The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-10-27 00:00:00

LL ,AY,

rCT 27, 13-1

CALL Weill RIIIIXILYND. i

Mary spoke to him again and again but he paid
not the slightest heed—only went on muttering and
searching—and even when he came upon 'Then°
—whose earch had been rewarded with another
dead pig, and that worthy was capering with de-
light—he did not listen to his call, but went
hastily on.
"Well, affer dat," cried 'Thello, "I tink Mass'
Laurent mad as March hare.. No man in urn senses
go by piece roace pork like the here when um mose
starve to deff."

Mary followed Laurent till she saw that her eqort9
were vain, when she'contented herself with sitin
down to watch him, religiously keeping him in sight
as she called some of the women together and
unfolded her plans. _ _ _

The sun shone out now bright and clear, sky and
sea were of a brilliant blue, and it was only on the
island &de that the dense cloud and heat went up,
being completely wafted away.
As the women collected round her, Mary shud-
dered at the gaunt, blackened, scorched creatures
she saw; the garments of some were falling from
them in tinder, others had their hair scorched and
singed, while again others were burnt and in pain
The hear and moisture; with its following penpira
tion, had been at a time when the clouds of ashy
dust were falling, and every one was blackened and
besmeared to such an extent as hardly to be recog-
nisable. _ _ _

Mary shuddered as she gazed in face after face,
when she was brought to a sense of her own condi-
tion by one of the women exclaiming:
"Is that you, Mary Dance P I should not have
known you.
" Why ?" exclaimed Mary, hastily.
"Your face is all blackened with that burn on
your cheek," said the other; "and your hair is
burnt off so short on this side. You are changed."
Poor Mary! her mental pain had kept her in
ignorance of the bodily suffering; and, as she
realised her state, she involuntarily glanced in the
direction of Laurent, who was still wandering
about; and covering her face with her hands, the
scalding tears began to escape between her fingers.
"Don't cry, dear i " said one, in sympatheti.i
tones.

"Oh, no, don't cry," said another, bitterly; "we
are all pretty well blackened, and it will add to Mr.
'Thello's admiration, as being nearer what is per-
fection."

This remark sent the hot blood flushing into
Mary's face.
"For shame!" she exclaimed. "How can you
speak like that? Let us be women even if we have
but an hour to live."
The woman uttered a ribald laugh, but the others
were so quiet that she was shamed into silence, and
Mary rose.
"We must try at once to get out of this place,"
she said.

"But how P" chorused twenty voices.
"There is but one way," said Mary. "Hands
must play the part of spades, aprons of baskets;
and we must carry earth till we have thrown
enough upon the burning lava to allow us to pass
over.

A murmur of satisfaction ran through the little
crowd, and, under Mary's guidance, they f irmed
themselves into two parties—those who collected
earth and stones into heaps with the loose volcanic
ash, and those who carried it to the narrowest part
on the side nearest the sea, where an earthen bridge
of some sixty feet in length would carry them across
to the shore.

They had been for long enough past congregated
on the hillside, and were taken by surprise when,
on going down with their loads, they found Helston
and Grace Monroe standing on the other side of the
full glowing river, over whose surface, now it had
ceased to 'jlow, the grey crust was beginning to
harden.

• "You there, Grace, and e.live ! " cried Mary, joy-
fully; and she threw herself on her knees with a
fervent "thank God."

"Are you all alive and 'well r' was Holston's
question.
"Yes, all live—not well," replied Mary, in a
choking voice. "Then hastily, "Where's Deborah ?"
There was no reply.
"Not dead?" exclaimed Mary, in an awestricken
voice.
"I hope not,'-' said Ralston. "We left her sleep-
ing the night before last, and should have watched
her; but we were overcome with weariness and
slept. In the morning she was gone."
" Gone ? Where? " cried Mary.
"I cannot say," replied Ralston. "We have
sought for her ever since all along the shore and
inland, wherever the lava has left the place un-
burned."

"Then there are parts not burned P" cried twenty
voices, eagerly.
"Oh, yes," was the reply, "though every inch of
soil is more or less devastated."

"Then we may live if we escape from here across
this red-hot rock."

..
"I hope so," said Helston, earnestly.
"But, Deborah," cried Mary, "you do not think
she—the sea—the fire?"

"I hope not," said Ralston, sadly; "but, poor
woman! she was delirious, and I know not what to
say."
"But, Mr. Laurent—where is Mr. Laurent ? "
cried Grace, speaking for almost the first time.
"Mass' Laurent got hisself in to trubble wid a big
eerpum, Ma'am Grace Monroe," cried 'Thello, who
had been attracted with the other women from tear-
ing up. the earth by the shouting. "He lilly bit
touch in him knowledge box juss at present, ma am ;
but he soon get better when we out ob die galley
fire oven sort of place."
Holston saw Mary Dance turn* ,:aside and hang
down her head.
"Poor fellow !" he muttered. Then, seeing the
exigencies of the case he exclaimed—" Then you
are going to try and 'throw earth on till the lava
bears you ?"
"Yes, sah, dat's him," 'cried 'Thello ; "den we
gib yen bit ob mace pork."
"Au, about provisions,":cried Ralston; "have you
anything?"
" Find um wild pig beautiful roasted, soh," cried
'Mello; "but we all dry up like eiracklum ourselbs
for want ob lilly drop ob water."
"I cannot give you water," cried Holston; "but
we have collected a heap of fruit for you."
He pointed to a pile of wild apple-like fruit, and
the plums of the island. These he immediately set
to work throwing across for them, to be collected,.
placed together, and then fairly distributed, and'
eaten with avidity, every morsel of juicy pulp being
like nectar to the parched lips and throats of the
suffering women.
Every word spoken had had to be shouted across
the space between them—'Thello, who was in the
highe4 of spirits since the discovery of the pigs,
jocularly declaring to one of the women.that lots of
the remarks came over quite hot.
Then the work began with a will from both sides
—the women on the fire-surrounded hill tearing up
and bringing down ashes, earth, and stones which
waiduly thrown on the lava within certain narrow
bounds; and Ralston and Grate toiling as busily on
the other.side to begin a causeway to meet them;
they, on their side, collecting sand and stones—
Grace bringing the sand, and Helston stones, old
clusters of shells and masses of rock such as he could
hardly stagger under.
As the day progressed, 'Thello—who had toiled
like a giant, his duty being that of standing nearest
the scorching lava, receiving the material, and throw-
ing it on—suddenly paused to wipe the perspiration
from his face, exclaiming:
"Die berry pleasant sort ob work. More I frow
on, de more room I seem to make for more ! "
But this was not really the case; for, though vast
quantities of earth had been swallowed up, he had
made a few feet of solid way; and, what was more,
a sufficiency of earth had been thrown about for
some distance over the glowing surface to deaden the
heat, though, wherever any vegetable refuse touched
the lava, it immediately withered up and burst into
flame_
Helston's work seemed to progress very little, for,
as be threw on stone after atone, it—like the heaps
of earth on the other aide—broke through the thin
crust formed by the slowly cooling lava, and sank
slowly out of sight.
"But we must be making progress," he said, as
he bent over and kissed the little hands so busily
gathering up sand into a rchief. "It will be days
of work, perhaps, before we have much show; but
every handful helps to make a solid foundation."
Towards evening, by mutual consent, it was de-
cided that Holston and. Grace should . ease their part
of the toil to fetch fruit, ‘vhi(h, fortunately, they
were able to find in abundance • and they worked
hard till dark, collecting and bearing this to the edge
of the lava, and throwing it across.
Heiden saw Laurent twice; but, after being
hailed by his friend, he kept at a distance, moodily
hunting about till the night closed in on the weary
labours of the party.
The great mellow stars were burning in the dark
purple arch of heaven, as, after a simple meal of the
shell fish, Helston and Grace sat hand in hand upon
the sandy shore, inhaling the pure sea breeze and
thinking of the future.
.All was still even to solemnity, and the glow from
, the lava behind them was very faint as compared
I to that of the night before. The buzzing murmur of
voices that had come from the hill after the last
good nights had been said had long ceased, when,
suddenly from out of the darkness, and very close
at hand, there rose up a fearful shriek, which made
them both start to their feet, Grace clinging to Rel.
ston for protection from what seemed like some new
horror,. r- •
(To be continued).

- -
A treaty of peace between Chili and Peru has been
signed. The public buildings at Lima and Callao at
present in the occupation of the Chiliens will be sue.
cessively handed over to the Peruvian authorities.
The unveiling of the Luther Monument at Elsleben
has now been fixed for the 11th of November. The
Crown Prince, Prince William, the Ministers, and
many high officials will be present at the celebratim.
The Northumberland and Durham coaloWners have
resolved to raise the price of household coal Gd* per
tan from the let of November next,

The following telegram has been received from
Alexandria :—" The native papers announce that the
Egyptian troops have obtained a victory In the
Soudan. The Mandi, it Is declared, has been com-
pletely defeated."