Well, it turns out that some of the rocks were actually bits of lava that had cooled during their flight through the air. They were filled with air bubbles which let them float. Which made my life so much simpler. I had Hortense with me, after all, and she was the most sure-footed critter on the Chisholm Trail.

I saddled her up and rode her across the floating rocks right to the steamship. And I was madder than an entire hive of hornets, but unfortunately since I'd been knocked out during the racing demonstration, it created a loophole according to their laws: They'd "found" the livestock which more or less made it theirs by a sort of salvage rights. I was completely ruined.

And that's when the biggest chunk of Krakatoa fell and took off the back of the steamship.