The saying, “It never rains but it pours,” was fully exemplified by the series of calamities which had befallen the once peaceful Isle of Fantasy and its inhabitants. First the treachery of Caliphronas, then the war which had killed so many people, now a threatened eruption of an apparently extinct volcano, and, to crown all, a band of pirates waiting at the only outlet of escape, to massacre the survivors as they fled from the perils within. Evidently the sins of Rudolph Roylands’ youth were now bearing fruit, and his ancestral Ate was now exacting her full penalty for those half-forgotten episodes of his early life, by depriving him of all he valued most in the world. One thing after another had been torn from his reluctant grasp, and now it seemed as if his life itself was to crown the measure of repayment. Standing on the lofty cliff, with his nephew, daughter, and dependants beside him, Justinian watched the pirates landing from their boats with cynical despair, feeling that the end of all things had come as far as he was concerned.

Owing to the mental and physical trials of the last few weeks, the Demarch had lost to a great extent his iron nerve, and could no longer conceive, decide, and execute his projects with his former promptitude. The loss of his island had turned him from a vigorous, determined leader into a feeble old man, and although now and then his spirits did flash up with a gleam of brilliancy, it was apparent to every eye that he was no longer fitted either to lead or control matters at this final crisis of affairs. It was then that Maurice showed himself a capable commander, and, leaving his worn-out uncle to the care of the women, instinctively took affairs into his own hands without further loss of time.

Of course he still deferred to Justinian as ostensible head of all things, but it was he who made all suggestions, and the Demarch did little else than agree to all his propositions. First of all, Maurice, getting from Justinian the key of the iron gate, sent Temistocles down the staircase to call up Alexandros and the two Melnosians, in order to concentrate in one spot all the survivors of the island, and decide upon a course of action. When they came up to the vantage-point, Temistocles locked the iron gate again, and restored the key to his master, after which all the men sat down to consider the position of affairs.

It was now noon, and the sun at his zenith was blazing hotly down on the lava rocks of Melnos, which, flinging back the glare, rendered the heat almost intolerable. The pirates, having drawn up their boats on the beach inside the harbor, had retreated to their old camp, the tents of which, untouched by the Melnosians, were still standing. There they evidently intended to remain until it grew cooler, in order to assault the palisade, quite ignorant that the inhabitants of Melnos were all dead, and that the volcano was on the point of bursting out in eruption. Had they known this latter fact, they would speedily have fled away from the ill-omened spot; but Maurice was glad they were thus ignorant, as he wished to use one of their boats, in order that himself and his party might escape from the coming explosion of the mountain.

“Do you think the pirates will assault the palisade this afternoon, uncle?” asked Maurice, anxious for the old warrior’s opinion.

“No, I don’t think so,” replied Justinian, shaking his head. “They have evidently been rowing here all the morning, and are tired out. It is probable they will sleep all the afternoon, and attack us just when it grows dusk. What do you propose to do, Maurice?”

“First, pull down the palisade.”

“What! and thus lose our only defence! You are mad!”

“There is some method in my madness, as you will see, uncle. I wish to pull down the barrier, so that when the pirates come up to assault, they will find no difficulty in passing up the gorge. Of course, suspecting nothing, they will make their way right into the interior of the island, while we, who are in their rear, can go down the side staircase, on to the beach, and then push off in a boat before they return.”

“It’s a good idea, sir,” said Dick, scratching his head; “but suppose, when they get inside the palisade, they should come up the stair and find us here.”

“They won’t do that, Dick, for we will lock the gate; and you can depend upon it, when they find the pass open, they will not waste their time in trying to force this side path. If they can gain the interior of the island by an open way, they certainly won’t try to pass in by a blocked one.”

“Don’t you think they will suspect treachery, Maurice?”

“No, uncle. In the first place, most of these are new arrivals, and, in spite of what their comrades have told them, won’t believe we are—or rather were—so strong. And in the second place, they will think we have retreated up to the second palisade, so even if they stop there, we will have time to get to sea.”

“What about this, Kyrion?” said Alexandros, pointing to the battery, which stood near; “will we not wait till the enemy are under the rocks, and then bring them down to crush all?”

“By no means, Alexandros; for by so doing we would close up the only avenue of escape left to us. It will not be much gratification crushing the enemy, if we only attain that by letting ourselves be blown up by the volcano.”

Alexandros looked rather unhappy at this, as he was proud of his work, and would have liked to show how skilfully his battery worked; but he recognized the force of Roylands’ reasoning, so said no more about it. Justinian was also silent, but simply because he had conceived a plan for punishing his enemies; and looking at the battery, the rocks frowning over the pass, and the coils of rope near the pine tree, he glanced suddenly at Alexandros with a significant smile, whereupon the quick-witted Greek saw that the Demarch had some scheme in his head, and that his battery would yet be utilized. Accordingly, when all the men descended to the gorge for the purpose of levelling the palisade, Alexandros lingered behind with Justinian to receive his orders.

“What is it, Kyrion?” he asked in Greek.

“Alexandros,” replied the Demarch fiercely, “I am leaving this island forever, for, as you know, all our friends are dead; but I will leave behind me an offering to their manes of all those scoundrels who have given me such trouble. You must carry out my wish.”

“I will, Kyrion.”

“By those coils of rope up there you can escape down the face of the cliff?”

“Easily, Kyrion; I am a monkey in climbing.”

“Good! Well, when the pirates have gone up the pass, and we have gained the boat on the beach, you remain behind, and, when I give the signal, explode the mine. Thus the pass will be closed up, sealing the pirates up in the crater, so if the volcano does burst out, they will be blown to pieces.”

“I will do it, Kyrion,” said Alexandros, who liked this scheme immensely; “and then I can escape down the cliff.”

“Keep it to yourself,” said the Demarch in a whisper, as they went out of the iron gate; “Mr. Maurice is too tender-hearted, and might not like it.”

How Justinian could reconcile this proposed massacre with the aversion he had felt the previous day in exploding his mine, it is hard to say, but the fact is, with all his troubles, his brain was becoming slightly affected, and he now deemed it a point of honor to sacrifice his enemies to the manes of his dead subjects. After all, as he considered, and very truly, these pirates were but dangerous desperadoes, which the Ægean could very well spare, so the sooner they were cut short in their nefarious careers the better for the islanders of the Cyclades. Besides, Rudolph Roylands had, even in his old age, a wild and lawless spirit, only curbed by his wonderful powers of self-control, and in thus avenging himself on the enemies who had destroyed his cherished schemes, he was indulging in a burst of that Baresark fury which he inherited from his Norse ancestors.

With hard work the eight men managed to make a breach in the earthworks through which the enemy could pass, and all the carefully-built fortifications were levelled to the ground. It was growing dusk when they finished, and already they could hear a stir in the camp of the enemy, so, rapidly completing their work of devastation, they returned to the vantage-point, where they had left the women. Only the Demarch and his nephew lingered behind, the one to lock the iron gate, and the other to carry away the Union Jack, which still floated proudly over the ruined barricade.

“They won’t get this, at all events, uncle,” said Maurice gleefully, as he hauled down the flag; “I wouldn’t have it fall into their hands for a thousand pounds.”

“Sooner burn it,” retorted the Demarch fiercely; “but hurry up, Maurice, for, judging from the noise they are making, I suspect their forces are being drawn up.”

Roylands, with the folds of the flag wrapped round his body, ran through the iron gate with his uncle, and the latter having locked it carefully, they ascended the staircase in order to wait events.

It was just at that hour after sunset, when the day blending with the night produces that luminous twilight so noticeable in the Mediterranean. The little band, concealed from sight on the high cliff, could easily see in the warm glow how rapidly the enemy were gathering their forces together, but, in spite of all endeavors, none of them could see Caliphronas.

“I don’t expect he has come back, uncle.”

“Oh yes, he has,” replied the Demarch grimly; “but, on the plea of his wound, he will remain behind in the camp, and let his army do the work. Once they conquer, he will come out and crow. That is Andros all over; he likes to be the monkey, and use others as cats to pull the chestnuts out of the fire.”

“I am very glad he is not leading them,” said Maurice thoughtfully, “for he would be keen enough to mistrust appearances, and refrain from entering the pass in case of treachery, in which case we would be kept prisoners up here.”

Helena uttered a low cry of fright, and hid her face on Maurice’s shoulder, for at this moment the earth began to tremble slightly. The shock, however, was not a severe one, and did no damage, still it made the whole party feel uneasy, and wish they were relieved from their perilous position. The four Melnosians, who had lost all their friends and relatives, looked like statues of despair; still, so selfish is man for himself, that, though all their pleasure in life was gone, they were as uneasy and anxious to be saved as the rest of the party.

Luckily, owing to the ardor with which the enemy were forming their lines, they had not noticed the ominous warning of the earthquake, and were evidently about to make a grand assault on the barrier. At a given signal, they rushed wildly up the hill, shrieking like fiends, but recoiled in dismay as they saw the ruins of the palisade. Evidently suspecting treachery, they consulted together for a moment, then cautiously went forward into the pass. Finding no foe there to confront them, they became more confident, and as Caliphronas, who could have shown them the way, was not present, they took no notice of the iron gate, but marched boldly up the gorge, firing their rifles at intervals, until there was not a single man left either at the palisade or on the beach.

There was not a moment to be lost, so, Justinian leading, with Maurice and Dick following with the women and the Melnosians, they went down to the foot of the stair, unlocked the door, and as rapidly as possible ran down the hill to the beach. Placing Helena, Zoe, and all their bundles in the best boat they could select in their hurry, Dick and Argyropoulos pushed it off into deep water.

“Where is Alexandros?” asked Maurice, noticing the absence of the electrician for the first time.

Justinian, with a grim smile, turned his face towards the cliffs and raised his hand, both to point out Alexandros to Maurice, and to give the signal for the exploding of the mine. Maurice stared aghast for a moment, and would have spoken, but before he could open his mouth there was a tremendous roar, and the great rocks at the mouth of the pass crashed down with a noise like thunder, blocking up the entrance for ever.

“You have shut the pirates in, uncle!”

“Yes,” said the Demarch fiercely; “I have triumphed over my enemies.”

“But Alexandros?”

“Is safe. See! he is sliding down the rope.”

“And the volcano!”

Even while the words were on his lips, the ground began to shake convulsively, and with a cry, Helena fell back in the boat in a dead faint. Maurice and Justinian were thrown to the ground, and high above, amid the encircling peaks, shot up a mighty column of smoke, streaked with red fire.

“The volcano!” cried Maurice, dragging his uncle to his feet. “Quick! quick! get into the boat. Dick! Alexandros!”

They were both beside him, and assisted to take the Demarch towards the boat, but, to their dismay, found it had been left high and dry by the receding waters, which were curling backward from the land in streaks of livid white. The volcano now began to cast out great stones, and at intervals showers of boiling water, while lurid flames flashed fiercely through the gigantic column of smoke which loomed terrible and vague above the fatal island.

“God! we will be killed!” cried Maurice, as, with the aid of Dick and Alexandros, he began to push the boat slowly towards the sea. “Helena! Helena! lie down at the bottom of the boat.”

In order to push the craft to sea, Maurice had been forced to leave his uncle, but the old man was now on his feet running towards him. Suddenly there was a shriek of agony, and through the falling stones, through the blinding dust, through the rain of fire, rushed Caliphronas, making for the boat.

“Save me, save me, Justinian! Maurice, help!”

“Traitor!” cried Justinian, turning fiercely on the Greek; “now you shall reap the reward of your treachery.”

A thick, sulphurous smoke was spread around, and in this the two men were struggling, locked in a deathly grip. Temistocles and his three countrymen were already afloat, pulling away as hard as they could; but Maurice gave himself up for lost, as, in spite of all his efforts and those of Dick, the boat was too firmly imbedded in the sand to be moved. Great bombs came shooting up into the sky from the heart of the volcano, and, bursting in the lurid air, huge rocks and showers of stones came crashing down on all sides; and, to add to the horror of the night, Maurice, with a cry of despair, saw the sea rushing violently up to the land.

“Uncle! uncle! the boat! the boat!”

Dick and Alexandros scrambled in, while Maurice ran to help Justinian; but, before he could reach him, he was ingulfed in the waves of the sea, and half blindly saw a huge stone fall from heaven on his uncle and the struggling Greek. The waves foamed around the pair, but, without a cry, Caliphronas had been struck down, a bleeding, smashed-up mass, under the cruel rock; while Justinian, also struck on the chest, could make no effort to save himself. Borne up by the force of the sea, Maurice felt rather than saw the boat rush past him towards the beach, but with an almost superhuman effort he managed to clutch his insensible uncle and keep afloat. The waters around were seething furiously, great stones kept splashing down on all sides, and above he could but see a sky of intense black smoke, through which played forked flashes of red fire.

The sea, having dashed right up to the cliffs, began to retire, upon which Dick and Alexandros leaped out of the boat to lighten her, and thus try to float her back into deep water. Maurice staggered to his feet, with his uncle in his arms, and strove to reach the boat. Borne outward by the retreating waters, the light craft swept past him, but he also, abandoning himself to the waves, was carried seaward. In another second the boat was in deep water, and Dick, who had never let go the gunwale, leaped in with Alexandros. They looked anxiously through the gloom for Maurice and the Demarch, and as at this moment a flash of scarlet fire lighted up the furious sea, they caught a glimpse of them, and, in spite of the still outward-rushing water, tried to row obliquely towards the pair. For a moment it looked as if they could not be saved, but fortunately, Maurice, though half stunned, still retained his senses, and was able to clutch the oar which Dick held out towards him. By this he was drawn gradually to the boat, which was rocking violently in the disturbed sea.

“Take—uncle!—uncle first!”

Dick, with the assistance of Alexandros, managed to pull the insensible man on board, after which, Maurice, half dead with exhaustion, also scrambled into the boat, and, the sea now being calmer, they rowed rapidly out to sea.

The volcano was now spouting fire furiously, and by the glare they were able to see the entrance of the breakwater. By a miracle, they escaped the falling stones, but, just as they were gliding past the massive masonry, they saw the boat of Temistocles dashed to pieces, and all on board go down in the crimson flood. Much as they wished to save the unfortunate men, they were unable to do so, for every second they expected to be dashed to pieces, so, with the strength of despair, they shot out of the harbor far into the sea beyond. Justinian, Helena, and Zoe were all lying insensible at the bottom of the boat, Maurice was at the helm, and Alexandros, with Dick, was pulling for dear life, so as to get beyond the range of the projectiles shot from the volcano.

Alas, the beautiful Island of Fantasy! it was now nothing but a pillar of fire, and all the dead Melnosians, the living pirates, had been reduced to ashes in that terrible furnace. Already streaks of glowing lava began to move slowly down the sides of the mountain, colossal tongues of fire shot upward to the silent stars, and explosions, like distant cannonading, shook the mountain to its base. The noise was something deafening, but, luckily for the fugitives, they were now beyond the rain of stones, rocks, and bombs, while the sea, though still disturbed, was comparatively quiet.

They were floating on an ocean of blood, for the crimson glare of the spouting fire smote sky and sea alike with its fiery blaze, and away in the distance arose the deserted Melnos, with its peaks crowned with thick vapors, from whence flashed streaks of fire.

The ever-turning wheel of time had come full circle, and the long extinct volcano was once more a burning mountain, vomiting death and destruction on all sides; while far beyond, on the scarlet waters, floated the little boat containing five human beings, all that remained of the inhabitants who had dwelt in the beautiful valley of Melnos.