Neither Mark nor Frank said anything. The exploration, so far as finding out anything about their parents was concerned, had been a failure. The French sailors were bound for St. Pierre by way of the north passage around the island, and there was nothing to do but to remain on board until the capital city was reached. It was now seen that Mont Pelee was getting ready for another eruption. This outburst, four-fold greater than those already described, occurred the next day, while the small craft was well away from the shore. The thunder and lightning from the volcano were something stupefying, and tremendous masses of rocks and lava were hurled forth, to lay the whole northern end of Martinique in complete desolation. The ruins of St. Pierre were all but buried from sight, and the force of the eruption was felt even as far south as Fort de France, where much dust and not a few stones fell, to add to the terror of a population already on the verge of despair. It may be as well to add here that Martinique was at these trying times not the only island in that vicinity to suffer from volcanic action. On St. Vincent, a British possession one hundred miles further south, the volcano called La Soufriere went into equal activity, and an eruption at Mont Pelee was usually attended by a similar happening at the other volcano, showing that the two were most likely in some way connected. The activity of La Soufriere threw the natives of St. Vincent into a panic, and although but few people, comparatively, were killed, yet they flocked to Kingstown, the capital, and many begged the government to aid them in getting away. It was a time of great anxiety in all the Lesser Antilles and many predicted that all these islands, which as already mentioned, are in reality nothing but the tops of a long range of mountains, would either blow up or sink into the sea. CHAPTER XXXII THE FATE OF CAPTAIN SUDLIP By the time the small native craft reached the vicinity of St. Pierre the great eruption was at an end, and Pelee had once more resumed its normal condition, saving for the cloud of black smoke and the strange vapor still clinging to its lofty top. Even from a great distance, however, it could be noticed that the top of the grand old mountain was split into several parts. In the harbor of St. Pierre were collected a dozen or more steamers sent from various ports to give aid to the sufferers who were flocking in from many of the outlying districts. Provisions were to be had in plenty, and also clothing, while a score or more of surgeons and physicians stood ready to care for the sick, the wounded and the dying. “What an awful scene of desolation!” remarked Sam, as they gazed at the distant ruin of the once prosperous city. “Everything seems to be buried under the fall of lava and mud.” “Yes, and the lava has turned to stone,” added Mark. “I don’t believe they will ever rebuild this place.”