The Day of Resis

by Lillian Frances Mentor

At first it had been suggested that they should ride zebras, but it was decided to take the elephants, as they would stand the hard journey over the bad lands better. And it had been a lucky decision on their part, for now they were saved the fearful fight with that hot shower of ashes, which not only filled the air, making it almost impossible to breathe, but which also made a bed which was nearly impossible to walk over or through, as the bed had grown to such a depth, that it was nothing more than wading, Sedai had been foremost, in the charge of the elephants into the negro band, and had gotten far ahead of his friends, reaching the volcano even before some of the negroes had. When he saw that awful sea of lava pouring over the side of the crevice, he had turned and motioned his comrades to follow, and had made Gip understand that he must travel as he had never traveled before. The intelligent animal seemed to understand, and hurried on, too, by the heat and burning ashes as they fell on his back, he started on a run which would have soon brought them safely to the villa, if the air and road had not been obstructed by the miserable ashes.

But the elephants, all of which had followed Gip, were, too, experiencing the torture of the awful cloud and shower, and they had stumbled many times, over the rocks and in the soft bed which was getting deeper each moment. The elephants had kept close together though, and had in this way, kept trodden a very good path. Our friends could see, during the few intervals when the cloudy atmosphere would break and the light of the volcano penetrate this, the poor Onians stumbling along in the darkness and scorching cinders. They had called to them to keep up courage, but it was needless advice to these men, for they would not give up until the last moment.

They had tried to get the elephants to kneel, and take on their backs, as many as they could carry; but the animals, crazed by pain and fear, dashed on, often crushing beneath their feet, those whom their riders would save. And so the elephants rushed on and as the light would break through the awful blackness, the riders could see that the number of poor pedestrians was growing less and less, until at last, none were seen. They had all succumbed to the overpowering cloud of ashes, and their bodies now strewed the ground, which but a few hours before they had passed over, strong in healthful life; and of the five thousand who had started on the march that morning not one was left; all, all had met their fate. Some by the deadly hatchets of the negroes, others by the fearful downpour of hot cinders.

The Land of On had met its first great catastrophe; it had for the first time in his history, experienced some of those adversities, which had so frequently befallen the other countries of the world. But our friends were still alive. Onrai, Mr. Graham, Mr. Bruce, Harry and Sedai, were being borne through the blackness by the elephants. Their throats were parched, even their lungs seemed burning up with the great heated shower of ashes, which they had been compelled to breathe so long. Their eyes were almost swollen shut, their faces and bodies were covered with blisters where the cruel, hot cinders had struck them. Even they, who had not been exposed wholly to the storm, and who had been spared the awful struggle of limping through the hot bed of cinders, even they began to despair of ever getting out of this radius of dust and ashes.

And the elephants were now beginning to stumble and sway from side to side, growing weaker and weaker with the terrible exertion, their strength being sapped by the plungings into the ash-bed, which was now beyond their knees. They would rock from side to side striking each other, but, again bracing up, try it once more. The position of our friends was becoming unsafe, as the elephants were liable to fall at any moment and crush them beneath their huge bodies; but it meant sure death to leave their backs, so expecting death to overtake them each moment, either from the burning air which was scorching their very lungs, or beneath the prostrate animals which were now struggling so bravely to save them. They were hurrying on, but where? Only to death. Again there was a fearful rumbling, the very bowels of the earth seeming to be disjointed and ground to fragments. It grew louder and louder; it almost deafened the sounds of hissing steam and ashes which fell around the little group, and the sucking sound caused by the sinking in and pulling out of the feet of the fast-failing animals.

Finally the earth began to shake and the exhausted elephants, unable to withstand this new enemy, fell to their knees and then flat on their sides. The men had strength enough left to jump and save themselves from being crushed, but they were forced nearly to the hips into the ashes, and they could not extricate themselves. Then this was the last, this was the end of the happy sojourn in the Land of On. No, it could not be, they must not die here in this miserable way and be buried by the never-ceasing shower; they must struggle on.

“Up,” said Mr. Bruce to his elephant, as the rumbling ceased and the earth again became steady. “Once more, now,” he halloed out as he reached forward and struck the poor beast across the ear with his hook. But the elephant, after making several ineffectual struggles, gave a plaintive cry and let its head drop into the relentless ashes. As in a quicksand, the five men stood perfectly helpless, and their lives fast going out. The elephants had, one by one, given up the struggle, and were now panting and gasping and waiting for the end. They seemed to realize that they were doomed and the plaintive cry would break from their gasping throats, as if asking aid of those whom they had tried to save, but all were powerless. Hope was fast failing them. They could not possibly last much longer, but what mattered it whether they went now, or lived to suffer for a few moments longer. There was no power on earth that could save them now, and they must look death square in the face. It seemed hard surely, to die so near to friends, and life and sunshine, for they knew that this death-dealing shower could not extend many miles unless it be worse than was that other.

They knew that the dear ones were safe in the villa, for, though they were in the radius of the shower, they were sheltered from this, and the flow of lava had not run toward the villa, or they would have seen it. It was some consolation then to know, that if they must die, these dear ones at least were safe. But what will become of them alone in this strange land? They would have to entrust themselves wholly to the people, who had once looked upon them with superstitious fear, and who might again, after this dreadful catastrophe, turn on them, and having no longer any one to protect them, or having no defense to offer as they had before, destroy them. It was not pleasant to think thus as the awful ashes continued to pile up around them, burying them alive.

The pain which this thought gave them of possible danger to their loved ones, was worse than the physical tortures which they were now suffering, and they turned and wrenched their bodies in their living graves, in very agony of mind. And Onrai, too, seemed to be suffering more than bodily pain. If his thoughts could have been read, they probably would have told the story of baffled hopes, and of the death of aspirations which the love for Enola had kindled in him. It was harder for him to die thus than for any of the others, for he had been so strong and mighty, and his life was full of such bright hopes, and he had so much to live for, but it was ended. All, all was lost.

But may be not, thought Mr. Bruce, for Gip, who had laid for a moment perfectly quiet, had now begun to again exert his awful strength and was twisting and plunging about, as if to make a place on which he could stand. He accomplished this finally and rose to his feet. He had had a short rest from the fearful struggles of the flight, and he could again commence the fight. Sedai, who was near him, caught the howdah as he rose and was lifted out of the ashes. He then made Gip understand that he was to help the others, and one by one the great elephant, lifted by his trunk, raised them to his back. Then starting in the direction, which they had kept since starting on the awful ride, the great beast fought on; they had been moving thus for several moments, when he suddenly stopped and refused to move further. Just then the sky became light for the moment, and a zebra was seen lying in their path, and lying beneath it, the body of Enola.