Chapter 29 Chapter Fourteen Causes the Volcanic Eruption

The second attack was as repulsed as the first, and was more successful.Not a single Canadian was absent from the roll call, and the attackers lost a quarter of their strength. However, while the situation has improved, it is not all peace of mind.At present the balance of power is still very different, and besides, no victory can be counted until the last brigand is driven out of the district.Today, all energy is devoted to defense, and it is impossible to carry out any exploration and development work safely. Can this result be obtained in time?Or, on the contrary, exhausted in a fruitless battle, and won at the approach of winter, then this victory is also worthless.If one intends to escape the cold of winter, the storms of winter, and, after repulsing the onslaught of the enemy, one of nature's more merciless and terrible assaults, one must leave here in three weeks.

But, while the Texans are still here, should Ben Rado use the excuse of hurrying up to funnel the river into the caldera, bringing his plan to erupt to fruition?In this way, wouldn't Hunter, who controls the top of the volcano, enjoy the fruits of all their hard work and efforts alone? The whole day of July 22 was uneventful, and Bin Lado couldn't stop thinking about these problems. This unusual calm did not surprise Bin Lado.Now, is Hunter going to delay things?If so, the besieged will be compelled by the coming winter to strike out into the undefended terrain, at any cost, to settle this undelayed dispute.

Early the next morning, Scout and Ben Rado crossed the canal to observe the plain.There was no one on the plain.There were no troops moving beyond the forest either.Has Hunter really made up his mind to leave? "Can't go up Gold Volcano from camp," Bill Steer said. "It's a headache. We can see them on the other side of the plateau." "Indeed, Bill, it's a pity," Ben Rado replied. "I don't think," continued the scout, "that we are in no danger of moving a few hundred paces from the foot of the mountain." "Yes, Bill, because there is no one to be seen. What our men did yesterday, we can do today. Besides, if we are discovered, we will have time to return to the canal and block the barricade."

"Let's go, Mr. Ben, then. At least you can see the top of the volcano. Maybe the smoke is getting thicker, and the crater is starting to spew lava." The two walked south for a quarter of a mile. There was no change in the crater, and the smoke swirled up with the flames and was blown to the sea side by the wind. "I'm afraid it won't erupt today." The scout noticed. "Not tomorrow," agreed the engineer, "and I'm not complaining. Now, I hope that before Hunter leaves—if he must leave—the eruption won't happen!" "He's not going," Bill Steer said, pointing to the smoke rising from behind the ridge of Gold Volcano.

"Yes..." said Ben Rado, "they're still there... as if at home!... Since we don't try to drive them away, they have reason to think we don't have the power." After scanning the plain with their eyes, the two men crossed the canal and returned to the camp. Today was July 23rd, and Ben Rado watched painfully as the days passed without bringing any results. Attention Scouts: In three weeks time it will be too late to return to the Klondike and the team won't be there until September 15th.On that day, the miners who were going to spend the winter in Vancouver all left Dawson City, and the last batch of ships also left the port and went down the Yukon River.

Sammy Skin and Bill Steele had often talked about it, and they were talking about it that afternoon; meanwhile, Ben Rado was walking along the canal. After inspecting the embankment, Ben Rado lifted the branches covering the opening of the underground passage, and walked all the way to the rock wall that separated the passage from the volcanic chimney. He checked again the six holes he had dug in the rock face, which he himself had filled with explosives.He also checked the condition of the six-barreled explosives and fuses placed on the embankment.Just light a match! …there would be an overwhelming influx of water into the volcano.

If the Texans weren't around, he'd be trying his luck today.Since time was running out, and since the volcano seemed unable to erupt by itself, why should he continue to wait? He had only to light the charge, the fuse to burn for only a few minutes, and half a day later, two hours later, an hour later, perhaps less, the accumulated vapors would violently open a vent in the air. Ben Rado thought about the rock face, and he hated his inability to bring his daring plan to fruition immediately. As he thought about it, he listened to the sound in the chimney of the volcano. He felt that the rumbling sound was getting stronger.He even thought he heard the sound of stones clashing against each other, as if the steam lifted them up and made them fall again.Is this a sign of an impending eruption?

At this time, shouts sounded outside.The scout's voice came from the opening of the underground passage.He is shouting: "Mr. Rado!...Mr. Rado, come here!" "come over!……" Thinking the bandits were on the attack again, Ben Rado hurried back to the embankment, where he met Sammy Skinner, Jane Egerton, and Bill Steele. "Are the Texans attacking us again?" he asked. "Yes! Those bastards," cried the scout, "but not from the front, nor from the rear, but from above." His hand points to the golden volcano. "Look here, Mr. Ben," he added.

Sure enough, being unable to open access from the north and south, Hunter and his party abandoned the direct attack, and adopted another plan; They climbed to the summit again, rounded the last pinnacle, and came to the edge of the volcanic plateau above the Canadian tent.There they used picks and crowbars to lift huge boulders so that hundreds of boulders piled up.Soon, these heavy rocks were pushed over the edge of the volcano, and then rolled down the mountain like an avalanche, breaking and knocking down trees and destroying everything in its path.A few of these dreadful projectiles even rolled into the canal, splashing the water over the embankment.Ben Rado and others cling to the mountain to avoid the extremely lethal rocks.

That place in the grove couldn't stay anymore.The camp disappeared under piles of rocks that had tumbled from the hills, and the men ran to the river away from the falling rocks. Supplies were smashed to pieces.Two carriages were smashed, tents were knocked down and smashed, and utensils were destroyed.The three mules that had been smashed to death lay on the ground.The other animals, frightened, ran across the canal and scattered across the plain.This is a real disaster. From the hills came the yelling and yelling of the brigands, overwhelmed by the abominable spectacle of destruction.The stones continued to tumble, sometimes colliding with each other, smashing into pieces and falling like a rain of bullets.

"They're going to throw a whole mountain on our heads," Sammy Skine said aloud. "How?" asked the scout. "I don't know what to do," Sammy Skin replied. "I know what to do! Before you negotiate with him, shoot him!" A very nervous Jane Egerton shrugged her shoulders. "It's useless to talk," she said. "Now, our supplies are smashed to pieces. If we don't salvage a little bit of broken stuff, there will soon be nothing left. Push our vehicles out of reach." to the river." "Okay," agreed the Scout, "but what about later! . . . " "Afterwards?" repeated Jane Egerton, "then we'll wait for the bandits at their camp. We'll shoot at point-blank range as they descend, and their vehicles will take their place." Vehicles we lost." Sammy Skin cast an admiring glance at his excited female companion.Her plan is audacious, but likely to succeed.Hunt and his party must have been in a difficult position under the fire of some twenty muskets as they slowly descended the slopes of the Golden Volcano. Obviously, only when there were not many stones, Hunter and the others would leave the top of the mountain.So there was time to follow the foot of the mountain undetected to the other side of the slope.If a few enemies were there, it was easy to overpower them; then wait for Hunter's gang to come down the hill, and shoot them from their lurking places like chamois and daikon. "Great!" cried Sammy Skin. "Gather our men and cross the dike. We'll be there in half an hour. It'll take at least two hours for these bastards to come down." Although Ben Rado did not participate in the discussion, he heard Jane Edgerton's plan clearly, and in fact it was the only feasible and achievable plan. Sammy Skin was about to set off when his cousin stopped him with a movement. "There is a better way," said the cousin. "What is it?" asked Sammy Skin. "Let Hunter and his gang get what they deserve. We have terrible weapons at the ready." "A weapon?" the Scout repeated. "It's a volcano. Let's cause a volcano to erupt and wipe them out." After a moment's silence, the engineer added: "Gather our people and walk along the foot of the mountain and the sea. I'll light the explosives and catch up with you quickly." "I'm coming with you, Ben! . . . " said Sammy Skin, shaking the Engineer's hand. "No need," said the engineer in a firm voice, "I'm in no danger. The fuse is ready, you know, and it just needs to be lit." Don't hold on any longer.Sammy Skinn, Jane Edgerton and the scouts went to join the majority assembled on the Rube.Bin Rado disappeared immediately through the hole concealed by the branches.He crawled to the middle of the passage, lit a fuse that was connected to the rock wall explosives and the dike explosives at the other end, and then quickly returned, desperately running towards the sea. A quarter of an hour later, the explosives exploded with a dull sound.The volcano seemed to be shaking.The dam was blown into pieces and scattered in all directions, and the water from the canal quickly poured into the gaping underground passage.At the other end of the passage, was the rock wall also blasted away?Before the question could be asked, the thick smoky vapors that violently spewed out of the crater answered it.Yes, the rock wall was pushed away as the volcano exhaled the stench from this wound. Simultaneously, there was a deafening noise from the tunnel, and the water hummed, hissed, and whistled as it struggled with the lava; the water turned to steam as soon as it touched the lava. Fire and water, who will win in this extraordinary battle between these two substances?Wouldn't the lava solidify as a barrier when the fire went out to keep water out?Will the water from the inexhaustible Mackenzie be overcome by fire after reaching the heart of the volcano? This is the last question to be answered, and the answer is immediately available. Half an hour, an hour passed.The water has been flowing into the channel along the riverside, suppressing the steam, and disappearing into the interior of the mountain with a splash. The Canadians, heavily armed and not alone, crossed the Rube River to the sea.Everyone remained motionless and silent, watching the development of the situation anxiously. Suddenly, the ground shook violently, and there was a terrible rumble in the belly of the earth.Then, something strange happened.The entire plain to the south undulated as far as the eye could see, and a cloud of dust rose up that covered the sky and the sun. The Canadians were dumbfounded.All, including the bravest, were terrified to see what invincible power their feeble hands wrought. But the volcano's anger appears to have calmed down.The dust settles, and the sun shines again. Everyone relax.The tight chest let out a deep breath, and the frantic beating of the heart eased down.Everyone even smiled vaguely at each other and dared to look around. It's business as usual in nature.The waters of the Rube River still flow to the Arctic Ocean, and the waves of the ocean continue to crash on the original shore.Although Jin Huanshan, the giant, suffered a minor injury to his heel, he still held his forehead crowned with smoke and fire, indifferent to the water that the canal kept pouring into his huge belly. Another quarter of an hour passed, and suddenly, without warning, there was a terrible explosion. A mountain collapsed and fell into the sea, splashing monstrous waves.Stones, blocks of solidified lava, volcanic rock flows and volcanic ash are sprayed out of the crater with flames and smoke. From then on, the sound of explosions continued.The volcano was shaken with new intensity, spewing thousands of red-hot projectiles into the air.Some fell back into the maw that spewed them out, others roared into the waves of the Arctic Ocean along the path created by the first efforts of the generating force. "But . . . may God forgive me!" murmured Sammy Skinn, when too much excitement could bring him to speak, "our gold nuggets have fallen into the sea!" Ben Rado and Bill Steele hadn't said the thought before him because they were too excited to utter a word.Surprise, or rather despair, burned them physically and mentally. Trek long distances, struggle with nature, how much hard work, how much hardship, the result is this! Ben Rado was not mistaken.As he imagined, water was injected into the chimney, causing the eruption.However, he couldn't control the direction of the eruption, so the operation turned into a disaster. Now, the demons he unleashes do as they please.Nothing can quell the frantic eruption.The ground trembled as if it was about to crack.Howling flames and neighing steam made the entire space vibrate.Hot smoke and choking gases blanket the top of the volcano.A few boulders thrown into the air exploded like cannonballs, turning into gold chips and falling down... "Our nugget exploded! . . . " moaned Sammy Skin. At this moment, they did not think of the Texans, but only of the wealth of the most amazing gold mine in the world disappearing in the sea of ​​​​the Arctic Ocean for nothing. Indeed, they need not be afraid of Hunter's gang.The volcano erupted suddenly, and Hunter and others undoubtedly had no time to escape.Perhaps the volcanic plateau had collapsed beneath their feet... perhaps they had fallen into the crater? …Maybe they were thrown into the air, charred, dismembered, and now lie under the sea? Ben Rado calmed down first. "Come here! . . . come here!" he cried. They followed him upstream along the right bank of the Rube River, crossed the canal, waded across the river, and followed the foot of the Gold Volcano to the plain. Twenty minutes later, they showed up at the Texans' camp. Five or six men stationed in the camp were attacked and fled to the forest, while their horses, frightened by the eruption and the gunshots, scattered across the plain. After the Canadians took over the deserted camp, they set their sights on the steep hills. The volcanic eruption indeed played a role in the destruction of Hunt's gang.Among them, only a few survived.Naturally, these people were terrified, and rushed down the hillside, even risking breaking their arms and legs. Among the survivors was Hunter, who was seriously injured and slowly climbed down more than a hundred meters from the foot of the mountain.The cloth strips wrapped around his head undoubtedly covered the trauma of yesterday's fall, and the violent impact made him unconscious for a long time. Despondent and defenseless, the unfortunate man, seeing the encroachment of the camp, was almost mad, and after a desperate gesture, turned northward, and endeavored to make his way towards the sea, intending to follow it into the forest. At least two of them failed to make it there. With the support of two accomplices, Hunter was about to take a new step in this direction when a huge stone rose from the roaring crater.All the objects of the eruption fell into the sea in the north without any change. Only this stone changed its direction for unknown reasons, drew a broad and powerful parabola to the south, and fell with mathematical precision on three fleeing Texans. on the head. One of them was quite lucky and avoided the stone with a loud cry.The other guy stayed put, basically smashed to a pulp. As for Hunter, he was shot in the head, spun around, rolled from rock to rock on the hillside, and fell at the foot of the hill. Meanwhile, the stone in front of the victim continued to roll down the hillside at a slower and slower speed, and finally, like an obedient servant, it slowly stopped at Ben Rado's feet. Ben Rado leaned over.Beneath the scratches caused by the collision, a yellow substance shone with a metallic sheen.The engineer's heart clenched with excitement when he discovered that the stone of justice was composed entirely of pure gold.