4 Up the mountain

Chapter Four UP THE MOUNTAIN Halan chattered happily to Leah and Cheng as they made their way from the beach toward a path that wound through the trees toward Mount Yasur. She was clearly delighted by how much Leah knew about the island's wildlife. Keemo rushed ahead, tugging on his leash and wagging his tail.

The path grew steeper, and the trees began to thin out as they reached the slopes of the volcano. Now Cheng saw other people walking up it also. The earth beneath his feet grew darker. Soon, the vegetation died away entirely, and the ground was just rock. The smell of sulfur was growing stronger, and the earth felt warm. Cheng imagined the magma beneath his feet, churning and boiling and bubbling like a great witch's cauldron. It gave him a thrill.

A flash in the sky made Cheng look up. His mouth dropped open. A great fountain of lava shot out of the crater, hissing and glowing. Wow, he breathed. He was witnessing a real, live volcanid eruption! It was a dream come true. At last, they reached the top of the volcano. Around the crater, a lot of visitors were having guided tours, looking around and taking photos. "They're pretty close to the edge," said Leah. "What if there's a really big eruption?" "That's where I come in!" said a voice.

They all turned to see a woman in overalls, bending over a silver box. Keemo jumped up at her eagerly. The woman patted his head. She was tall, with curly hair and glasses. "Hi, little guy! You're friendly, aren't you?" Cheng was staring at the silver box on the ground by the woman's feet. It stood on three metal legs that were bent in the middle, and had rows of blinking lights. "That's my equipment," the woman explained "It contains seismology devices that monitor the volcano's activity."

Cheng's eyes widened. "You're a volcanologist? That's so cool!" Volcanology was the perfect job. Imagine spending all day, every day, studying volcanoes! The woman nodded. "That's right, I'm a volcanologist! My name's Elenola. I've been working on Mount Yasur for several months now." Leah studied the box's silvery legs. "It looks like a crazy metal spider," she said. "That's what we call it!" said Elenola. "A Spider. This Spider picks up information about the volcano, such as changes in the gases around it and any movement within the ground. Then it sends the information to an observatory, where scientists look at it. They use the information to predict when Mount Yasur is going to have a big eruption, so they can evacuate the volcano."

"Evacuate?" said Leah, looking a little alarmed. Keemo yapped happily. Elenola laughed. "Don't worry. Large eruptions are very rare. It's only when the buttons light up..." Her voice trailed off. The lights had suddenly lit up along one side of the Spider and there was a whirring sound inside the silver box. It sounded like it was picking up speed, like an accelerating car. Cheng saw a flash of panic in Elenolo's eyes. "The volcano's going to erupt," he guessed "Isn't it?"