"Stop the engine and have that wreckage cleared away," said my father. "We are safe enough for the present" and, with a sailor's instinct, the work of making things ship-shape was first taken in hand, before attempting to find out what act of Providence was responsible for our marvellous escape from being dashed to pieces on a lee shore.
The men set to work with a will. The broken mizzen-mast was cut clear and allowed to float at the end of a strong rope at a safe distance from our counter; the gig was secured, and things made ship-shape between decks, where the damage, though the confusion was indescribable, was confined to a few breakages of glass and china ware. Barely had the work of clearing up been completed than the storm ceased, almost as suddenly as it had begun, and the sun shone forth in a cloudless sky. We could now form some idea of what had occurred to turn the heaving waters of the lagoon into a sheltered harbour. Where but a few hours before had been a low coral reef, a long, irregular ledge of rock had been thrown up from the bed of the sea, and although its upper surface was composed of weed-covered stone and fragments of corals, its landward face was as fresh and clear as if cut by a gigantic chisel, and the highest part was where the entrance to the lagoon had been.
But the greatest surprise of all was that, wedged in an almost upright position, the weed-covered wreck of the "San Philipo" lay exposed to the light of day, after resting for nearly two centuries at the bottom of the sea. In spite of the clinging masses of weed the line of her double row of ports could be distinctly traced, while, owing to her slight list, we could see her sloping decks, built like a succession of broad steps rising from her waist. Her lofty stern, with its projecting galleries, was practically intact, and the only part that destroyed the graceful symmetry of her hull was for'ard, where the bows, torn by a long-standing injury, terminated in a tangle of broken planks and jagged timbers.
The crew looked with awestruck astonishment at this relic of the deep. It was as if they had been transported back to the beginning of the eighteenth century to see this antiquated object of naval architecture suddenly placed before their eyes; but my father looked upon the spectacle from a practical point of view. "It's saved us an awkward task," he remarked.
"What has?" I inquired.
"Reggie, my boy, you have seen what few of the inhabitants of the globe have seen before—the birth of an island. There has been a violent volcanic disturbance, and a portion of the submarine bed has been forced upwards, forming the mass of rock that you can see before you. Such instances are rare, but by no means unknown. That huge wave that all but overwhelmed the 'Fortuna' was caused by the sudden distortion of the earth's crust, which, generally speaking, is weakest along the western shore of the Pacific Ocean, though 'tis evident that the island is situated immediately above a centre of volcanic activity. It has been extremely fortunate for us, although, had the upheaval occurred but a few yards this way, it would have meant the death of us all."
"Do you think we shall have another shock?
"More than likely, though hardly so powerful. These seismic disturbances often occur in series, and it may be that the island will disappear as quickly as it came. However, we must take our chance, explore the wreck, and remove the treasure if it is to be found. Well, Mr. Wilkins?"
"Would you mind stepping for'ard, sir?"
The bos'n led the way to the fo'c'sle, and, looking over the bow, he showed us the cable, to which the yacht was riding easily.