I signalled back by code, "Try to attract their attention if possible, and ask them what's their business in Hawaii."
For a few minutes Frank seemed engaged in establishing communications with the newly-arrived gunboat, and made me no reply; but I soon saw he had succeeded in forcing himself upon their notice at last, for he was flashing back question and answer rapidly now, as I judged by the frequent and hasty movements of his dancing mirror.
By and by he turned the ray upon my sofa again.
"Gunboat Hornet," he signalled in swift flashes, "Pacific squadron: party of twenty men sent ashore2 by admiral's orders to make arrangements for observing total eclipse of the moon on Saturday evening."
I was glad to hear it, for we began to feel the want of civilized3 society.
That same morning the doctor rode up to see me again, and brought me a very welcome present—a pair of crutches4. On these I was now to be permitted to hobble about, and I took advantage of my liberty that very afternoon by stumping5 up, with Frank's aid, to the mouth of the crater6.
While I stood there, supported on my two sticks, and watching the lava7 still grunting8 and grumbling9 as uneasily as ever—for it was clear that Pélé was in a grumpy mood and a big eruption10 was slowly brewing11—we were joined by the officers and doctor of the Hornet on their eclipse observation expedition, accompanied by several sailors and natives, with ponies12, tents, and other necessaries for camping out on the very summit, high above the level of the ordinary cloud-veil. The new-comers were surprised to find a scientific man already on the spot, in possession as it were, and gladly availed themselves of my knowledge of the mountain in choosing a good and suitable station for their tents and instruments.
I confess, after the terrors by which I had lately been surrounded, it was no small relief to me to find ourselves reinforced as it were by a strong and armed body of our own fellow-countrymen. I breathed a little more freely when I knew at least that help was at hand should we ever chance to stand in need of it.
I sent off Frank at once to show the naval13 men what seemed to me the best position on the whole mountain for pitching their tents and setting up their observatory14, and, under my directions, he led them straight to a low peak on the right of Kalaua's, over-looking the crater and the Floor of the Hawaiians.
It was a jutting15 point with a good open platform on the very summit, composed of rock a good deal softer than the mass of basaltic lava which makes up in great part the cone16 of that vast and seething17 volcano. The men of the Hornet were delighted with my selection, which combined all the advantages of shelter and position, and began forthwith to unpack18 their belongings19 and settle themselves down in their new quarters. For myself. I hobbled back after a while to the house to rest and observe their actions through a field-glass from a distance.
Now, at any rate, we should be quite safe from any machinations of our Hawaiian entertainers.
As I reached the door Kalaua came out, his face all livid with anger and excitement. Evidently the new turn of affairs had greatly displeased20 him. He had been away all the morning, and had only just returned. His eyes were fixed21 now on the party on the summit, and some strange passion seemed to be agitating22 his soul as he watched their preparations for camping on the platform.
"Who are all these people here?" he cried out to me in English, flinging up his hand as soon as I was well within speaking distance, "and what do they want with their tents and their instruments here on the open top of Mauna Loa?"
"They're a party of English naval officers," I answered, "from a gunboat that has just steamed into the harbour, and they've come up by order of the admiral to observe the eclipse of the moon on Saturday."
Kalaua's countenance23 was an awful sight to look upon. Never before or since has it been my lot to behold24 a human face so horribly distorted with terror and indignation as his was that moment. His features were ghastly. They reminded me of the mask of his heathen ancestors. It seemed as if some cherished hope of his life was frustrated25 and disappointed, dashed to the ground at once by some wholly unexpected and untoward27 incident. "Kea," he cried aloud in Hawaiian to his niece within, "this is awful! This is unendurable! Come out and see! The English are camping on the Platform of Observation."
At the words, Kea sprang out upon the balcony from the room within where she had been sitting alone, and shaded her eyes with her hands as she looked up in an agony of suspense28 and expectation towards the distant peak. In a moment some sudden passion thrilled her. Then she clasped her fingers hard and tight in front of her, as it seemed to me with some internal spasm29 of joy and satisfaction. "I see them," she cried, "I see them! I see them."
"They shall never remain there!" Kalaua shouted again, stamping his foot on the ground with resolute30 determination. "If they stop there till Saturday, it will spoil all! I won't permit it! I can't permit it!" Then he turned to me more calmly, and went on in English, "I know a much better place than that, up on the left yonder, less exposed a great deal to the open wind and the glare of the volcano."
He pointed26 as he spoke31 to another peak, away off to the west; a peak that did not look down nearly so sheer into the hollow of the crater and the sea of fire. I had thought of that place too, and rejected it at once, as being in fact far more exposed and windy than the other.
"SHE LOOKED UP IN AN AGONY OF SUSPENSE."
I shook my head. "Oh, no," I said, "the peak they've chosen is by far the best one."
"You think so?"
"I am sure of it."
Kalaua turned away with an angry gesture. "Better or worse, they shall never camp there!" he exclaimed with warmth. "The Hawaiians are masters still in Hawaii. Whether they will or whether they won't, the Englishmen shall move their tents from that peak there. We will never allow them to occupy that spot. We will make them shift from the Platform of Observation."
"I don't think you'll find it easy to turn away an English detachment," I observed quietly.
Kalaua clenched32 his fist hard, and ground his teeth. "Anywhere but there," he muttered, "and there, never!"
He stalked away angrily with long hurried strides towards the point where Frank and the sailors, all unconscious, were pegging33 their tents and staking out their encampment with a merry hubbub34. What happened next I could only observe vaguely35 at a distance through the medium of my glass; I learned the details afterwards more fully36 from Frank and the officers. But what I could notice for myself most clearly nearer home was this—that all the time while Kalaua was parleying with the Englishmen on the mountain, Kea stood still quite breathless on the verandah, watching the result of her uncle's action with the keenest interest and the wildest emotion. She watched so closely that I couldn't help feeling the result was a matter of life and death to her, and it somehow seemed to me that her hopes were now fixed entirely37 on the white men's resolve to maintain the position they had first taken up on the point of the mountain.
It was clear from what we saw that the Englishmen insisted on maintaining their position.
In about an hour, Kalaua returned, trembling with rage. "It's no use," he cried, "I can't turn them off. They will camp there. I've said my best, but I can't dislodge them: they must take their lives in their own hands." And he flung himself like a sulky child into an American rocking-chair on the broad verandah.
As for Kea, I saw her look up suddenly, with a wild flash of relief coming over her white face. Next moment, a fixed despair succeeded it. "No use, no use," she seemed to say to herself. "They will have to go yet. A respite38, perhaps, but not a rescue."
Kalaua sat and rocked himself moodily39 up and down like one who resolves some desperate adventure.
When Frank returned late at night to Kalaua's, he told me the full story of that hasty interview. The old Hawaiian had gone up to the mountain determined40 to put a stop to the camp on the platform at all hazards. At first, his manner was all politeness and sweet reasonableness. He offered them water from the well at his own house, and he had come, he said, with the utmost suavity41, to save them from choosing an unsuitable spot, and putting themselves in the end to immense inconvenience by having to move to some better position. He pointed out a thousand imaginary disadvantages in their present site, and a thousand equally imaginary points of superiority in the one he himself had selected for them. He knew the mountain from top to bottom: no one could choose as well as he could. But the officers stuck to their point steadily42. This was the place to observe the eclipse from, and here they meant to camp out accordingly.
Wouldn't they at least sleep down at his house? No, thanks, they p>referred to camp out by themselves, according to orders, here on the open. Then Kalaua began to lose his temper. What right had they, he asked in a threatening voice, to come trespassing43 there on private property? The first lieutenant44 responded promptly45 by showing a letter from the King at Honolulu, authorizing46 the officers and men of the Hornet to choose a place for themselves anywhere on the open summit of Mauna Loa, all of which was Government demesne47, with the solitary48 exception of Kalaua's garden. The old native's anger grew hotter and hotter. They couldn't say why, but it was quite clear that some private end of his own would be interfered49 with if the officers were allowed to camp out within view of the crater and the Floor of the Hawaiians. I had very little doubt myself, from what Frank told me, that some native superstition50 was at the bottom of his objection. I thought it probable there was a taboo51 upon the place—it was in all likelihood a seared spot of Pélé's.
I remembered the fate of the man who trod the Floor of Pélé and I wondered what would happen to our friends from the Hornet. However, in the end, as the naval men refused to be moved by either threats or entreaties52, Kalaua retired53 at last in silent wrath54, muttering to himself some unintelligible55 words about the folly56 of white men and the might of the volcano.
"Take care," he cried, as he turned on his heel, flinging back his last words at them. "You've chosen the most dangerous spot on the whole mountain. It reeks57 with fire. The rock about there is all inflammable. Mauna Loa will take care of itself. If you drop a match upon it, it'll burn like sulphur."
The officers laughed and took no more notice. They didn't know as well as I did how deep and fierce a hold heathendom still exercised over the minds and actions of these half-savage natives.
When Frank told me all this in the silence of our own rooms by ourselves that evening, my heart somehow sank ominously58 within me. "Frank," I said, "I don't know why, but I'm sure there's mischief59 brewing somewhere for us and for Kea. I wish we knew something more about this man Maloka they're always talking about. I feel that some terrible plan is on foot for that poor girl's marriage. The mystery darkens everywhere around us. Thank heaven, the English sailors have come to protect us."
"I asked several natives about Maloka to-day," Frank replied quietly; "but though they all knew the name, they only laughed, and refused to answer. They seemed to think it an excellent joke. One of them said he didn't trouble himself at all about people like Maloka. And then they all looked very serious, and glanced around as if they thought he might possibly hear them. But when I asked if Maloka lived near by, behind the peaks, they burst into roars of laughter again, and advised me not to be too inquisitive60."
"Strange," I answered. "He seems to live close here upon the summit, and yet we never happen to come across him."
"Where's Kalaua now?" Frank asked.
"Gone out," I answered. "He went away early in the evening. Perhaps he's visiting his friend Maloka."
"I wish I could follow him," Frank cried eagerly. "I'd like to catch this Maloka by the throat, whoever he is, and I'll bet you sixpence, if I once caught him he'd be pretty well choked before I let him go again."
"Did the Hornet's men send down for water to Kalaua's well?" I asked.
"Oh, yes," Frank answered. "They took up some pailfuls."
"Humph!" I said. "I hope Kalaua hasn't put anything ugly into it."
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1
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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3
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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crutches
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| n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑 | |
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stumping
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| 僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的现在分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说 | |
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6
crater
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| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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7
lava
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| n.熔岩，火山岩 | |
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8
grunting
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| 咕哝的，呼噜的 | |
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grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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10
eruption
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| n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作 | |
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11
brewing
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| n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式 | |
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12
ponies
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| 矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑 | |
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13
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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14
observatory
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| n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台 | |
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15
jutting
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| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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16
cone
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| n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果 | |
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17
seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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18
unpack
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| vt.打开包裹（或行李），卸货 | |
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19
belongings
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| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
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20
displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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21
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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22
agitating
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| 搅动( agitate的现在分词 )； 激怒； 使焦虑不安； （尤指为法律、社会状况的改变而）激烈争论 | |
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23
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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24
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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frustrated
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| adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧 | |
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26
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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27
untoward
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| adj.不利的，不幸的，困难重重的 | |
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suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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spasm
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| n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作 | |
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resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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31
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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32
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
pegging
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| n.外汇钉住，固定证券价格v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的现在分词 )；使固定在某水平 | |
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34
hubbub
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| n.嘈杂；骚乱 | |
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35
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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36
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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38
respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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39
moodily
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| adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地 | |
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40
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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41
suavity
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| n.温和；殷勤 | |
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42
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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43
trespassing
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| [法]非法入侵 | |
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44
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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45
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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46
authorizing
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| 授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 ) | |
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47
demesne
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| n.领域，私有土地 | |
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48
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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49
interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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50
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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51
taboo
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| n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止 | |
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52
entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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53
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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54
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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55
unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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56
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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57
reeks
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| n.恶臭( reek的名词复数 )v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的第三人称单数 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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58
ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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59
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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60
inquisitive
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| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
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