Escape - The Boiling Sea

By the spring of 1945, the war was almost over. First Mate McAllen is aboard the Hope By Victory ship hauling cargo to the landing zone in the Philippines. For this trip, the ship was diverted to the tiny island of Kasiruta in the Moluccas to pick up a detachment of Rangers, a demolition team, and bring them to Samar. After dark on the first day, McAllen went on deck and met Lieutenant Drury, the Ranger Commanding Officer and his top Sergeant watching Mount Gamkonora, an active volcano over on Halmahera Island. Drury says "Hi McAllen". He says "Evening mate". Drury says "Quite a sight, isn't it?" McAllen says "It sure is, but it'll get better. We pass closer to it off Leyte. In the dark you can see the lava spouting like Fourth of July". Drury says "We got a look at a small one on Kasiruta, inactive. A whole group of islands on both sides of the straight is volcanic, they tell me". McAllen says "That's right". The Sergeant says "You can have my share of them. That big baby there used to keep us up nights, rumbling". Drury says "They're not exactly conducive to peace of mind, I'll admit, Sergeant, but they're very interesting. I'd like a chance to study one more closely". Sergeant says "Not for me, Lieutenant". Drury says "Well, we probably won't get another chance now. Are the men all comfortable, Sergeant?" He says "Well, it ain't the Queen Mary, sir, but they're okay". McAllen says "Sorry. This baby wasn't meant for troop transport". Drury says "It don't matter, we're used to improvising". McAllen says "Well, good night, gentlemen", and heads toward his quarters. He had difficulty sleeping that night, so he got a cup of coffee and brought one to Captain Hannigan on the bridge. A little while later, after the captain went to his quarters, a seaman on the bridge asks McAllen "Do you smell anything, sir?" He says "Yes, sulfur and something that smells like wet dust". At that moment, Brian calls from the engine room and says "I just noticed my intake water is heating up. It's supposed to be about 25 degrees centigrade around here. It is 29 degrees, now. We're pulling sludge too. It looks like pumice".