CHAPTER XIV
A NIGHT IN CAMP
The rumbling and roaring continued for perhaps two minutes, duringwhich time the castaways found it impossible to stand, for theisland was shaking under their feet with a sickening motion. Off toone side there was a great fissure in the earth, and, frightened ashe was, Tom looked to see if it was extending in their direction.
If it was, or if a crack opened near them, they might beprecipitated into some bottomless abyss, or into the depths of thesea. But the fissure did not increase in length or breadth, and,presently the rumbling, roaring sound subsided. The island grewquiet and the airship travelers rose to their feet.
"Bless my very existence! What happened?" cried Mr. Damon.
"It was an earthquake; wasn't it, Tom?" asked Mr. Fenwick.
"It sure was," agreed the young inventor. "Rather a hard one, too. Ihope we don't have any more."
"Do you think there is any likelihood of it?" demanded Mr. Damon."Bless my pocketbook! If I thought so I'd leave at once."
"Where would you go?" inquired Tom, looking out across the tumblingocean, which had hardly had a chance to subside from the gale, ereit was again set in a turmoil by the earth-tremor.
"That's so--there isn't a place to escape to," went on the eccentricman, with something like a groan. "We are in a bad place--do youthink there'll be more quakes, Tom?"
"It's hard to say. I don't know where we are, and this island may besomething like Japan, subject to quakes, or it may be that this oneis merely a spasmodic tremor. Perhaps the great storm which broughtus here was part of the disturbance of nature which ended up withthe earthquake. We may have no more."
"And there may be one at any time," added Mr. Fenwick.
"Yes," assented Tom.
"Then let's get ready for it," proposed Mr. Damon. "Let's take allthe precautions possible."
"There aren't any to take," declared Tom. "All we can do is to waituntil the shocks come--if any more do come, which I hope won'thappen, and then we must do the best we can."
"Oh, dear me! Bless my fingernails!" cried Mr. Damon, wringing hishands. "This is worse than falling in an airship! There you do haveSOME chance. Here you haven't any."
"Oh, it may not be so bad," Tom cried to reassure him. "This mayhave been the first shock in a hundred years, and there may never beanother."
But, as he looked around on the island, he noted evidences that itwas of volcanic origin, and his heart misgave him, for he knew thatsuch islands, created suddenly by a submarine upheaval, might justas suddenly be destroyed by an earthquake, or by sinking into theocean. It was not a pleasant thought--it was like living over amine, that might explode at any moment. But there was no help forit.
Tom tried to assume a cheerfulness he did not feel. He realizedthat, in spite of his youth, both Mr. Damon and Mr. Fenwick ratherdepended on him, for Tom was a lad of no ordinary attainments, andhad a fund of scientific knowledge. He resolved to do his best toavoid making his two companions worry.
"Let's get it off our minds," suggested the lad, after a while. "Wewere going to get something to eat. Suppose we carry out thatprogram. My appetite wasn't spoiled by the shock."
"I declare mine wasn't either," said Mr. Damon, "but I can't forgetit easily. It's the first earthquake I was ever in."
He watched Tom as the latter advanced once more toward the wreck ofthe airship, and noticed that the lad limped, for his right leg hadbeen cut when the WHIZZER had fallen to earth.
"What's the matter, Tom; were you hurt in the quake?" asked theeccentric man.
"No--no," Tom hastened to assure him. "I just got a bump in thefall--that's all. It isn't anything. If you and Mr. Fenwick want toget out some food from the wrecked store room I'll see if I can haulout the gasolene stove from the airship. Perhaps we can use it tomake some coffee."
By delving in about the wreck, Tom was able to get out the gasolenestove. It was broken, but two of the five burners were incommission, and could be used. Water, and gasolene for use in theairship, was carried in steel tanks. Some of these had been splitopen by the crash, but there was one cask of water left, and threeof gasolene, insuring plenty of the liquid fuel. As for the water,Tom hoped to be able to find a spring on the island.
In the meanwhile, Mr. Damon and Mr. Fenwick had been investigatingthe contents of the storeroom. There was a large supply of food,much larger than would have been needed, even on a two weeks' tripin the air, and the inventor of the WHIZZER hardly knew why he hadput so much aboard.
"But if we have to stay here long, it may come in handy," observedTom, with a grim smile.
"Why; do you think we WILL be here long?" asked Mr. Damon.
The young inventor shrugged his shoulders.
"There is no telling," he said. "If a passing steamer happens to seeus, we may be taken off to-day or to-morrow. If not we may be here aweek, or--" Tom did not finish. He stood in a listening attitude.
There was a rumbling sound, and the earth seemed again to tremble.Then there came a great splash in the water at the foot of a tall,rugged cliff about a quarter of a mile away. A great piece of theprecipice had fallen into the ocean.
"I thought that was another earthquake coming," said Mr. Damon, withan air of relief.
"So did I," admitted Mr. Fenwick.
"It was probably loosened by the shock, and so fell into the sea,"spoke Tom.
Their momentary fright over, the castaways proceeded to get theirbreakfast. Tom soon had water boiling on the gasolene stove, for hehad rescued a tea-kettle and a coffee pot from the wreck of thekitchen of the airship. Shortly afterward, the aroma of coffeefilled the air, and a little later there was mingled with it theappetizing odor of sizzling bacon and eggs, for Mr. Fenwick, who wasvery fond of the latter, had brought along a supply, carefullypacked in sawdust carriers, so that the shock had broken only a fewof them.
"Well, I call this a fine breakfast," exclaimed Mr. Damon, munchinghis bacon and eggs, and dipping into his coffee the hard pilotbiscuit, which they had instead of bread. "We're mighty lucky to beeating at all, I suppose."
"Indeed we are," chimed in Mr. Fenwick.
"I'm awfully sorry the airship is wrecked, though," spoke Tom. "Isuppose it's my fault. I should have turned back before we got overthe ocean, and while the storm was not at its height. I saw that thewind was freshening, but I never supposed it would grow to a gale sosuddenly. The poor old WHIZZER--there's not much left of her!"
"Now don't distress yourself in the least," insisted Mr. Fenwick."I'm proud to have built a ship that could navigate at all. I seewhere I made lots of mistakes, and as soon as I get back toPhiladelphia, I'm going to build a better one, if you'll help me,Tom Swift."
"I certainly will," promised the young inventor.
"And I'll take a voyage with you!" cried Mr. Damon. "Bless myteaspoon, Tom, but will you kindly pass the bacon and eggs again!"
There was a jolly laugh at the eccentric man, in which he himselfjoined, and the little party felt better. They were seated on bitsof broken boxes taken from the wreck, forming a little circle aboutthe gasolene stove, which Tom had set up on the beach. The wind hadalmost entirely died away, though the sea was still heaving in greatbillows, and masses of surf.
They had no exact idea of the time, for all their watches hadstopped when the shock of the wreck came, but presently the sunpeeped out from the clouds, and, from knowing the time when they hadbegun to fall, they judged it was about ten o'clock, and accordinglyset their timepieces.
"Well," observed Tom, as he collected the dishes, which they hadalso secured from the wreck, "we must begin to think about a placeto spend the night. I think we can rig up a shelter from some of thecanvas of the wing-planes, and from what is left of the cabin. Itdoesn't need to be very heavy, for from the warmth of theatmosphere, I should say we were pretty well south."
It was quite warm, now that the storm was over, and, as they lookedat the vegetation of the island, they saw that it was almost whollytropical.
"I shouldn
't be surprised if we were on one of the smaller of theWest Indian islands," said Tom. "We certainly came far enough,flying a hundred miles or more an hour, to have reached them. Butthis one doesn't appear to be inhabited."
"We haven't been all over it yet," said Mr. Damon. "We may findcannibals on the other side."
"Cannibals don't live in this part of the world," Tom assured him."No, I think this island is practically unknown. The storm broughtus here, and it might have landed us in a worse place."
As he spoke he thought of the yacht RESOLUTE, and he wondered howher passengers, including the parents of Mary Nestor, had faredduring the terrible blow.
"I hope they weren't wrecked, as we were," mused Tom.
But there was little time for idle thoughts. If they were going tobuild a shelter, they knew that they must speedily get at it.Accordingly, with a feeling of thankfulness that their lives hadbeen spared, they set to work taking apart such of the wreck ascould the more easily be got at.
Boards, sticks, and planks were scattered about, and, with thepieces of canvas from the wing-planes, and some spare material whichwas carried on board, they soon had a fairly good shack, which wouldbe protection enough in that warm climate.
Next they got out the food and supplies, their spare clothing andother belongings, few of which had been harmed in the fall from theclouds. These things were piled under another rude shelter whichthey constructed.
By this time it was three o'clock, and they ate again. Then theyprepared to spend the night in their hastily made camp. Theycollected driftwood, with which to make a fire, and, after supper,which was prepared on the gasolene stove, they sat about thecheerful blaze, discussing their adventures.
"To-morrow we will explore the island," said Tom, as he rolledhimself up in his blankets and turned over to sleep. The othersfollowed his example, for it was decided that no watch need be kept.Thus passed several hours in comparative quiet.
It must have been about midnight that Tom was suddenly awakened by afeeling as if someone was shaking him. He sat up quickly and calledout:
"What's the matter?"
"Eh? What's that? Bless my soul! What's going on?" shouted Mr.Damon.
"Did you shake me?" inquired Tom.
"I? No. What--?"
Then they realized that another earth-tremor was making the wholeisland tremble.
Tom leaped from his blankets, followed by Mr. Damon and Mr. Fenwick,and rushed outside the shack. They felt the earth shaking, but itwas over in a few seconds. The shock was a slight one, nothing likeas severe as the one in the morning. But it set their nerves onedge.
"Another earthquake!" groaned Mr. Damon. "How often are we to havethem?"
"I don't know," answered Tom, soberly.
They passed the remainder of the night sleeping in blankets on thewarm sands, near the fire, for they feared lest a shock might bringthe shack down about their heads. However, the night passed with nomore terrors.
Tom Swift and His Wireless Message; Or, The Castaways of Earthquake Island Page 14