The Argosy, Vol. XXIV, No. 1 — page 131: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

‘THE MUTINY ON THE FLYING CLOUD. 131 coal, and of very fair quality, too, with a prospect of it improving as it was worked down into; and, most important and fortunate for the discoverers, it; like the stone, was situated close to the river bank, near enough in fact to permit of its being loaded direct on the deck of the raft by means of a long wooden chute. The doctor and young Manners willingly undertook to get such coal as might be required—not a very large quantity in all probability—and, strip- ping to the waist; at once set to work, whilst Grant made his way to the quarry on the raft. On rejoining the skipper and Nicholls, the engineer found that the two men had worked to such excellent purpose that they had already laid bare an area of some forty feet of stone, and disclosed a small fissure which Grant thought would serve admirably to receive a blasting charge, which he at once proceeded to prepare. This operation was soon accomplished, the fuse—a chemical preparation ‘““made up’’ by Henderson the night before—was lighted, and the trio hastily retreated to a place of safety. A minute later a faint d00m was heard, followed by a tremendous crash and the rattle of falling fragments; and, hurrying back to the spot, the workers found that, by a lucky accident, the charge had been so placed as to dislodge and hurl down on to the bank beneath upwards of twenty tons of stone. . After this there was no further difficulty, for the layers happened to so run that a very little labor with the bars sufficed to send the stone down on to the bank ready for loading; and when any especial difficulty was ex- perienced, a small quantity of powder always proved sufficient to overcome it. Such capital progress, indeed, did they make, that in less than a month they had not only quarried, but had actually transferred to the islet as much stone as it was thought they would require. By that time a very fair quantity of coal was also ready for removal ; and when this important task was accomplished, a kiln was built, and Grant him- self undertook the manufacture of lime. Henderson and the skipper pro- ceeded to erect a shed for its storage, Nicholls meanwhile essaying the task of putting up a smithy on the site of the future ship yard. But before they were ready to begin their building operations in earnest, the long expected change in the weather—or rather the change of the seasons—had come upon them, and their work was somewhat retarded by the setting in of heavy rains, accompanied by terrific thunderstorms and occasional heavy gales of wind. CHAPTER XXIII.—THE SKIPPER GokEs A FISHING. Tue violent atmospheric disturbances which accompanied the change of the seasons lasted about a month, after which the weather became tolerably settled once more, though rain now fell, more or less heavily, every day. To work out of doors in the midst of pelting rain was by no means pleasant, although there was no perceptible variation in the usual tempera- CoOMmmiceooolks 3