CHAPTER XIX
The Old One Yields
Rick banked the Sky Wagon over the fleet. Scotty, in the front passengerseat, had the camera ready. Hartson Brant, in the rear seat, had amotion-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 officialphotographers, and there were photography planes in the air.
Directly under the Sky Wagon now was a U. S. destroyer. Aboard her wasthe nuclear firing party from Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, and theUN Observer Group. On other ships of the fleet were the representativesof the interested nations and the Seabees.
Rick turned up the volume of his plane radio. By agreement, thecountdown was to be broadcast to all aircraft over one of the airportfrequencies.
"Thirty seconds!" the voice said.
"Won't we need dark glasses?" Scotty asked.
"No," Hartson Brant replied. "The nuclear fireball won't emerge. If itgets 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 muchof a path the nuclear shot cracks."
"Ten seconds!"
Rick made sure they had a good view of El Viejo's western slope, andheld 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 earthheaved 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 inNevada," 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 notspectacular."
Far below, where the end of the big hole had been, the huge chamberblown by the atomic explosion was white-hot with trapped heat andradioactivity. Below the chamber the earth was shattered, with myriadtiny cracks reaching far down.
Some cracks reached the white-hot magma. Instantly the magma exploitedthe 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 explosionthat made ten kilotons of fission seem puny indeed. For an instant hesaw thousands of tons of white-hot lava rise into the air, then it fellinto the sea. Instantly steam clouds blanketed the area, but the steamwas 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 fallinto the steam cloud. The great rift in the volcano widened, and themolten lava was visible until steam rose again.
Under the steam cloud was an inferno, but it was only occasionallyvisible as the wind tore rents in the vapor. The noise must bedeafening, Rick knew, but only a low rumble and an occasional hissingcould 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, thanksto you and your associates."
"We'd better be sure." The scientist smiled. "Rick, suppose you fly usaround the island?"
"Yes, sir." Rick instantly swung the Sky Wagon onto a northward coursethat would take them past the erupting volcano and on to the north. Hekept well out to sea, because now and then he could see big rocks flyingthrough the air as the volcano spouted.
Only the immediate area was affected. The new outlet was about a halfmile wide, stretching from sea level and possibly below, to about aquarter 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 beachbecame black with people. The wave of humanity extended inward to theslopes of El Viejo and along the beach to Calor. Past Calor, at theairport, 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 thevolcano and took a good look at where the diamond pipe had been. Amomentary wind blew the area clear long enough for him to glimpsewhite-hot lava.
"Well," he remarked, "there go Connel's diamonds. Either buried, orburned."
"Cheer up," Scotty said with a grin. "Maybe El Viejo is making some newones."
Governor Montoya added the final word. "I hope not. But if so, I canonly 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 tributeto the calm nerves of the population. Within recorded island history,the discovery of diamonds was the sole event that seemed to have excitedmost of the islanders.
The troops left on MATS planes. The ships withdrew, except for twooceanographic ships sent hurriedly by Columbia University and Woods HoleOceanographic Institute. Aboard were not only oceanographers, but marinebiologists experienced in radiation physics. They would keep track ofevents in the sea for many months.
The scientific population of the Hot Springs Hotel did not decreaseappreciably. The combination of advance warning of eruption, a nuclearexplosion, and the eruption itself provided data never beforeobtainable. The scientists intended to make the most of it.
The courts of San Luz went into operation again. Guevara was chargedwith treason, Connel with attempted murder. The boys gavedepositions--sworn testimony--to the government attorneys. But Ruizwould be his own best witness. The doctor promised that he would be ableto testify by the time the case came to trial.
At a dinner for the Spindrift scientists, the governor presentedcertificates of appreciation to each one of the party, including theboys. Then he made a short speech.
"I could thank you, but words are inadequate in the face of the deed. Anisland and its people have been saved. You did this. What more is therethat can be said? We will not forget. Already, with the help of my goodfriend Esteben Balgos, we are planning to erect a permanent volcanicobservatory and laboratory in which scientists can work and learn fromEl Viejo. I do not ask your permission--I merely inform you that it isto 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. Itwill say simply: 'This laboratory is dedicated to the scientists of theSpindrift Scientific Foundation. They saved San Luz.' Your names will belisted."
The governor was adamant. He said with a twinkle that the scientistscould make representations through formal diplomatic channels to thegovernments 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 drewout the handful of diamonds that he had carried there since the day hefound out what they were.
"We have to give these back," he said. "I picked them up, but we have nomore right to them than Connel or Guevara. It wasn't a legal miningclaim, I guess."
Governor Montoya shook his head. "Rick, who will ever know how manydiamonds were found? Already I hear of several huge crystals among thepeople. We have confiscated several times that amount from Guevara andConnel. Should we penalize you for being honest? I think not. You foundthem, 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 wassettled, and that w
as 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, butwe were all involved with El Viejo, so we share equally. Of course we'renot sure there's anything to share. These may be only of industrialgrade."
As it happened, Rick was wrong. The diamonds were, for the most part, ofgem grade. Even after paying import duty, they were bought at a handsomeprice, uncut, by one of New York's leading diamond importers.
It was quite a handful of souvenirs, even though the proceeds weredivided equally among the entire Spindrift group, including Honorarioand Ruiz. Most of Rick's share went into his education fund, but he keptenough out to buy gifts for his mother, Barby, and Jan Miller. And hekept out enough to buy something he had long wanted ... something thatwas to lead him into another adventure-mystery, a story to be told inTHE FLYING STINGAREE.
_The_ RICK BRANT SCIENCE-ADVENTURE _Stories_
BY JOHN BLAINE
Rick Brant is the boy who with his pal Scotty lives on an island calledSpindrift and takes part in so many thrilling adventures and bafflingmysteries involving science and electronics. You can share every one ofthese adventures in the pages of Rick's books. They are available atyour 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
The Flaming Mountain: A Rick Brant Science-Adventure Story Page 19