The Blue Clipper — page 77: what you’re looking at

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

, A NOVEL VOLCANO. 79 ___ jnst. left, making his way up one of the steep cliffs In a few minutes Bend gnided his boat to the same spot, and com- 4 menced ascending the acclivily, keeping his gaze upon the = outline of the other person’s figure, dimly visible in the —— gleom. = As he moved on, a couple of large boats, manned by men- _ o-war's-men, also arrived on the base of the precipice. ; Suddenly a hollow, rumbling sound was heard, and tongues 3 of lurid flame were seen issuing from one of the conical _ peaks. A couple of men left the frigate’s larger boat, and steadily mounted the cliff, until near the summit, when they peered down through a large crevice near the opening, whence issued the flames. “ Bend was right,” said the voice of one of the persons ; “do you see?” : “ Ay, ay,” answered the other ; “a cunning @ontrivance to keep vessels away so as to avoid detection,” 3; In fact, these people saw half a dozen men, with muskets, E away down under the cliff, in the rocky vestibule which had < led to the smugglers’ retreat. 4 These men, standing Ly a large fire, which they had kin- 4 dled with old picces of tarred rigging, and fed with timber and other material, would occasionally load their muskets and discharge them, producing that ratiling, rumbling seund, which had been heard—made to resemble the noise of a a voleano. Mexnwhile the flames ascending, rose many feet 4 above the opening, one of the men augmenting their effect by now and then pouring oil upon them, - “Truly a novel volcano,” said one of the spectators xbove, “T could have sworn, bad I seen this from the sea, that it was a bona fide volcano, and should, therefore, have given this coast a wide berth, Tt is to frighten our frigate -away that these fellows, like imps of darkness, at work in infernal ree - gions, are thus busying themselves.” _ Se saying, the speaker whispered a few words to his com- panion, when both descended the clifl A few minutes after, a strong party of armed men-o’-war’s--nen were 8 ationed near the burning opening. Meanwhile, Bend still continued to follow the dim fignre ahead of him. — e: 7 : ConmcloooksS.colnn :