotel, maybe."
+
+"_Pero no_, señor. That way also ees guard. Ees no way get to hotel.
+More good you not try, eh? _Soldados_ at hotel, they maybe shoots."
+
+"Now we know," Scotty said. "Nothing more to be gained here."
+
+"Did you see the governor?" Rick asked.
+
+"No, señor. But I saw _el comandante_ Guevara. But eef he ees here, also
+_el gobernador_. _Cómo no?_"
+
+"I guess so," Rick agreed. "_Mil gracias_, sergeant. _Vaya con Dios._ A
+thousand thanks. Go with God."
+
+"_Y ustedes_," the sergeant returned politely. "And you, señores."
+
+Scotty let the clutch out and the jeep moved ahead. "Now to call on
+Captain Montoya," he said. "Right?"
+
+"Right," Rick agreed. "Interesting. Guevara tells the troops he and the
+governor are having a security conference and should not be interrupted.
+So guards are posted to protect the hotel. And none of the poor
+_soldados_ realize that blocking the roads also keeps people away from
+the volcanic pipe, so Guevara and Connel can start work."
+
+"With Guevara's own men to do the dirty work," Scotty added.
+
+"Too true. Maybe they even have soldiers on the job. I know what else
+the soldiers are guarding, too. Probably without knowing it."
+
+Scotty turned to look at him. "You thinking the same thing I am?"
+
+"Yep. Somewhere behind that guarded perimeter is the governor. And until
+we get him out, we're helpless."
+
+"Then," Scotty announced, "we'll just have to get him out."
+
+The jeep almost flew down the road to Calor. Scotty wheeled it through
+the narrow streets and drew up at the police station. In a moment they
+were reporting to Captain Montoya.
+
+The young officer listened, then smacked a fist into his palm. "_Bueno!_
+This is good, _amigos_. We will let Guevara and your Connel have the
+diamonds, eh? They can use the entire army to guard the mine, if they
+wish. I hope they do. That means we have the rest of the island in which
+to maneuver. I have already sent one of my most trusted men to approach
+the diamond pipe from the north, through Redondo. That way we will know
+the exact limits."
+
+"But they've got the army," Rick objected. "Where does that leave us?"
+
+"Free to operate in other ways," Montoya said. "The army is occupied,
+no? Let them stay that way."
+
+His keen eyes examined the two critically. Rick felt a little
+uncomfortable at the penetrating stare. Then Montoya smiled. "I do not
+know you," he said flatly. "But I have certain evidence of the kind of
+young men you are. First, you came to this island. Why? On a mission of
+mercy, in answer to my uncle's call. It was unselfish, and it was also
+dangerous. Then, tonight, you took the chance of finding the roadblock.
+Also, though this may surprise you, we have heard something of the
+Spindrift Scientific Foundation even here on this island."
+
+Rick was surprised. He knew the Foundation had an international
+reputation, but he had thought it was limited to scientists.
+
+"So, I have some basis for what I now ask of you," Montoya added. "There
+is no time to collect those of my men who are completely loyal. It is
+because they are scattered, searching for some trace of my uncle. I do
+not wish to take time to wait until they report in."
+
+"What do you want us to do?" Scotty asked.
+
+"It is simple, and not so simple. A large party cannot invade the
+perimeter Guevara has established, but a very few can perhaps do it. We
+will be that few. We will go to Casa Guevara. And, if we are lucky, we
+will rescue my uncle. What do you say?"
+
+The boys exchanged glances. Rick spoke for both of them. "We're with
+you."
+
+Montoya didn't have to reply. His warm handshake said everything there
+was to say.
+
+Scotty spoke up. "I've had some experience in nighttime operations. We
+will need dark clothes, and something to blacken our faces. We will need
+weapons. Not guns. If we get into a shooting scrape it will bring the
+whole army down on us."
+
+"I agree." Montoya opened his desk drawer and drew out a policeman's
+night stick. He handed it to Scotty. "How about this?"
+
+Scotty hefted it, grinned, and handed it to Rick. It was heavy, and
+perfectly balanced. Rick guessed it had been drilled and the end filled
+with lead. "One good thing about this," he said. "No moving parts to get
+out of order."
+
+Montoya smiled. "True. We will each have one, and I will take my pistol
+as a last resort. Let us look at the map and memorize it. We will have
+to go through the jungle to reach the house, and it would be disastrous
+to lose our way."
+
+"Get a compass," Scotty requested. "We can set a compass course and hit
+it right on the nose."
+
+Rick looked at his pal. "Marine training?"
+
+"Nope." Scotty grinned. "Boy Scout. But it will come in handy. I think I
+could take you there anyway, but we'd better have a compass to be sure."
+
+The three bent over the map and worked out the approach to Casa Guevara.
+For one thing, they agreed to approach as close as possible by jeep. If
+they found the governor, transportation would be needed. He could not be
+as fast on foot as might be necessary, because of his age. Besides, they
+had no idea of his present physical condition.
+
+It was dark when they rolled out of Calor, Rick driving. All three were
+dressed in dark clothes, and each had a night stick in his belt.
+Montoya's pistol was hidden in a shoulder holster.
+
+At the officer's direction, they turned toward the airport, passed it,
+and headed toward the lighthouse at the extreme southern tip of the
+island. The road led past the light and along the southern shore, a
+hundred yards from the sea. Then, as they reached their first turning
+point, Montoya said, "Slowly. It should be about here."
+
+After a moment he found it, a pair of ruts through the rolling farm
+land. Rick knew from his study of the map that it was a road on which
+bananas were hauled from the plantations. It cut across to the main road
+to San Souci. By taking this route, they would miss the check point near
+the hotel.
+
+The road was bumpy but passable. Rick kept a steady speed in spite of
+the jouncing it gave his passengers. They could take it.
+
+Presently there was blacktop ahead. They had reached the road to San
+Souci. Rick pulled a flashlight from his pocket and pointed it at the
+odometer, counting off the tenths of a mile as he headed toward the
+town. When he reached seven-tenths he stopped the jeep.
+
+"Turnoff point," he said. "From now on, we steer our way through the
+boondocks. Any preferred way, Captain?"
+
+Montoya shrugged. "There is no road, or even a path. Do what you can."
+
+"Okay. Scotty, make sure we head due north."
+
+"Check. Make a 90-degree turn and keep going. I'll correct you."
+
+Rick had only one real concern, and that was that the jeep lights might
+be visible from the higher elevation of Casa Guevara. But it had to be
+risked. He thought there wasn't really much of a chance, because the
+thick foliage would screen them. Besides, anyone seeing the lights might
+assume it was soldiers making their rounds.
+
+The ground was carpeted with fallen vegetation, but it was the dry
+season and the earth under the leaves was firm enough. There was little
+danger of the jeep bogging down, especially in four-wheel drive.
+
+Rick picked his way through the jungle, keeping to clear spots as much
+as he could. Once it was necessary to butt down a huge banana plant
+before he could continue, but mostly it was a matter of plowing through
+scrub. Sometimes a palmetto leaf whipped across his face, and once a
+thorny bush caught painfully and drew blood.
+
+Scotty navigated, keeping track of their direction. Now and then he
+spoke. "More to the right when you can. We're about a hundred yards to
+the left of our base line." Then, "Straighten out. We're on course
+again."
+
+After what seemed to Rick an eternity of plowing through the heavy
+growth, Scotty said quietly, "Pick a place to turn around, then kill the
+lights and motor."
+
+Rick reached a place where there was room, swung the wheels hard,
+backed around, and put the jeep in its own tracks facing the other way.
+He turned off the lights and cut the motor switch. The silence and
+darkness flooded in.
+
+"Just sit still until our eyes adjust," Scotty said, very quietly. "If
+I've figured right, we're about a hundred yards from the dirt road, just
+about in front of the Guevara driveway. We'd better walk the rest of the
+way, in case of guards."
+
+Rick waited until the blackness lessened. His pupils were fully dilated
+now, and he could see surprisingly well. There was a moon, but at the
+moment it was behind a cloud bank. When it emerged, he would be able to
+see perfectly.
+
+"Let's go," Scotty said. "No more talking now. When I hold up my hand,
+stop and wait for me."
+
+The ex-Marine took the lead, Montoya following and Rick bringing up the
+rear. He took the night stick from his belt and hefted it. The weight
+was comforting in his hand.
+
+Scotty found his way with the ease that Rick always admired. Their steps
+were noiseless on the carpeted jungle floor. Presently Scotty held up
+his hand, and Montoya and Rick stopped, waiting. Scotty disappeared
+ahead of them.
+
+The seconds ticked by. Mosquitoes found them and whined around their
+heads. Neither moved.
+
+Scotty returned as silently as he had gone. Beckoning them close, he
+whispered, "One guard at the gateposts. Give me one minute, then walk
+forward until you reach the road. Call to him in Spanish, Captain. I
+want to be sure his attention is on you."
+
+"I understand," Montoya said softly.
+
+Rick put a finger on his pulse and began counting. He could tell his
+pulse was a little fast. When the count reached ninety he tapped Montoya
+on the shoulder. But the officer was already moving.
+
+Rick followed close behind, the night stick held in a palm that had
+grown sweaty with tension. The San Luzian picked his way carefully, but
+he moved at a good speed. Then, suddenly, he stopped. Rick peered past
+him and saw the lighter color of the dirt road.
+
+Montoya took a breath, then he called clearly, "_Hola, amigo! Qué
+pasa?_"
+
+Across the way a figure rose, rifle ready. A suspicious voice called,
+"_Quién va?_"
+
+There was a soft but definite sound, like a pumpkin dropping on a hard
+floor. The guard crumpled.
+
+Montoya and Rick moved to Scotty's side with long strides. Scotty was
+already tying the guard hand and foot with his own belt and rifle sling.
+Then he took out a handkerchief and tied it into place as a gag. The
+guard could breathe past it, but yelling would get him little--when he
+woke up.
+
+"Help me get him into the brush," Scotty whispered. In a moment the
+guard was out of sight of any casual glance. There wasn't time to hide
+him with care.
+
+"Up the driveway," Scotty whispered. "I'll lead. When we get near the
+house, there probably will be other guards, so we'll have to leave the
+road and take to the bush again. Let's go."
+
+It was an eerie walk. Rick kept expecting a challenge from up ahead, but
+apparently there was no guard on the driveway itself. It wound through
+the jungle for a good quarter of a mile before it began to widen out
+into a clearing.
+
+Scotty motioned and led the way off the road. The march through the
+jungle began again. Rick plodded ahead, with complete faith in Scotty.
+He knew his pal was taking them in a circle, but he couldn't have said
+exactly where they were in relation to the house or the driveway.
+
+Then, suddenly, there were lights ahead!
+
+Scotty moved a few feet more, then sank down into the dense cover. Rick
+inched to his side, and saw that Montoya was doing the same.
+
+They had a clear view of the two-story house and the surrounding
+clearing. It was a hacienda very much like those Rick had seen in
+Mexico, stucco on the outside, probably with heavy brick walls.
+
+And there were guards! He saw the glow of two cigarette butts on the
+front porch, and another toward the rear. Three so far. Then a figure
+crossed through the light from a window. Four!
+
+The three invaders waited while the long minutes ticked away. The three
+were not alone; hordes of night insects joined them and made the wait
+miserable.
+
+[Illustration: _The three invaders waited while the long minutes ticked
+away_]
+
+Scotty drew back until his lips were close to Rick's ear. "I'm going to
+circle the house once. Keep watching."
+
+When Montoya would have followed Scotty, Rick put a hand on his arm and
+whispered that they should wait. The two concentrated on watching the
+windows and the guards. Rick guessed that Guevara was not at home. So
+far as he could tell, no one was inside the house, at least on his side.
+There was light in one upstairs window, but the angle was wrong; he
+couldn't see inside.
+
+The two guards on the front porch stayed there. That was probably their
+station. Another guard seemed to have the rear corner of the house. The
+fourth also seemed to be assigned to the rear, but he moved around more
+than his compatriot. Rick could see that the four were not soldiers. At
+least they were not in uniform. Probably they were Guevara's personal
+employees. Bodyguards, perhaps.
+
+Scotty returned, silent as a wraith in the night. He sank to the ground
+between the two and whispered, "I don't think there's anyone home. Just
+the four guards. If the governor is here, he's in that upstairs room."
+
+"What do we do?" Rick whispered.
+
+"We'll have to take it from the rear. It will be tough, because there's
+not much cover."
+
+Scotty began to outline his plan, then stopped suddenly. Rick had a
+strange feeling in his stomach again, and he realized that the earth was
+trembling under him. The tremor grew in strength, and from close by
+there was a snapping sound as a dead limb broke under the vibration and
+dropped to the jungle floor.
+
+"Now!" Scotty whispered sibilantly. "Come on!"
+
+Instantly Rick and Montoya followed the ex-Marine's lead, withdrawing
+into the denser brush, then rising and hurrying after him, crouched over
+and careful not to make a sound.
+
+Scotty led them in a wide circle that brought them finally to the rear
+of the house. Rick sized up the situation and saw only two trees that
+offered any cover. The ground was still trembling, although slightly.
+Then, as he crouched, the temblor increased again.
+
+The guards were disturbed. The two in the rear moved back, away from the
+house, as though expecting it to fall on them. One of them spoke in
+Spanish and the other replied curtly.
+
+Montoya sucked in his breath. He whispered, "The first one asked if they
+should not get the old man out, and the second said let him fall with
+the house."
+
+The two guards were well back from the house now, staring upward at the
+second floor. If the stucco started to go, it would be high on the house
+wall at the roof line.
+
+Scotty touched Rick on the arm, then rose and moved like a dark ghost,
+straight across the open glade toward the guards. Scotty reached the
+tree nearest the house and slipped into its shadow.
+
+Rick sized things up. The other tree was perhaps thirty feet away from
+Scotty, and about ten feet closer to the jungle's edge. The guards were
+still looking at the house. Rick moved, bent low, night stick firmly
+clutched in his hand. He sensed that Montoya was close behind him.
+
+He straightened up in the shadow of the tree, his eyes on Scotty. His
+pulse was speeding and his breathing was short and shallow. Montoya
+crouched next to him, ready to move.
+
+Rick saw Scotty bend and pick up something. He saw Scotty wave toward
+them, then saw Scotty throw something. The object crashed into the
+stucco of the house high on the second floor, then it tumbled to the
+ground. Scotty had thrown a rock!
+
+The guards stiffened, thinking that the sound was the first evidence
+that the house was falling. Scotty moved like a streak, and Rick charged
+forward with club held high. Montoya was even faster.
+
+The two guards, interested only in the house, never knew what hit them.
+Rick eased one to the ground as his knees crumpled after Montoya's
+vicious swing. Scotty had the other; he had knocked him out and caught
+him before he fell.
+
+The three left the guards and hurried to the back door. Montoya
+motioned, and took over the lead. He snaked the pistol out of his
+shoulder holster and held it ready.
+
+For an instant they paused in what seemed to be a pantry, then moved
+into the kitchen beyond. Rick could see a hallway leading straight to
+the front door. The door was solid wood, and it was closed.
+
+Montoya gestured with the pistol and led the way. Then, motioning the
+boys back, he boldly opened the door and strode out.
+
+The surprised front guards stared into the pistol muzzle. Montoya spoke
+in crisp Spanish that Rick couldn't follow, but the meaning was amply
+clear. The guards' hands shot high. Montoya stepped aside and the guards
+walked into the house like lambs.
+
+"Tie them!" Montoya snapped.
+
+A cord from the Venetian blinds was the most convenient tie material.
+Scotty cut it loose with a sweep of his scout knife and slashed it into
+two pieces. While Montoya held his pistol on the guards the boys tied
+their arms behind them, lashing their elbows together.
+
+"Now," the police captain said, "let us find my uncle."
+
+The stairs led up from the hallway. Montoya took them two at a time, the
+boys close behind. At the top of the stairs, the officer called in
+Spanish. There was an answer from a room on the left.
+
+The door was locked, but the key was hanging from a hook on the wall. In
+a moment the two Montoyas were greeting each other with a warm embrace,
+and then with a more formal handshake.
+
+The governor greeted the two Spindrifters with a bow and a handshake,
+and then inquired, "What good providence brought you here, nephew mine?"
+
+"We knew you were here," Montoya said, "because there was no other place
+where Guevara could have hid you."
+
+"Let's discuss it later," Rick urged. "Those guards out back will be
+coming to, and we want to be out of here."
+
+"You are right," Montoya agreed instantly. "We are not yet in the clear,
+señor uncle. We must hurry."
+
+"Into the jungle," Scotty said. "Once in the brush and we're okay.
+They'll never catch us then."
+
+Montoya hefted the pistol he still held in his left hand.
+
+"It will be better for them if they do not," he said quietly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+Stalemate
+
+
+Governor Luis Montoya paced the floor of his office. Seated in the
+comfortable chairs were the Spindrift scientists, Captain Montoya, and
+the boys.
+
+"We are in a difficult situation," the governor stated. "Guevara
+controls the army, and the army controls the area in which you must
+work. We need the army if we are to evacuate the island. My nephew and
+his fellow police are efficient, but their number is too small."
+
+"Is there any possibility of getting outside help?" Hartson Brant asked.
+
+"I am afraid not. Our difficult political situation makes it almost
+impossible to obtain any fast action. We would need to approach three
+governments at the same time. They would have to have conferences, to
+agree on how the help was to be given. Each would be afraid to let the
+other help, you see, for fear of giving up its claim to sovereignty over
+us. No, I'm afraid we must find our own solution."
+
+"You are the governor," Hobart Zircon pointed out. "Wouldn't the troops
+respond to your orders?"
+
+The governor shrugged. "You can be sure our efficient lieutenant
+governor has his own men in key positions. But what you suggest has
+occurred to me, and I must make the attempt. First, however, I must
+alert the people of the island. The danger must be described to them."
+
+"How?" Julius Weiss asked.
+
+"By radio. We have our own government radio here. I think Esteben and I
+should go on the air at once. He can describe what is going on under El
+Viejo. I will ask the people to assemble at the docks." He turned to his
+nephew. "Ricardo, send two of your most trusted men to Redondo and San
+Souci. They must persuade the fishermen to load their families and
+villagers, then come to Calor. We will need to crowd all fishing boats
+for many trips if we are to get the people off."
+
+"At once, señor," Montoya replied. He hurried to the door and gave
+orders to the police guard. The handful of police were now the sole
+security force of the island. The chief of police was personally
+supervising the government's safety, somewhere outside the building.
+Only two officers were still on regular police duty. The rest were
+either guarding the executive office or awaiting orders.
+
+"Where can the people be taken?" Balgos asked.
+
+"I think we will send them to Curaçao and Bonaire. Those islands are
+close, and they belong to the Netherlands. The Dutch are hospitable, no?
+And we avoid entanglement with England, Venezuela, and Colombia."
+
+It sounded reasonable to Rick. He asked, "Aren't there ships in the
+harbor? I mean, big ships?"
+
+"One freighter, and two interisland cargo ships of the C-1 class. All
+three fly the flag of Panama. We will have the harbor master speak to
+their captain and attempt to hire them. I am sure they will co-operate."
+
+"I'm sure that if you asked for help from the United States they'd send
+all available U. S. Navy ships in the area," Dr. David Riddle said.
+
+The governor smiled warmly. "That is our ace in the hole, as you would
+call it, Señor Riddle. The world knows that the Americans are always
+ready to help. But perhaps there will be no need. We will see."
+
+The building shook slightly and Rick waited, holding his breath. But the
+temblor subsided. It was the third one within an hour, he thought. The
+magma must be moving fast.
+
+"Now, gentlemen, I must get busy. Ricardo, I leave the details of moving
+our people in your hands. I will go to the roadblocks and see if these
+soldiers can be persuaded that their governor speaks for the people. But
+first, Esteben, you and I will go to the government radio and speak to
+the people. Our talk will be put on tape, and repeated over and over.
+_Vamos._ Let us go. Time is getting short."
+
+At Montoya's request, Rick and Scotty had agreed to remain with the
+governor, in company with two police sergeants. The scientists returned
+to the hotel, to continue their attempts to predict the magma movement
+based on data already in hand. New data would be obtained as soon as the
+situation cleared up.
+
+The governor, Balgos, Rick, Scotty, and the governor's secretary drove
+in the official car, a huge American import. The two police sergeants
+led the way in one of the island's two police cruisers.
+
+The radio station was only a few blocks away. These were the studios.
+The transmitter was on the coast a mile south of Calor. Rick was pleased
+to see that the equipment was modern, the staff apparently efficient.
+
+A musical program was interrupted and the governor and Balgos put on the
+air at once. Rick's Spanish was too poor to permit him to follow the
+discussion, but he gathered that the governor told the people of the
+scientific mission, and then Balgos described the situation. The
+governor returned to the mike with a plea for instant evacuation.
+
+Tape recorders rolled while the speech was on. At the governor's orders,
+the tapes would be replayed every hour on the hour from now on.
+
+It was getting very late. The night was warm and pleasant, and the
+clouds had vanished leaving a brilliant moon shining down on San Luz. It
+was a lovely island, Rick thought. The greed of two men, Connel and
+Guevara, had prevented any possibility of action to save it. Now,
+evacuation of the people was the only possibility.
+
+Ricardo Montoya met the governor's party as they emerged from the
+studios. He reported rapidly to his uncle, speaking English in courtesy
+to the Americans.
+
+"Men are on the way to the fishing villages, señor. The harbor master is
+speaking to the ships in the harbor, and already one C-1 is agreeing to
+take the people. I have spoken with the airlines managers at the
+airport, and they are trying to obtain many aircraft from the nearby
+cities. Your own aircraft is being made ready for instant take-off."
+
+It was the first Rick had heard of a government plane. "What kind is
+it?" he asked.
+
+"A very ancient, but very reliable Douglas, of the DC-3 type. We hold it
+in reserve, Rick. Your scientists, the governor, and our police will be
+the last to leave the island. I have counted the numbers. If you can
+carry four, our plane will carry the rest."
+
+Rick nodded. It was nice to know there would be a way out, even though
+he hadn't considered the necessity until that moment. He was glad
+Ricardo Montoya was thinking ahead.
+
+"Now," the governor stated, "I must visit the army."
+
+"I will go with you," the police captain said instantly.
+
+"No, Ricardo. There is too much for you to do. I will be safe. There is
+no enemy but Guevara. No soldier would harm me."
+
+Rick admired the little governor's courage, but he wasn't as sure of
+their safety as the old man seemed to be. "I think we'd better be
+armed," Scotty said.
+
+Ricardo Montoya had met them in the island's other police cruiser. He
+said, "Wait," and hurried to the car. Pulling down the rear seat, he
+disclosed a gunrack. From it he drew two riot guns, automatic shotguns
+with short barrels.
+
+"Can you use these?" he asked.
+
+Scotty nodded an affirmative. "Both Rick and I have fired automatic
+shotguns on a skeet range. These can't be much different."
+
+"They are not. The safety is behind the trigger guard. There is no shell
+in the chamber now, but there are nine in the magazine. Go with God,
+señores."
+
+The governor's car with its police escort rolled through the streets of
+Calor, en route to the roadblock at the hotel road. Rick and Scotty held
+the riot guns, both hoping that they would not be needed.
+
+The governor chatted calmly, as though this were simply a routine
+sightseeing trip. "Few Americans come to San Luz. We had hoped that
+perhaps an advertising campaign might bring more of you to our island.
+We have much to offer, you will agree. Have you tried our swimming yet?
+I appreciate there has been little opportunity for pleasure."
+
+The boys answered politely, but neither could really get into the swing
+of the conversation. It took a kind of experience they did not yet have,
+to talk of casual things while en route to what might be genuine danger.
+
+The governor's secretary called over his shoulder, "There is the
+roadblock, señor. How shall I approach?"
+
+"Drive up to it, Juan. Be very casual."
+
+Rick fingered the safety on his riot gun. He could see dark figures at
+the barricade fence.
+
+The car drew to a stop. The governor said quietly, "Perhaps you had
+better stand by the car. Do not let your guns be seen. If necessary, you
+will know what to do."
+
+One boy got out on either side, leaving the car doors open. The doors
+shielded them and the riot guns. The governor got out and walked briskly
+to the barricade and spoke in Spanish.
+
+It was light enough so Rick could see the men at the barricade clearly.
+He realized suddenly that they were not dressed as the soldiers had been
+earlier; these men seemed to be farmers. But they had rifles, and two
+hand grenades hanging from their belts.
+
+He couldn't follow the exchange in Spanish. The governor was talking in
+a quiet voice with one man who was better dressed than the rest. The
+man's voice was cultured, but mocking in tone.
+
+Rick heard the secretary draw in his breath sharply, and he
+surreptitiously got ready to pump a shell into the riot gun's chamber.
+But nothing happened. Esteben Balgos muttered, "This is unbelievable!"
+
+Then the governor was coming back. He got into the car and spoke
+quietly. "Back to Calor, Juan."
+
+The boys got in and closed the doors. The secretary swung the big car
+around and headed back the way they had come. Governor Montoya took time
+to light an aromatic cigar. Only when it was going well did he speak.
+
+"An interesting talk, señores. Those were not soldiers, but the
+peons--how do you say it?--tenant farmers of Jaime Guevara. The man with
+whom I talked is his foreman. They have replaced the troops at all
+barricades, and their loyalty is only to Guevara."
+
+"But the troops?" Balgos asked.
+
+"Either guarding the volcanic pipe or working in it. I am told that
+Guevara is now the governor of the island. He has taken over. If I try
+to resist, it will mean bloodshed. If I leave the island, all will
+remain quiet and peaceful."
+
+"That's nonsense!" Rick exploded. "Guevara can't get away with it!"
+
+"No? He is getting away with it, Señor Rick. We have a dozen policemen;
+he has the army. He also has his own men, at key points. So what can we
+do? We haven't enough force to fight. Besides, there is no time. We
+can't arm the people because we have neither weapons nor time."
+
+"But what can we do?" Scotty demanded.
+
+"I do not know. At least we can continue our efforts to get the people
+off the island. Without the ability to make scientific readings, we
+cannot know how much time is left, so we must hurry. We will do the best
+we can. After that--well, you had a Spanish song in America that says it
+well. You recall the title? '_Qué será será._'"
+
+Rick remembered. An expression of fatalism. What will be, will be.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+The Brant Approach
+
+
+The magma drove upward, melting its way through the fractured rock of
+the channels under the western side of the island. Now and then it
+struck rock with a higher water content, and the island shuddered under
+a new explosion as the steam expanded.
+
+Rick felt the bed shake under him and sat upright. A new day had dawned,
+and there was much to do. He and Scotty had volunteered to help Captain
+Ricardo Montoya plan the evacuation of the island, and the youthful
+officer had accepted with pleasure. He had agreed to meet them for
+breakfast.
+
+The scientists had worked late, trying to extrapolate their data into
+some kind of prediction. Rick and Scotty, tired after an exhausting day,
+had gone to bed while the light still burned in Hartson Brant's room.
+
+Scotty awoke as Rick's feet hit the floor. "I'm getting used to these
+little earthquakes," he said. "Don't know if I'll be able to sleep on
+steady ground after this."
+
+"The ground is going to get unsteadier," Rick reminded. "Until--boom!"
+
+"I'm not forgetting," Scotty said grimly. "Let's get dressed and eat.
+I'm famished."
+
+"It's ham and eggs for me," Rick told him. "If I had to watch milk slosh
+around in a cereal bowl I'd get seasick."
+
+The boys dressed rapidly and hurried down to the hotel coffee shop. They
+were just in time. Ricardo Montoya walked in just as they were seated.
+
+The officer joined them. Rick noted that his face was drawn and tired,
+and thought Montoya had probably been up a good part of the night.
+"How's the evacuation going?" Rick asked.
+
+Montoya shook his head. "Poorly. My uncle's radio broadcast continued
+all night and through the morning hours. A few families have come to the
+harbor, and the stevedores are organized now to get them aboard ship. A
+few fishing boats have come, with fishermen's families, but there is no
+big exodus."
+
+"Don't they realize the danger?" Scotty exclaimed.
+
+"Perhaps. You must understand my people. They have lived with
+earthquakes all their lives. Not so often, perhaps, but these temblors
+are not unusual. What is there to be excited about? Who believes El
+Viejo will explode? It never has, so it never will."
+
+Rick thought it over. "Maybe not enough are hearing the broadcasts."
+
+"That is possible. I have put volunteers to work going from house to
+house, asking people to turn on their radios to hear the governor, and
+also to explain the urgency. But it will take a long time, even in
+Calor."
+
+"If we only had the troops," Rick said thoughtfully. "Trained manpower
+is what's needed for a job like this."
+
+"True. And I think if my uncle could only talk to the troops they would
+believe him. But he cannot reach them. Guevara's peons would never let
+him by."
+
+The hotel loud-speaker system drowned out his last words as a soft
+feminine voice paged someone in Spanish.
+
+"If only the troops could listen to the radio," Rick commented. "Perhaps
+they'd believe him and turn on Guevara."
+
+"Perhaps. But soldiers cannot afford radios, and they are away from
+their barracks now. There is no way for my uncle's voice to reach them."
+
+There had to be, Rick thought. There had to be some way. The
+loud-speaker sounded again, paging a Señor Alvarez. Rick sat bolt
+upright. Why not use a loud-speaker?
+
+"Listen," he said excitedly. "If the government radio station has a
+loud-speaker system, or can make one, we can put it in my plane. I can
+fly the governor over the troops and he can talk to them direct. My
+plane can go slowly enough, and low enough for that!"
+
+"How about power supply?" Scotty asked.
+
+"There must be an inverter on the island somewhere. We can use
+automobile batteries, and the inverter will give us 110 AC for a while,
+until the batteries run down. Just twenty minutes of power would be
+enough and we can get that with enough batteries!"
+
+Scotty chuckled. "The Brant approach," he said. "There always is one.
+How about it, Captain?"
+
+"We will try," Montoya said decisively. "You have not eaten?... Then do
+so, while I make a phone call to the radio station. I have had coffee
+and rolls, and perhaps there will be time to join you for more breakfast
+while the radio engineers get the equipment together."
+
+The boys were just finishing ham and eggs when Montoya returned. There
+was a broad smile on his tired face.
+
+"The engineers say it can be done. They have a portable loud-speaker
+system, and there is an inverter, as you call it, at the transmitter.
+What is this inverter?"
+
+"It's an electric generator," Rick explained. "Battery current turns it,
+and it produces 110-volt alternating current. But inverters aren't very
+efficient, and they take a lot of battery current. That's why we'll need
+as many batteries as we can carry."
+
+"The chief radio engineer said he understood exactly what was needed. He
+will gather the materials and meet us at the airport. Now, I think we
+have time for coffee, and perhaps I can follow your example with ham and
+eggs. It will take an hour for the equipment to be ready. Also, I called
+my uncle. He will be waiting for our call."
+
+"Did you get any sleep last night?" Scotty asked.
+
+Montoya smiled. "Sleep? I have forgotten what it is. But perhaps if this
+plan of yours works, I will remember, eh? Then I can sleep tonight."
+
+A check with the hotel desk told Rick that the scientists had left word
+that they were not to be disturbed until later in the morning except for
+an emergency. They had worked a good part of the night, apparently with
+no satisfactory results.
+
+The boys waited until Ricardo Montoya had breakfasted, then rode with
+him to the airport. There was another wait while the radio engineers
+arrived, bringing the loud-speaker equipment.
+
+Rick supervised the placement of the amplifier in the rear seat. The
+inverter was placed on the floor, and wedged into place with scrap
+lumber. The automobile batteries were put into the luggage compartment
+behind the rear seat and were also wedged in place.
+
+Wires were run from the amplifier through the rear-seat windows, which
+were opened just enough to take the thin cables. The leads were then
+brought out to the plane's struts. Two large loud-speakers were attached
+to the struts. At first there was some difficulty in figuring out a
+secure attachment, but the chief engineer, a resourceful type, managed
+to find a pair of U bolts somewhere in the hangars. They did the job
+nicely.
+
+The chief engineer connected up, then hung the microphone between the
+two front seats. He threw a switch and the inverter started up with a
+whine. At the throw of a second switch, the loud-speakers broke into a
+hum. The engineer tapped on the microphone, and the tap, greatly
+amplified, reverberated across the airstrip.
+
+"It works!" Rick exclaimed, delighted.
+
+"_Cómo no?_" the engineer said with a smile. He spoke to Montoya in
+Spanish. The officer translated. "There is one more thing. He has rigged
+a cable with a switch box so you can operate the controls from the front
+seat. When the cable is attached, you will be ready. I will go call my
+uncle."
+
+Rick and Scotty watched as the engineer got busy, hooking the
+remote-switch cable into the amplifier.
+
+"Room for only two," Rick pointed out. "Want to toss for it?"
+
+Scotty shook his head. "It was your idea. I'll stay on the ground. Take
+the governor and talk those troops into submission."
+
+"Maybe," Rick said. "We'll see. I think it depends on whether or not
+they know the real story. If they have any idea there are diamonds
+around, they won't be interested in anything else."
+
+"Guevara wouldn't dare to let them in on it," was Scotty's opinion.
+"I'll bet they're just following orders, with no idea what's behind all
+this. Most of them probably think there really is a national security
+conference going on."
+
+Rick thought Scotty was probably right. Time would tell. He waited until
+the engineer signaled that the job was done, then climbed into the
+pilot's seat. He checked the plane over. Plenty of gas. Everything
+seemed okay. He tried the loud-speaker switches, then spoke into the
+microphone. He could hear his voice boom out with thunderous
+amplification and saw Scotty clap his hands to his ears.
+
+Finally, he started the motor and let the plane warm, keeping an eye on
+his gauges. When the manifold temperature got high enough he cut the
+switch. He tested the control surfaces and he was satisfied. Now all he
+needed was the governor.
+
+Governor Montoya arrived within ten minutes. He inspected the plane and
+its equipment and nodded his approval. "Very ingenious. Shall we try
+it?"
+
+"Yes, sir." Rick helped the governor in, buckled his safety belt, then
+ran around and got into the pilot's seat. He started the motor, waved to
+Scotty and the others, then taxied out to the runway. The tower gave him
+clearance and he took off.
+
+"We'll make a swing over the area and locate the troops," he explained,
+"then I'll slow down as much as I can, and you can talk."
+
+Rick climbed to a thousand feet and set a course directly for the Hot
+Springs Hotel. He asked, "Sir, how many troops are there?"
+
+"Our army numbers three companies, of about two hundred and fifty men
+each. Then we have a few special units, including the transportation
+platoons. Perhaps nine hundred in all. We do not need a large army. But
+we need some kind of force. These are troubled times, and there is
+always some danger that a revolutionary force might consider us an
+excellent staging or training base for an invasion of a nearby country.
+So, we keep prepared."
+
+The Sky Wagon was over the hotel within minutes. Rick spotted a large
+group of soldiers--he estimated about two hundred--dispersed around the
+hotel. They probably thought they were guarding the conference.
+
+He banked left and followed the contour of the mountain, and found
+another group of soldiers camped near the pumice works.
+
+"That is two companies accounted for, more or less," the governor
+stated. "Now, can we find the third?"
+
+It wasn't difficult. Rick followed the dirt road to San Souci, and found
+the third large group marching in the direction of the mountain,
+apparently about to join forces with the group at the pumice works.
+
+"Let's take a look at the diamond pipe," he suggested, and pulled the
+Sky Wagon around in a tight circle. He had his bearings, and the third
+shot station was not difficult to locate. There was considerable
+activity. Earth-moving machinery had been moved into place and was
+operating. The yellow ground was already gone, and the equipment was
+cutting into the blue kimberlite below.
+
+Military trucks were lined up, apparently waiting to be loaded with the
+blue earth.
+
+"Where are they taking it?" the governor wondered.
+
+Rick had talked with David Riddle about the process. "They need water.
+The blue earth is run down long wooden tables with cleats on them, like
+washing out gold. The table is coated with grease. The diamonds stick in
+the grease and the blue earth washes away. They've probably set things
+up at the pumice works if there's water there. Otherwise, it may be the
+hotel."
+
+"It has to be the hotel, then," the governor explained. "There would not
+be enough water at the pumice plant. Well, I think we have found all our
+troops. Those who are not with the three companies are below us, digging
+diamonds. I wonder if they know what they are digging?"
+
+Rick told the governor what Scotty had said.
+
+"That is probably right," the governor agreed. "Guevara would not dare
+to let too many in on the secret. Well, shall we get to work?"
+
+"Yes, sir," Rick said. He handed the governor the microphone and swung
+into position for a run over the troops on the road. He throttled down,
+and then gave the plane a few degrees of flaps. He kept an eye on his
+air-speed indicator. If he got too slow, the plane would stall and he'd
+be too low to recover. "I'll make as tight a circle as I can," he said.
+"Be ready."
+
+The troops came into sight. Rick lost altitude and began a slow circle
+only a few hundred feet over the marching soldiers. He turned on the
+switches and nodded.
+
+The governor began to talk in slow, clear Spanish. Rick understood that
+he identified himself to the men below, but then he lost the trend of
+the talk. He concentrated on flying. The loud-speakers were operating
+perfectly, and he knew the troops could hear.
+
+He could see them looking up and pointing, but they kept marching.
+Apparently the governor wasn't making much of an impact. The governor
+paused, and Rick cut the switches.
+
+"Maybe they don't believe it's you," he suggested.
+
+"Perhaps not. But my voice is well known. I speak over the radio at
+least once a week. More likely the whole idea is just too much for them.
+Who can believe that mountain over there is about to blow up?"
+
+"Let's try the troops at the pumice works. Maybe you can tell them that
+all who care about their homeland should march at once to Calor."
+
+"I'll try it," the governor agreed.
+
+Rick circled low over the pumice works while the loud-speakers blasted
+at the troops below. They watched the plane, they pointed, some ran out
+for a better look. But when the governor pleaded with them to hurry to
+Calor to help save the people of the island, nothing happened.
+
+"If El Viejo started smoking, they'd move fast enough," Rick said
+bitterly. "But then it would be too late. They just don't believe there
+is any danger, and maybe they're not sure it's you. I guess no one has
+ever given them orders from the air before."
+
+"They are simple people," the governor agreed. "I think most of them
+have never heard of a volcano. They don't even know what an eruption is.
+How can they be excited? If I ever succeed in getting good schools here,
+this may change. But it won't help us now."
+
+Rick considered. It would do little good to repeat the announcement to
+the soldiers at the hotel. He wondered if Guevara and Connel were
+somewhere below, and with that thought he turned toward the diamond
+pipe.
+
+"Let's see if we can do any good with the truckmen," he suggested. "Tell
+them the trucks are essential to the safety of their families."
+
+The governor tried, while Rick held the plane in in a tight circle over
+the blue ground. Again, there was interest in the flying loud-speaker
+plane itself, but the message made no impact. Then Rick noticed tiny
+spurts of fire from one edge of the diamond field and cold sweat started
+on his forehead as he suddenly realized what they were.
+
+"They're shooting at us!" he exclaimed, and gave the plane the gun,
+taking evasive action as the distance widened.
+
+[Illustration: _"They're shooting at us!" Rick exclaimed, and gave the
+plane the gun_]
+
+"I saw," the governor said wearily. "It was not the troops. It was the
+peons. Our friend Guevara is down there, I think. But he need not be
+afraid of our effect. We have had none."
+
+Rick had seldom felt so frustrated. He was tempted to call the San
+Luzians a stupid bunch of cattle, but he realized the governor had
+stated the case accurately. They just didn't understand the danger. What
+would they understand?
+
+His lips formed the word. "Diamonds!" At least they would understand
+treasure.
+
+"Sir," he said excitedly, "we can break this up, at least enough so we
+can start collecting data again. If we tell them the whole story,
+they'll at least understand that Guevara is after great treasure.
+They'll flock to the diamond field and disrupt the operation, and we can
+move back in to some of the shot stations. The people won't be any worse
+off than they are now, and it will give us a chance to do something!"
+
+The governor considered. "Perhaps that is the only solution. It will not
+get my people to safety, but it will at least give us a chance to find
+out the exact situation. When I talked with your father this morning he
+said they needed more data or they could tell nothing about the timing
+of the eruption. If we get that data, then I will ask the Americans for
+troops. If we must, we will take the people off by armed force and save
+their lives in spite of themselves!"
+
+Rick circled and lost altitude again. He got into position over the
+marching troops and turned on the switches, then gave the governor the
+signal.
+
+Later, the governor told him what he had said:
+
+"Soldiers of San Luz! Do you know why you are protecting this area? It
+is not because of a great conference. It is because Lieutenant Governor
+Guevara has found a great treasure! He is using you to help him to
+become the wealthiest man in the world! But what will you get out of
+this? Nothing! He will give you nothing! Go for yourself and see the
+blue earth. It is found only near mountains like El Viejo. Do you know
+what it contains? Diamonds! The most valuable gems in the whole world!
+Will you let Guevara use you to make himself rich while you get nothing?
+Do not be fools! Help yourselves to this wealth. Look for the crystal
+pebbles, the ones like cloudy glass, among the blue stones. Go! You are
+soldiers! Take your share!"
+
+"They're running!" Rick pounded on the control wheel with excitement.
+"Look! They're breaking ranks and running!"
+
+"Excellent," the governor said calmly. "Now the other groups. Then, in
+spite of the rifle fire, let us go and tell those at the diamond pipe
+what they are doing. They will not hit us with those rifles."
+
+Rick knew that was true. A lucky shot might hit them, but it took
+practice to hit a fast-flying plane, even with automatic weapons. "Let's
+go," he said.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+Solution: Nuclear
+
+
+San Luz was in a state of complete chaos. The majority of the island
+people dropped everything as the word of treasure spread, and the slopes
+of El Viejo were covered with treasure hunters using everything from
+shovels to pointed sticks in an effort to find _los diamantes_. Only a
+bare handful even knew that the diamonds occurred only in a small
+volcanic pipe on the western slope.
+
+If the hunt continued, Rick thought, the slopes would be denuded of
+vegetation.
+
+There was intermittent fighting around the volcanic pipe, the police
+reported. Guevara's peons had succeeded in holding the diamond pipe, but
+were surrounded by soldiers. Now and then Guevara attempted to clear the
+entire area, but with the entire army struggling to dig diamonds he
+wasn't having much success. The police officer who investigated also
+reported that an American was with Guevara. That would be Connel, of
+course.
+
+The scientists had moved at once to start shooting again, with the
+police pushing back the diamond seekers until the dynamite could be set
+off in safety. The crazed hunters assumed that the explosions were also
+means of seeking the diamonds, and rushed to the craters before the
+smoke had cleared.
+
+No one really cared. The data was being collected, and it showed that
+the situation was growing extremely serious.
+
+"Ten days maximum," Zircon said. "Maybe less. The magma has about
+reached that rock dike, and once it melts through, there goes the
+mountain."
+
+"We must get the people off," Governor Montoya insisted. "That is the
+first thing. I shall call at once for help from the Americans. They have
+forces at the Canal Zone and also in the West Indies. They will send
+help."
+
+"Yes," Hartson Brant agreed. "But first, we have a proposal. We will
+need the troops, but we may also need other help."
+
+Governor Montoya looked at him keenly. "This proposal is perhaps a
+solution for El Viejo?"
+
+"Perhaps. Let me outline the situation." The scientist pointed out the
+magma on Dr. Williams' sketch. "This is where the magma is now. Above it
+is a very thick layer of rock in which we can find no major weakness. It
+may hold the magma for a while. At least it probably will melt slowly."
+
+He pointed to a little line running from the western slope of the
+mountain down to the rock dike. "This was where we wanted to dig a
+channel. Now it is too late to go all the way to the rock. The heat
+would be too great. But if we could drive a hole through, with great
+suddenness, the magma would be released and the eruption would be away
+from the island and into the sea."
+
+"How would you do this?" the governor asked.
+
+"By getting help from the U. S. government, from Army Engineers and
+Seabees, who are U. S. Navy engineers. We would drive the tunnel as far
+down as time permitted. Of course we would keep track of the magma
+constantly. Then, as time ran out, we would place a charge in the
+hole--a shaped charge, as it is called--which would drive the hole most
+of the way to the magma. It would also crack the rock dike. The magma
+would seek the weakest spots, of course. It is under enormous pressure.
+And we would have the result we want."
+
+"But what kind of explosive would be enough for such an undertaking?"
+Montoya demanded. "Not enough dynamite could be packed into the tunnel
+to do the work."
+
+"We weren't thinking of dynamite," Hartson Brant said quietly. "We were
+thinking of a nuclear explosion."
+
+Rick gasped. He had no warning of this. The scientists had evidently
+arrived at the conclusion while he was flying around over the diamond
+seekers.
+
+Montoya gasped, too. "But that would kill everyone on the island!"
+
+"Not at all," Zircon boomed. "It would kill no one. Of course we would
+clear the area with troops."
+
+"But the radioactivity," the governor protested. "I have read it is
+deadly!"
+
+"Only if it can reach people," Hartson Brant explained. "This shot would
+be far underground. There would be no fall-out, as it is called, at all.
+Of course the earth around the explosion would be greatly radioactive.
+Some of the activity would be trapped in the magma. But where would it
+come to rest? On the bottom of the sea. There might be some danger to
+bottom fish in the vicinity, but I think the water would get so hot from
+the lava that fish would avoid it, anyway. And eventually the
+radioactivity would decay of itself to low levels. Sir, I see no other
+way."
+
+The governor raised his hands in a gesture of resignation. "I know
+nothing of these matters, and it is your business to know. I accept your
+assurances without reservation. Now, what do we do?"
+
+The scientists had not only conceived the solution, but had a detailed
+plan of action. Within a half hour, the loud-speaker had been removed
+from the plane, and Rick was flying Governor Montoya, Hartson Brant, and
+Esteben Balgos to Trinidad.
+
+Arrangements had been made by phone while they were en route. A car,
+sent by the President of the West Indies Federation, picked them up at
+the airport and whisked them to the Federation's headquarters.
+
+The President listened to the story with intense interest, then
+summoned the American ambassador and the representatives of Venezuela
+and Colombia.
+
+After a detailed discussion by Hartson Brant of the properties and
+limitations of nuclear explosions, the conference agreed. Immediate
+action was called for. The Venezuelan and Colombian representatives
+hurried off to notify their governments, while the President of the
+Federation put in a conference call to the United States, to the
+Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, the Secretary of Defense, the
+Secretary of State, and the President's Special Assistant for Science
+and Technology, who happened to be an old friend of Hartson Brant's.
+
+A personal phone call from a head of state was without
+precedent--especially a conference call. The U. S. officials were
+located within an hour, and the call put through. On the West Indies end
+were the Federation's President, the U. S. ambassador, Governor Montoya,
+and Hartson Brant, speaking from four different rooms. Rick hung over
+his father's chair, listening.
+
+The Federation's President introduced himself and described the problem
+briefly. Then he introduced the governor. Montoya said briefly,
+"Gentlemen, we must have help or the island of San Luz will perish. I
+ask help on behalf of my 32,000 people."
+
+The Federation's President then introduced Hartson Brant. Rick gathered
+that the U. S. President's Special Assistant and the Chairman of the
+Atomic Energy Commission both greeted him warmly as an old friend.
+
+The scientist outlined the problem and its solution. He continued,
+"According to our estimates, we will need ten kilotons in order to have
+a margin of safety. It will take as many Seabees or engineers as
+necessary to drive a tunnel. The tunnel dimensions will depend on what
+machinery you can get to us. I leave that to your experts. We will also
+need about five thousand sea-based troops to handle the island
+population. We may have to carry them bodily to safety. Now, can it be
+done?"
+
+There was silence as the scientist listened. Rick stood on one foot,
+then the other, waiting. He could hear the mumble of voices through the
+earphone but could make no sense out of it.
+
+Presently Hartson Brant said, "Yes. I believe the runway at San Luz
+could handle a C-124." There was silence again. Finally, the scientist
+said, "I'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow, then." He hung up and
+turned to Rick with a grin.
+
+"Our President will put pressure on the local Venezuelan and Colombian
+ambassadors here for an immediate decision from their governments, and
+our own Secretary of State will instruct our ambassadors in Venezuela
+and Colombia to camp on the doorsteps until they get agreement. He will
+also notify the United Nations, and invite observers from the Security
+Council. The AEC will fly in a 10-KT nuclear charge and a group of
+experts. The Secretary of Defense promised that a battalion of Seabees
+with full equipment would arrive in San Luz within twenty-four hours.
+The Military Air Transport Service will airlift in enough troops to
+handle the crowd. Any questions?"
+
+Rick grinned back. "It sounds as though everyone's in the act but the
+British."
+
+"Oh, they're in it, too. The Federation's President will represent their
+political interests, but we'll also have a British cruiser standing
+offshore for help as needed. And I forgot an important addition. Our
+President's Assistant for Science and Technology is notifying the proper
+committees of the National Academy of Sciences. We'll have a planeload
+of geophysicists down here in a few days to get all the scientific data
+possible out of this event. So we're well covered."
+
+"I guess we can relax now," Rick said with relief. "The job is out of
+our hands."
+
+"Not quite," Hartson Brant corrected. "They all agreed that the
+Spindrift Foundation should be placed in over-all charge. So we've got
+our work cut out for us!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+The Seabees
+
+
+The sea off the west coast of San Luz was alive with ships. Rick counted
+up to twenty-five and then gave up. Some of the ships were moving, and
+he was sure he had counted the same one three times. He identified
+cruisers, destroyers, one aircraft carrier with a squadron of
+helicopters aboard, and landing ships of several kinds.
+
+One huge landing ship was nosed right up to the shore, and
+from it rolled tons of heavy equipment. From an attack
+transport, the equipment's operators, a U. S. Naval Construction
+Battalion--Seabees--were disembarking by the hundreds.
+
+Scotty asked, "How many different kinds of flags can you see? I've
+counted six so far. U. S., British, Dutch, Venezuelan, Colombian, and
+Panamanian."
+
+"It's an international job, all right," Rick agreed. "And when the UN
+observers arrive tonight you can run up a few more flags, too."
+
+"Reminds me of the amphibious exercises we used to have in the
+Marines," Scotty commented to Rick.
+
+Nearby, Hartson Brant and the other scientists were deep in conversation
+with a group of civilians and Navy officers. The officers were the
+engineers, from the Naval Construction Battalion. Last night had been
+spent in working with them on the details of the problem. It would be
+their job to drive the big hole down into the earth below El Viejo,
+working against time to intercept the rising magma.
+
+Scientists had arrived, too, and they were taking over much of the
+detail of keeping track of the magma. Each scientist had his own special
+field of interest, but all were anxious to have the data from tracings.
+There were geophysicists, including volcanologists and seismologists;
+mineralogists and more geologists.
+
+"Nothing much left for us to do," Rick said, a little sadly.
+
+"Except watch," Scotty corrected. "That's enough! Great crumbling
+craters, what do you want? A mystery every day?"
+
+Rick had to grin. "I guess this is enough. But one thing I want to do is
+go over to the volcanic pipe and see how Guevara and Connel are making
+out."
+
+"You will have an escort," a voice said from behind them. They turned to
+greet Ricardo Montoya. "Now that we can turn our attention to that pair,
+I think we should have a talk with them. To make the talk easier, we
+will put bars between us."
+
+"You're going to arrest them?" Rick asked.
+
+"Of course! What did you think?"
+
+"Right now?"
+
+"If you want to come along, join me. Now is as good a time as any. If we
+can find them, of course."
+
+The boys joined Montoya in the front seat of a military vehicle. The
+back was loaded with his men. Montoya at once steered for the trail to
+the volcanic pipe. It was only a thousand yards to the north from the
+point selected for the big hole. Even around the site of the hole there
+were diamond seekers, and it was hard to find a piece of ground that had
+not been tried with a shovel.
+
+As they got closer to the diamond field the numbers of treasure hunters
+increased until, as Scotty remarked, they were thicker than fleas at a
+mutt show. Montoya had to lean on the horn continually, and even then
+the San Luzians paid little attention.
+
+Finally the group got out and walked. It was easier to move on foot
+through the frantically digging mob. Strangely, there was little noise.
+Each individual seemed intent on his own little hole. But the digging
+was futile. There was no yellow ground under the flying shovels.
+
+Then the group did reach yellow ground, and met rifles in the hands of
+Guevara's peons. Evidently Guevara had put a ring of men around the
+volcanic pipe and planned to hold it by force of arms.
+
+Rick looked at Montoya. What would he do now?
+
+The young officer looked haughtily at the nearest peons and demanded in
+Spanish, "Do you know me?"
+
+One of them nodded respectfully. "_Sí_, Señor Capitán Montoya."
+
+"Good. You will stand aside. I am inspecting Señor Guevara's mine." He
+stalked through as though there was not the slightest question that the
+peons would allow it. The boys and the police officers followed on his
+heels.
+
+A shelter had been erected on one side of the volcanic pipe. Only blue
+ground showed, and there was a power scoop digging out more. Watching
+the shovel were Guevara and Brad Connel.
+
+Montoya walked up to the pair before they were even aware of his
+presence.
+
+"Good afternoon, señores," he greeted them courteously.
+
+Guevara snapped, "What are you doing here, Montoya?"
+
+"Arresting you, señor," Montoya replied calmly.
+
+Connel looked worried, but Guevara gestured toward the ring of men with
+rifles. "Don't be a fool. We outnumber you five to one. You haven't a
+chance."
+
+Captain Montoya smiled affably. "But, señor, it is you who haven't a
+chance. Consider, señor. The honor of the Montoyas requires that I take
+you to my uncle, eh? Well, I allow the chance that perhaps I will not
+survive to take you to my uncle, but I can assure you that you will
+become a lifeless body on the instant a rifle is raised. Surely you do
+not doubt me, señor?"
+
+Guevara looked at the officer, looked at the capable hand on the cocked
+gun in the holster. Then he looked into the fierce Montoya eyes, and his
+swarthy face turned pale.
+
+"Not even a Montoya would throw his life away for so small a thing," he
+said harshly.
+
+The captain smiled gently. "Call my bluff, señor."
+
+Rick had no doubt whatever that Montoya was not bluffing. Apparently
+Guevara was convinced, too. But he tried once more. "How do you expect
+to get us out of here?"
+
+"Simplicity itself. You will walk to my truck, arm in arm with Señor
+Connel. That is all. Of course if you should be so unfortunate as to
+have a peon lift his rifle, you would never reach the truck alive. But
+perhaps you are lucky. Shall we try, señor?"
+
+Guevara hesitated, then shrugged. "Very well."
+
+Connel spoke for the first time. He demanded hoarsely, "Are you going to
+let him get away with this when our men have all the rifles?"
+
+Guevara smiled wryly. "You do not know the Montoyas, Brad. Call his
+bluff yourself--only not if you wish to live."
+
+The ex-lieutenant governor walked slowly toward the ring of men. After a
+moment Connel joined him. Montoya stepped behind them as though taking a
+stroll through the Calor public gardens. The ring opened and let them
+through. Rick breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't been quite as
+confident as Ricardo Montoya appeared to be.
+
+Guevara paused. "May I make an announcement?" he asked.
+
+"Certainly, señor."
+
+Guevara called, "_Amigos!_" Montoya translated the Spanish for the boys.
+"You know what you have been guarding. Now I must leave. What is left
+is yours. Work as fast as you can and find many diamonds. May good
+fortune be yours!"
+
+The ring broke as the peons rushed to grab shovels. Guevara led the way
+to the truck.
+
+It was all so easy, Rick thought later, if you were an aristocratic
+Montoya with a code of honor that permitted no yielding, even unto
+death. No one else he had ever met could have carried it off quite so
+superbly.
+
+So fast had the Seabees swung into operation that work on the big hole
+already was in progress when Montoya dropped the boys off. Pneumatic
+drills hammered into the congealed lava, cutting holes in which charges
+would be placed. As the boys watched, explosive was thrust into the
+holes, a warning was yelled through a portable loud-speaker, and the
+charge fired. Tons of rock were loosened.
+
+Even before the dust had begun to settle, huge machines were lifting the
+rock out, or dragging big chunks, and dumping them down the
+mountainside. Bulldozers kept the rock moving, keeping the entrance
+clear. Within minutes the hole was empty of rock and the pneumatic
+drills were hammering again. The cycle was repeated.
+
+The Seabees joked as they worked, and warned each other against shoving
+a hole right through into hot lava, but the pace never slowed for an
+instant.
+
+Hour after hour the big hole deepened until the Seabees ran into noxious
+gases. Then they donned gas masks and continued. Deeper and deeper the
+hole was driven, until the temperature at the hole's end was over a
+hundred degrees. The Seabees merely shortened working time and operated
+in relays so efficiently that no time was lost.
+
+Rick and Scotty got back to the hole as often as they could, but there
+was much doing elsewhere. The Hot Springs Hotel swarmed with scientists
+and observers, and there were heated conferences and late evaluation
+sessions. The Spindrift scientists were always in demand, and their
+faces grew gaunt as the days passed.
+
+The hole gave its own location because of the shock waves it sent
+through the earth to the recorders, and even Rick's untrained eye could
+see the traces slowly closing with the magma front.
+
+Earthquakes increased in frequency until Rick and Scotty felt as though
+the ground never ceased shuddering.
+
+The air became noisy with planes as the Military Air Transport Command
+began ferrying in troops. Flight after flight of huge transports roared
+in for a landing at the Calor airport, discharged the soldiers, and took
+off again at once.
+
+And still the diamond hunt continued.
+
+Then, at one o'clock in the afternoon, Hartson Brant called a halt.
+
+"The magma's moving up through the dike," he reported. "It's now or
+never. Captain Montoya, we will ask the troops to clear the area.
+Commander Jameson, withdraw all men and equipment except those necessary
+for the final packing. Dr. Cantrell, please be ready to place the
+charge at dawn tomorrow."
+
+The final phase of the operation swung into action. The troops gathered
+at Redondo and marched shoulder to shoulder southward along the mountain
+slopes. They herded the diamond seekers before them, sometimes with
+enough roughness to overcome protests, but mostly with little
+difficulty. They herded the population entirely around El Viejo, and
+established a perimeter from Calor northward, with the population
+confined to a narrow segment of the island along the seaward side.
+
+Loud-speaker trucks roamed along the perimeter, reassuring the people.
+Military disaster units cooked huge quantities of food and prepared
+thousands of gallons of coffee and reconstituted milk. American soldiers
+played with cute little San Luzian kids and--after the diamond seekers
+became convinced they had never had a chance to find diamonds--the whole
+affair became one big picnic.
+
+But it was a picnic with overtones of fear.
+
+Rick and Scotty watched the placement of the nuclear explosive--a simple
+steel can, from the outside--in the big hole. They watched the remaining
+handful of Seabees load tons of rock in after it. Only the wires
+connecting the device to a radio firing unit on the beach gave evidence
+that an explosion equal to ten thousand tons of TNT was about to take
+place.
+
+Rick asked, "Won't all those rocks keep the volcano from erupting?"
+
+Hartson Brant smiled. "Rick, compared with the force of the volcano,
+that atomic device is like a firecracker compared with a hurricane. But
+even to the nuclear explosion those rocks won't mean much. They're just
+to confine it a little."
+
+The night passed. San Souci was empty of people. The Seabees were back
+aboard ship. The scientific instruments were in place. Only a small
+group of scientists remained, their helicopter standing by. They checked
+out the radio firing unit, threw switches according to their check list,
+then announced:
+
+"We're ready!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+The Old One Yields
+
+
+Rick banked the Sky Wagon over the fleet. Scotty, in the front passenger
+seat, had the camera ready. Hartson Brant, in the rear seat, had a
+motion-picture camera poised. Governor Montoya, the fourth in the party,
+even had his personal camera along.
+
+Their cameras were not the only ones. Nearly every ship had its official
+photographers, and there were photography planes in the air.
+
+Directly under the Sky Wagon now was a U. S. destroyer. Aboard her was
+the nuclear firing party from Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, and the
+UN Observer Group. On other ships of the fleet were the representatives
+of the interested nations and the Seabees.
+
+Rick turned up the volume of his plane radio. By agreement, the
+countdown was to be broadcast to all aircraft over one of the airport
+frequencies.
+
+"Thirty seconds!" the voice said.
+
+"Won't we need dark glasses?" Scotty asked.
+
+"No," Hartson Brant replied. "The nuclear fireball won't emerge. If it
+gets a little too bright, squint and turn your head."
+
+"How long after the nuclear shot will the volcano go?" Rick asked.
+
+"We don't know. Anywhere from seconds to hours. It depends on how much
+of a path the nuclear shot cracks."
+
+"Ten seconds!"
+
+Rick made sure they had a good view of El Viejo's western slope, and
+held the plane on course.
+
+"Five, four, three, two, one ...
+
+"Zero!"
+
+There was an instant of quiet, then dust spurted from the deep hole,
+followed by billowing clouds of pulverized rock. Down below, the earth
+heaved as though from another earthquake, and a line of waves appeared,
+running from shore outward!
+
+The dust settled slowly, hanging in the air like a great gray ball.
+
+The nuclear explosion, deep underground, had gone off.
+
+"Now what?" Rick wondered.
+
+Hartson Brant said quietly, "We may have to wait a while."
+
+"That explosion sure didn't look like the pictures I've seen of shots in
+Nevada," Rick told him.
+
+"No, Rick. This was too far underground. They've had those in Nevada,
+too, but the pictures don't get much publicity because they're not
+spectacular."
+
+Far below, where the end of the big hole had been, the huge chamber
+blown by the atomic explosion was white-hot with trapped heat and
+radioactivity. Below the chamber the earth was shattered, with myriad
+tiny cracks reaching far down.
+
+Some cracks reached the white-hot magma. Instantly the magma exploited
+the new weakness, pressure was released until ...
+
+"Look!" Even in the plane Scotty's yell was loud.
+
+Rick turned in time to see the side of El Viejo blow off in an explosion
+that made ten kilotons of fission seem puny indeed. For an instant he
+saw thousands of tons of white-hot lava rise into the air, then it fell
+into the sea. Instantly steam clouds blanketed the area, but the steam
+was mixed with traces of red and gray from the rock carried upward.
+
+A great boulder, weighing many tons, was hurled high in the air to fall
+into the steam cloud. The great rift in the volcano widened, and the
+molten lava was visible until steam rose again.
+
+Under the steam cloud was an inferno, but it was only occasionally
+visible as the wind tore rents in the vapor. The noise must be
+deafening, Rick knew, but only a low rumble and an occasional hissing
+could be heard in the plane.
+
+"Well," Hartson Brant said wearily, "it worked."
+
+Governor Luis Montoya spoke gently. "Yes, my friend. It did indeed work.
+And it has saved our island. I doubt that a single life was lost, thanks
+to you and your associates."
+
+"We'd better be sure." The scientist smiled. "Rick, suppose you fly us
+around the island?"
+
+"Yes, sir." Rick instantly swung the Sky Wagon onto a northward course
+that would take them past the erupting volcano and on to the north. He
+kept well out to sea, because now and then he could see big rocks flying
+through the air as the volcano spouted.
+
+Only the immediate area was affected. The new outlet was about a half
+mile wide, stretching from sea level and possibly below, to about a
+quarter mile up the slope. Beyond the crater San Luz seemed normal,
+although Rick knew there were no human beings in the area.
+
+Not until he passed Redondo did signs of life appear, and then the beach
+became black with people. The wave of humanity extended inward to the
+slopes of El Viejo and along the beach to Calor. Past Calor, at the
+airport, troops not needed on the perimeter waited for their planes.
+Already there were planes landing.
+
+Rick completed the circuit of the island, then on impulse moved past the
+volcano and took a good look at where the diamond pipe had been. A
+momentary wind blew the area clear long enough for him to glimpse
+white-hot lava.
+
+"Well," he remarked, "there go Connel's diamonds. Either buried, or
+burned."
+
+"Cheer up," Scotty said with a grin. "Maybe El Viejo is making some new
+ones."
+
+Governor Montoya added the final word. "I hope not. But if so, I can
+only hope they will not be discovered just before the next eruption!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+A Few Souvenirs
+
+
+San Luz settled back to normal in an astonishingly short time, a tribute
+to the calm nerves of the population. Within recorded island history,
+the discovery of diamonds was the sole event that seemed to have excited
+most of the islanders.
+
+The troops left on MATS planes. The ships withdrew, except for two
+oceanographic ships sent hurriedly by Columbia University and Woods Hole
+Oceanographic Institute. Aboard were not only oceanographers, but marine
+biologists experienced in radiation physics. They would keep track of
+events in the sea for many months.
+
+The scientific population of the Hot Springs Hotel did not decrease
+appreciably. The combination of advance warning of eruption, a nuclear
+explosion, and the eruption itself provided data never before
+obtainable. The scientists intended to make the most of it.
+
+The courts of San Luz went into operation again. Guevara was charged
+with treason, Connel with attempted murder. The boys gave
+depositions--sworn testimony--to the government attorneys. But Ruiz
+would be his own best witness. The doctor promised that he would be able
+to testify by the time the case came to trial.
+
+At a dinner for the Spindrift scientists, the governor presented
+certificates of appreciation to each one of the party, including the
+boys. Then he made a short speech.
+
+"I could thank you, but words are inadequate in the face of the deed. An
+island and its people have been saved. You did this. What more is there
+that can be said? We will not forget. Already, with the help of my good
+friend Esteben Balgos, we are planning to erect a permanent volcanic
+observatory and laboratory in which scientists can work and learn from
+El Viejo. I do not ask your permission--I merely inform you that it is
+to be called Spindrift Memorial Laboratory."
+
+The scientists murmured in protest, but the governor held up his hand.
+"I know you do not approve. I do not ask you to. It is accomplished.
+Also, we will have a small but imperishable plaque over the door. It
+will say simply: 'This laboratory is dedicated to the scientists of the
+Spindrift Scientific Foundation. They saved San Luz.' Your names will be
+listed."
+
+The governor was adamant. He said with a twinkle that the scientists
+could make representations through formal diplomatic channels to the
+governments of Venezuela, Colombia, and Great Britain if they wished,
+but so far as he was concerned, the matter was closed.
+
+It was Rick who changed the subject. He reached into his pocket and drew
+out the handful of diamonds that he had carried there since the day he
+found out what they were.
+
+"We have to give these back," he said. "I picked them up, but we have no
+more right to them than Connel or Guevara. It wasn't a legal mining
+claim, I guess."
+
+Governor Montoya shook his head. "Rick, who will ever know how many
+diamonds were found? Already I hear of several huge crystals among the
+people. We have confiscated several times that amount from Guevara and
+Connel. Should we penalize you for being honest? I think not. You found
+them, and in the finding you were instrumental in saving the island.
+They are yours."
+
+Again the governor was adamant. He simply stated that the matter was
+settled, and that was that.
+
+"Then they're not mine," Rick said finally. "They belong to all of us,
+share and share alike. I happened to be the one who picked them up, but
+we were all involved with El Viejo, so we share equally. Of course we're
+not sure there's anything to share. These may be only of industrial
+grade."
+
+As it happened, Rick was wrong. The diamonds were, for the most part, of
+gem grade. Even after paying import duty, they were bought at a handsome
+price, uncut, by one of New York's leading diamond importers.
+
+It was quite a handful of souvenirs, even though the proceeds were
+divided equally among the entire Spindrift group, including Honorario
+and Ruiz. Most of Rick's share went into his education fund, but he kept
+enough out to buy gifts for his mother, Barby, and Jan Miller. And he
+kept out enough to buy something he had long wanted ... something that
+was to lead him into another adventure-mystery, a story to be told in
+THE FLYING STINGAREE.
+
+
+
+
+_The_ RICK BRANT SCIENCE-ADVENTURE _Stories_
+
+BY JOHN BLAINE
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Rick Brant is the boy who with his pal Scotty lives on an island called
+Spindrift and takes part in so many thrilling adventures and baffling
+mysteries involving science and electronics. You can share every one of
+these adventures in the pages of Rick's books. They are available at
+your book store in handsome, low-priced editions.
+
+    THE ROCKET'S SHADOW
+    THE LOST CITY
+    SEA GOLD
+    100 FATHOMS UNDER
+    THE WHISPERING BOX MYSTERY
+    THE PHANTOM SHARK
+    SMUGGLERS' REEF
+    THE CAVES OF FEAR
+    STAIRWAY TO DANGER
+    THE GOLDEN SKULL
+    THE WAILING OCTOPUS
+    THE ELECTRONIC MIND READER
+    THE SCARLET LAKE MYSTERY
+    THE PIRATES OF SHAN
+    THE BLUE GHOST MYSTERY
+    THE EGYPTIAN CAT MYSTERY
+    THE FLAMING MOUNTAIN
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Flaming Mountain, by Harold Leland Goodwin
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FLAMING MOUNTAIN ***
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