THE BIRTH OF A VOLCANO 121 



body fires which flashed forth to their small world 

 signals for food, for warning, and for a mate. Then 

 I went on deck and saw the mimistakable glow of 

 the fires of earth, and with a great wave of emotion 

 I realized that my "World's End" had become 

 World's Beginning. 



All through the night we steamed at half speed 

 toward Albemarle and every hour I went up on the 

 bridge and focussed my high-power glasses ahead. 

 From that same indefinite glow I had seen at 

 Tower the eruption took form and size, and at last 

 separate, gleaming lights could be distinguished. 



Not satisfied with a single wonder. Nature some- 

 times takes us when we are immersed in the glory 

 of some great sight and adds unexpectedly another, 

 an auxiliary marvel for good measure, as a hint 

 of the overflowing richness of the cosmic store- 

 house. Just before dawn, when three of us were 

 watching silently with all our eyes, a mighty shoot- 

 ing star struck itself alight on the rim of our 

 atmosphere, and in a blaze of white comet-light, 

 fell silently and accurately into the center of the 

 lava flow. After the identical happening of last 

 evening, this appeared more than cosmic, it seemed 

 intentional, and for a few moments I think the state 

 of mind of all of us reverted to that of our distant 

 forefathers, when signs and symbols and portents 

 regulated all of life. When the possible combina- 

 tions of the temporal and spatial arrival of a shoot- 

 ing star be considered, it was assuredly an astound- 

 ing thing that two such mighty meteors should 

 have taken this exact course. 



