"Aye, aye, sir!" was the cheerful reply.
Rogers turned with his men, and the captain watched their backs far down the forest path, until they were lost to sight in the greenery of the jungle.
"Well now," he remarked, as he turned again to the others, "lively's the word. Let's get busy and——. Great Scott! Look at that!" he exclaimed, staring at the top of the whale's hump.
A column of black smoke was rising from the crater.
"Looks like the whale was going to blow again," Tyke said, with a feeble attempt at levity to disguise his apprehension.
The next moment the ears of the party were deafened by a terrific explosion.
CHAPTER XXVIII
BY FAVOR OF THE EARTHQUAKE
No thunder that had ever been heard could be compared with the sound of the explosion. It was like the bellowing of a thousand cannon. It was as though the island were being ripped apart.