A MYSTERY OF THE SEA.

Grey River Argus, 24 November 1910, Page 1

A MYSTERY OF THE SEA.

What, for instance, could be more weird or perplexing than the mystery of a derelict brought in from . the neighbourhood" of Gibraltar some ,time ago? She was seen one morning at dawn beating idly about by a cruising •gunboat; and although sails were set and everything was in good order above and below, it was obvious to a seaman's eye that all was not well on board. So strange were her movements .that the little .grey cruiser bore down upon the .stranger, and in the shadow of her. flapping canvas hailed the bridge. But there, was no response, and no one appeared. A boat was launched, and a lieutenant and half a dozen men boarded the ship.

When they got on deck they found it absolutely deserted.- ' There was not a living soul in the cabin, and the forecastle, where the crew should have been, was a blank. .In the davits all the vessel's boats were hanging untouched, thereby showing that none •of her ■ company had gone away by this means. There was not the slightest sign of a struggle on deck, such as would have been left by a mutiny. In the cook's galley preparations had been made for the next- meal, and everything remained as.it stood. The lights were burning low in the port and starboard lanterns. The captain's log-book was made up to within a few hours previously, and recorded nothing remarkable ; yet the ship was a blank, a silent, lifeless hulk beating to and fro on a calm sea, with not a man or a woman rmaining of the fifty or more that must have peopled her to tell what had happened.

v And nothing further was ever known! She was towed home, and the inevitable inquiries made, but nothing came of them, and that was the end of the matter. — Edwin ■ L. Arnold.- in "Chambers's Journal."