Chapter one
Harry Dalton loved volcanoes. He had the most dangerous and exciting job in the world. He was a scientist, and he wanted to understand volcanoes. 'Volcanoes kill people,' he said. 'When we understand volcanoes, we can tell people: "This mountain is going to explode", and then they can move away.' He flew round the world. Was a volcano ready to explode? Harry Dalton was there.
His girlfriend Marianne loved volcanoes too. Then one day in South America they stayed top long near an exploding volcano. The mountain sent rock and ash up into the sky. A small rock came down on to their car, hit Marianne, and she died.
Harry was never the same again. He worked harder - too hard. He wanted to understand everything about volcanoes before a volcano killed anybody again. Marianne was dead: no others must die.
Some months later, his boss, Paul Dreyfus, called him into his office. 'Harry,' he said, 'you must take a holiday. You're tired. You're not twenty now, you're thirty-six. I'm sorry about Marianne, but volcanoes are going to explode. You can't stop them.'
Harry took a holiday. He went round the world - but there are volcanoes all round the world. So he always found work. After a year, he came back to the office. His friends - Terry Furlong. Stan Tzima, Nancy Field and Greg Esmail - all smiled when Harry came back. 'We knew it,' they said. 'You love your work. "Harry will come back soon", we said. And here you are.'
'Harry,' said Paul Dreyfus two or three days later, 'something is happening up in the Cascades. Our equipment shows that one of the mountains there is moving, but not much. Nobody there knows it, but our equipment is good.'
'In the Cascades?' Harry said. 'Here in the United States... in Washington?'
'That's right. Dante's Peak, near Mount Washington. We all remember 1980 when Mount St Helen's exploded. Can you go?'
'I'm leaving now,' said Harry.
He put some equipment in the back of his off road car, and drove to Washington. There were tall trees thick on the mountains. 'It's very beautiful here.' Harry thought. He saw the morning sun on mountain lakes to the left of the road.
The mountain stood tall over the small town of Dante's Peak. Only seven thousand people lived there. It was quiet
Harry drove to the centre of the town and found the hotel. Mr Cluster showed him to his room. Then Harry asked, 'Where's Mayor Wando? Do you know?'
'Yeah,' said Cluster. 'She's speaking to the people of the town today at the school. A newspaper called Dante's Peak "The Second Best Town in America" and they're giving the newspaper photograph of the town to the people.'
CHAPTER two
'I'm going to be late,' Rachel Wando said. She ran round her room at home. 'Where's my other shoe?' she said.
'You're always late, Mom,' said Lauren, Rachel's ten-year-old daughter. Rachel was thirty-five. 'And your shoe is under the bed.'
'What am I going to say?' Rachel said. '"I want to say thank you to Karen from the newspaper. She came here...'" Rachel stopped. 'Is it Karen or Kathy from the newspaper?' she asked.
'For the tenth time, Mom,' said Lauren, 'she's Karen.'
'Where's my good jacket.'
'You don't have a good jacket.'
'The blue jacket.'
'It's on the back of the chair down in the kitchen.'
Rachel ran down to the kitchen. She put on her jacket and then called through the door of her son's bedroom: 'Graham, let's go!'
'He's not in,' said Lauren. 'He'll meet us there. He told me. Come on!'
Harry stood quietly in a comer of the room. Most of the people from the town were there. Les Worrell, the most important businessman in the town, sat with Karen Narlington from the newspaper. He looked at the chair next to him. Where was that woman?
Rachel ran into the room and then slowed to a walk. Les stood up and said. 'And here's the mayor, Rachel Wando.'
Harry watched Rachel. 'Wow!' he thought. 'The mayor is a woman... and she's beautiful!'
Rachel came up to the front of the room, smiled at Les and Karen, and sat down in her chair. First Karen spoke. Then Rachel stood up, and said: 'I want to say thank you to Kathy from the newspaper...'
'It's Karen,' Lauren called from the back of the room. Everybody laughed.
Rachel smiled. 'We like our town. Now Karen's newspaper likes it too. And people read her newspaper all round America. This is important for the town of Dante's Peak. So we thank you, Karen. She thinks that Dante's Peak is the second best town in America. We know better. It's the first, the best place to live. And next year, with the help of Elliot Blair, we'll show America. Karen's newspaper will say: "Dante's Peak - the best town in all America.'"
She stopped talking and sat down. The people in the room jumped to their feet, with smiles on their faces. Harry turned to the man next to him. 'Who's Elliot Blair?' he asked.
'He's a big businessman,' the man said. 'He wants to bring a lot of money to Dante's Peak. He wants to make the town a centre for people's winter holidays. There'll be a lot of work for people here.'
CHAPTER three
Behind the town, up in the mountain, was a famous warm lake. Swimmers often went there. That day, two visitors, a young man and a young woman, walked up to the lake for a swim. The trees were green, the sun was in the sky. It was quiet and beautiful.
The woman put her foot in the water. 'Ow!' she said. 'It's hot!'
'Yes,' said her friend, 'I know. The lake is famous.'
They laughed, and walked into the water. They played and swam. 'This is good,' said the young woman. 'Do you want to come and live here?'
'No, it's too quiet,' said the man. 'Nothing exciting happens.'
Suddenly birds flew up from the trees, and they heard the sound of animals. 'Why are the animals running away?' she asked.
'I don't know,' he answered. He pulled her under the water, and she laughed.
Suddenly, there was a small earthquake. Now the woman was afraid. She swam over to the man. Under the lake rocks moved and the ground opened. Hot gas exploded into the lake. She screamed. 'The water!' she cried. 'It's too hot! It's...' They were her last words.
Soon the lake was quiet again.
From the school, Rachel went to find her daughter. A tall, darkeyed man walked up to her and said, 'Hi! I'm Harry Dalton, from the United States Volcano Office, and...'
But Les Worrell and Elliot Blair came up to Rachel with smiles on their faces. 'Well done, Rachel!' Les said, before Harry could say anything more.
'You're a good speaker,' Blair said.
'Thank you,' Rachel said. But she didn't want Dalton and Blair to meet. Blair wanted to make Dante's Peak a holiday town, Dalton was from the Volcano Office. No, she didn't want them to meet.
Harry tried again. 'I'm Harry Dalton, from...'
'From Portland,' Rachel said quickly. 'Yes, your boss spoke to me on the phone. He asked me to show you round. Let's go.'
She took him by the arm and moved him away from Worrell and Blair. Lauren came up to them. 'Where's your brother?' Rachel asked.
'I don't know,' Lauren said.
'I think I do,' Rachel said. They went over to her car. 'Get in,' Rachel said to Harry. 'I must find my thirteen-year-old son first.'
They took the road up the mountain. Rachel told Harry about Blair. 'He's going to be very good for the town,' she said.
'Where are we going?' Harry asked. He wanted to start work.
Rachel stopped the car outside an old mine. She got out of the car and went over to it. 'Graham!' she called. 'Graham, are you in there?'
A minute later, three boys came out of the mine. They were dirty. 'You two go home,' Rachel said angrily to the other two boys. 'And you - get in the car!'
Graham looked at Harry. 'Who are you?' he asked.
'I'm...' Harry began, but Rachel said: 'That mine is dangerous. Rocks can fall. You mustn't go in there. How many times do I have to tell you?'
'Mom, not now, OK?' Graham said. He looked at Harry. Harry smiled at him.
CHAPTER four
They drove up the mountain. 'Hey, Mom,' said Graham. 'Why don't you leave me at Ruth's?'
'Yeah, me too,' said Lauren.
'There's no time,' Rachel said. 'Mr Dalton wants to start working now.'
'Oh, please, Mom,' said the children.
'It's OK with me,' said Harry.
'Ruth is my husband's mother,' Rachel said, 'but my husband left me.'
Ruth lived by a cold, clean mountain lake. They drove up to her small house. A dog ran out of the house and jumped up at the car.
'Hi, Roughy!' Lauren said through the window.
They all got out of the car. Graham took an old shoe and threw it for Roughy. The dog ran into the trees after it.
Lauren ran over to the house. Hello, where are you?' she called.
An older woman came out of the house with a big smile on her face. She wore a shirt and jeans. 'Hi!' she said. The children ran over to her, but Rachel walked slowly. 'Hello, Ruth,' she said.
Ruth looked at Harry. 'Is this your boyfriend?' she asked.
Harry answered. 'No,' he said. 'I'm from the United States Volcano Office. I want to look at your mountain.'
'Yeah, people came here in 1980, after Mount St Helen's,' said Ruth. 'There wasn't a problem with this mountain then, and there isn't now.'
Harry looked round at the lake. There were brown, dead trees by the water. 'When did those trees die?' he asked.
'Trees are always dying,' Ruth said. 'Then new trees come. We had a bad winter.'
Harry took some equipment out of his bag and went over to the lake. Graham followed him. 'What are you doing?' he asked.
Harry said: 'This equipment will answer the question: How much acid is there in the lake?' He looked at the equipment. There was too much acid. He put his finger into the water. Not good. He went back to the car.
'I'm going to take Mr Dalton up to the warm lake,' Rachel said to Ruth. 'Can the children stay here?'
'Yes, but why don't we all go?' said Ruth.
'Yeah,' said Graham. 'We can go for a swim.'
The children ran over to the car. Rachel looked angrily at Ruth. Harry smiled. 'These two women don't like being together,' he thought.
In the car, Rachel asked about the acid in the water. 'It's not good,' Harry said.
'Do we have a problem?' she asked. 'Will the mountain explode?'
'I don't know,' he answered. 'Often nothing happens. People hear sounds under the ground, there are earthquakes, trees die, there's acid in the water- and then nothing happens.'
Rachel stopped the car near the warm lake. The children jumped out of the car. 'Come on!' they cried. 'Let's go!'
'Wait for me!' Rachel called.
'Oh, they'll be OK,' Ruth said. She followed the children.
Harry started getting equipment out of the car. Suddenly Lauren screamed. Rachel ran through the trees. Harry followed.
'Look!' Lauren cried. On the ground at her feet were two dead animals.
'There are a lot of those round here this year,' Ruth said. 'Do you think they're ill?'
The children went over to the lake. Graham stood on a rock.
He wanted to jump in. Suddenly Harry called, 'Stop'. 'There was a lot of gas. 'There are some dead fish on the water,' he said, 'and there's something bigger too. What is it?'
Children can see things better. Lauren screamed again. 'A man and a woman. There, face down, in the water!'
CHAPTER five
Some men from the hospital carried the swimmers away. Harry was on the phone to Paul Dreyfus. 'Yes, there is a problem here,' he said. 'Send everyone - and the robot.'
He listened to Paul's answer. 'Yes, I know about the money,' he said, 'but we're talking about people here. Two people are dead.' He put his phone away.
'Are you OK?' he asked the children.
'Yes,' they said.
'Who were those swimmers?' Harry asked. 'Do you know?'
'They weren't from the town,' Rachel said. 'I think they were visitors. Do we have a big problem here, Harry?'
'I don't know. I must talk to the most important people in the town.'
'OK,' Rachel said. 'I'm the mayor. I'll tell them you want to meet them.'
They met that evening. Eight people were in the room - Harry, Rachel, Les Worrell, and five other men and women from the town. Harry and Rachel told the others about the swimmers and the acid in the lake.
'But this volcano is dead,' said Sheriff Turner. 'The last explosion was seven thousand years ago.'
'No, it's sleeping, not dead,' Harry said. 'And I think it's starting to be dangerous again now.'
'Mr Dalton,' Les Worrell said, 'you want to move over seven thousand people from their homes. They aren't going to like that.'
'That's right,' said two or three of the others.
'Do you want people to die?' Harry asked.
'Do you know that people will die?' Les said.
'No, I don't know. But I want people to be ready to move out.'
'And what about Elliot Blair?' Les said. 'What will we say when he asks, "Why are people leaving? Is there a problem with the town?" Mr Dalton, do you think that he'll put money into the town after that?'
Everybody in the room started talking at the same time. Suddenly, Paul Dreyfus walked into the room.
'Paul!' said Harry. 'You're here. Did you bring...?'
'Yes,' Paul said' I brought everything. We're staying at the hotel and our office will be there. Now, what's happening here?'
'Everybody,' called Harry,' this is my boss, Paul Dreyfus. Paul, I want the people in the town to be ready to leave. We're talking about it now.'
Paul looked at the others. He said, 'Harry come with me.'
He took Harry outside. 'This isn't right,' he said. 'You're a scientist. You don't know that the volcano will explode.'
'Two people are dead,' Harry said. 'How many more people must die?'
'There's some acid in the water, there are some dead trees and animals. Why do you think "Volcano!"? There are earthquakes, and you get acid in the water. You know that. I think that there was one earthquake, and that's all. I don't think the volcano is going to explode.'
'But, Paul...'
'No,' Paul said. 'I'm the boss. I think you're wrong.'
He turned and went back into the room. When Harry was there too, Paul said, 'Everybody, Harry Dalton is a good man. He only wanted to help, but I don't think the volcano will explode. Don't say anything to other people in the town. We don't want them to be afraid. The other scientists and I will stay here for a week or two. We'll take our equipment up into the mountain. When we know anything, I'll tell you. But I don't think we'll find any danger.'
The businessmen were very happy. Then they turned angrily to Rachel. 'That was a mistake, Rachel,' they said. 'Why did you get us all in here? We don't want Blair to hear about it.'
Rachel looked at Dreyfus and Harry. Which of them was right?
CHAPTER six
Dreyfus and Harry walked over to Stein's Bar. 'I want you out of here,' Dreyfus said. 'Take a holiday... now! Goodbye. I'll see you in two weeks.'
'No,' said Harry. 'I won't go. I'm your best man, and this town has problems.'
'Yes,' said Paul, 'you are my best man. But you must understand something. After we go, the people here in Dante's Peak will stay. They have their shops and their businesses. You think only about volcanoes, but this is about money too.'
'OK,' Harry said with a smile. 'I understand.'
'OK,' said Paul. 'Tomorrow we'll get a helicopter I want you to fly round the peak with your equipment. What's happening? Why? You find the answers, and then you come and tell me.'
'Right,' Harry said, 'I'll do that.' Then he turned away and had a drink with Terry Furlong and the others.
The next morning Harry went into the Blue Moon Cafe for breakfast. This was Rachel's cafe.
She smiled at him. 'Coffee?' she asked.
'Yes, please,' he said. 'I'm sorry about yesterday I only wanted to help. I'm better with volcanoes than I am with business people.'
'I know you wanted to help,' Rachel put the coffee back on the warmer, turned and said, 'Do you want to come to dinner tonight? I want to say thank you.'
'Thank you? What for?'
'You stopped Graham jumping into that water.'
'OK. Yes, please. I do want to have dinner with you.'
Later in the morning, Harry and Terry went out in the helicopter. They took a lot of equipment and flew round the peak. Terry watched the equipment. 'There's some gas,' he said. 'But not a lot.'
They couldn't see under the helicopter, so they didn't see it: the ground suddenly gave a strong push. Big rocks fell down the mountain. Then everything was quiet again. The mountain waited.
After dinner that evening at Rachel's house, Harry and Rachel sat outside. They looked at the lights of the town.
'I know it's a little town,' she said. 'I know it's not important. But I love it here. It's my home.'
'Were you born here?' Harry asked.
'Yes.'
'And... um... you lived with your husband here?'
'Yes.' She was quiet for a moment. 'Brian and I were too young when we met. That was the problem. He left about six years ago. He never writes or anything. The children don't remember him. I don't think he writes to Ruth.'
'But you're OK,' he said.
'Yeah, I am... now. What about you? No wife?'
'No. I move round the world all the time. There was somebody at one time, but...' He told her about Marianne.
'I'm sorry,' Rachel said.
'Volcanoes are dangerous,' said Harry. 'People must know that.'
'Perhaps you're wrong about our volcano,' said Rachel. 'But I'm happy that you're here to help.'
CHAPTER seven
The next day Harry, Stan and Terry went up the mountain. They left equipment here and there, near the peak. 'Now we'll know when the ground moves,' Stan said. 'We can see it on our equipment in the office at the hotel.'
'Yeah,' said Terry, 'when a bird jumps on to the ground, we'll know it. How was dinner last night, Harry?'
Harry didn't say anything.
'For a mayor, she's very beautiful,' said Terry.
Harry didn't say anything. Terry smiled.
Terry Furlong built robots. 'We can't get inside volcanoes,' he said, 'but my little robots can. They can see for us, find gases and smoke for us. How hot is it? How dangerous is it? My robots can tell us. We can sit in the office, turn on our equipment, and see with the robot's eyes.'
Two days later, they put Terry's robot in the car park and turned it on. It walked for a few metres. 'Yeah, come on, robot!' called Terry. The robot stopped.
'Is there a problem?' asked Paul.
'No,' said Terry. He went over to the robot and kicked it. The robot started again. 'It will be OK on the peak,' said Terry.
They went to Rachel's cafe for coffee. She knew them all well now. 'One black coffee,' she said, 'two with only milk, and two with sugar too.'
She gave them their coffees. Then she asked, 'What's happening? What are you finding?'
'Our equipment shows that every day there are between twenty-five and seventy-five earthquakes,' Nancy said.
'What?' cried Rachel.
Harry laughed. 'It's OK,' he said. 'Nothing dangerous is happening. There are always small earthquakes. We can see them with our equipment, but they're not dangerous.'
The next day Terry and Harry took the robot to the peak and sent it inside the old volcano. The robot's 'eyes' sent pictures back to their equipment, and back to the equipment in the hotel too.
The robot walked on. Suddenly it stopped. 'Oh, no!' said Terry. He started to go after it.
'Be careful!' Harry said.
Terry climbed down into the old volcano. He put his feet down carefully on the ground. Good! It was hard. He walked on.
Back at the hotel, everybody watched the robot's pictures. They didn't look at their other equipment.
Terry found the robot and kicked it. The robot started moving again. 'OK, Terry, come back now,' Harry said on his radio.
Terry didn't listen. He followed the robot down inside the mountain.
Back in the hotel, Nancy stood up. She turned round. 'Oh, no!' she said. 'Look at this equipment!'
The others turned round. 'A strong earthquake is happening,' she said.
Paul called Harry on the radio. 'Come back now,' he said.
'What did you say?' asked Harry. 'I couldn't hear you.'
'I said, "Come back now,"' Paul said. 'Earthquake!'
But it was too late. Ten metres above Terry, a large rock broke away and fell on Terry and the robot.
Harry screamed into his radio: 'Terry! Terry!' But no answer came.
The rocks broke two of the robots 'eyes'. Back in the hotel they couldn't see very well. Paul said, 'Harry, what's happening?'
'Get that helicopter up here now!' Harry said.
He started to climb down into the volcano. Some more rocks fell near him. There were rocks all round, but where was Terry? Then he saw the colours of Terry's shirt. He pulled some rocks away. Terry looked up at him and smiled.
'There's something wrong...
monisia1322