If necessary I shall consider myself quite justified in shooting him to save our lives and those of thousands of others." At this we both laughed; somehow the idea of Bastin trying to shoot Oro struck us as intensely ludicrous.

Yet that very thing was to happen.
It was a peculiarly beautiful sunset over the southern seas.

To the west the great flaming orb sank into the ocean, to the east appeared the silver circle of the full moon.

To my excited fancy they were like scales hanging from the hand of a materialised spirit of calm.

Over the volcano and the lake, over the island with its palm trees, over the seas beyond, this calm brooded.