Stories for all Moods.

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11411, 6 January 1923, Page 9

Stories for all Moods.

“ tbc Cruise of tbe Dream sbip.”

An ideal book is- Ralph Stock’s “The Cruise of the Dream Ship.’’ It is a book about a voyage from England to the South Sea Islands by.three amateur sailors in a tiny ship of only 23 tons, and it is unlike any other book on sea or ]and travel. It is a joyous narrative which it is impossible to read without longing to embark on a similar adventure—unless one is an incurable landlubber. RAISING THE MONEY. ' The author, his sister, and a demobilised .officer had no money, and practically no knowledge ot navigation, yet" they got their ship without begging, borrowing, or 1 stealing, and sailed the 12,000 miles unaided, with the exception of the assistance of a retired skipper, who guided them as far as Spain. The author, by the aid of his war gratuity and sundry earnings with his pen, was able to buy a Norwegian-

built cutter designed as a but costly alterations and equipment were needed for such a voyage, so he joined the Devonshire fishing fleet, and went .r trawling until he had acquired suffie cient -capital. His sister meanwhile >■ took a job as a' “useful maid”; while “Steve," the demobilised officer, “faded i, into the smoke of a great city on a k mission the details of which he has e never divulged to this day.” " MID-ATLANTIC. \ a At last,-—after many lessons in the ** theory of navigation from the old skip- *’ per already mentioned, they set sail. ’ The description of their voyage across t the Atlantic is delightful and thrilling <r reading. There was one avyful moment j when, with, the ship becalmed in mids Atlantic, the two men swimming and the lady below, a sudden breeze- took f the ship away frpfa the bathers. If the j lady had been- asleep, she would have had a terrible awakening. As it haPpened, she came on deck in time. The * subsequent experiences of the voyagers .suggest that the world is a very friend- . ly -place for mariners. Everywhere , these amateurs were most hospitably i entertained.. But they had a shock goi ing through the Panama Canal. The ■ toll for this little craft was fifteen dol- ‘ lars, but their little engine failed, and they were towed at the rate of eix dol- . lars an hour, and the cost swallowed up j- most of their capital. They were saved ■ t financially by the unexpected find of a , cheque awaiting to® author at Panama - for the film rights of one of his stories. 1; THE OLD MAN OF CRISTOBAL. * When they reached Cristobal, one of the Galapagos Islands, they met a little 1 old man, who startled them by speaking in cultured English :- [ “T/hat abouij, this Dutch war he had , heard rumours of during the- last_year ; or two? With Germany, was itP Well, now, and who was winningP Over, eh? I —and with th© Allies on topT That • was good, that was good 1" : This was /the second time he nad ' spoken English in fifty years. “He was here,” says toe author, when toe pirates of toe South Amerii can coast- murdered for money; even as they have a knack of doing to-this ’ day, Mid hid toe loot at their Keadquarters in the Galapagos Islands, silver and gold, boatloads 1 of. it. He had built a cutter with his own handi, ’ and sailed in search of this same loot. , only to encounter toe sole, owner, still , guarding his ill-gotten gains _ though reduced to nakedness and hair. > At . a distance Dad had- seen him first, and, mistaking him for a mountain jloaijt, Rad' Shot (hiiA .tpitfouigh heart. It was the first man he had killed, and he could not stay on_ the island alter that —especially at night. WHERE THERE IS TREASURE. ' “Afterwards, I asked the owner of Cristobal if one might believe half tlie old man said,. and he nodded gravely. “ ‘There is much also that ho dees • not say,’ he added, with a smile. “There is undoubtedly treasure still I lying hidden in the Galapagos Islands.' Two caches have been unearthed, Bilver ; ingots and pieces of eight respectively. The finder of one built luroself a handsome hotel in Ecuador, and toe other drank himself to death in short order. - . But there is definite proof that there , is more.” WITCHCRAFT. At" the-.island of Moorea they learned something about witohera-ft from a retired police officer. Describing a ' secret watch- he kept on a house foe. - cannibal practices, he. said:— “ ‘There must nave been close on a hundred Kanakas squatting round the walla of toe house in stony silence, when a wind sprang up that nearly blew the roof off, and yet never so much as stirred toe leaves on the palms twenty yards away. ' It was still blowing when something dropped' , through the roof, and squatted on the mats in toe middle of toe house. “ ‘There wasn’t much light—there never is at these chiva-rees—-but .there was enough for me to see that, whatever it was, it was a leper. It wasn’t all there. It wasn’t the right shape or colour) but it bloomed out answers to questions that the others put to it, and, knowing the lingo, I listened. It was the usual business : So-and-so’e father was all_ right, but hoped that his son'would join him before long, as he was a trifle lonely. . And somebody else’s brother was having the ■ time of his life with a brand-new sailing canoe, that was the fastest thing yet. And somebody else' was going to die soon.”’ .* | “A clever fake,” whs this officer’s opinion. -v ■ ■ THE OWNER OF PALMERSTON ISLAND. - At Palmerston Island they met the present owner: “One William. -Masters, as fine an ol<i English- sea-dog as ever came off a whaler, took a fancy to toe place in 1862, leased it from the British Government, and, not believing in half-measures, took unto himself three native wives. By each he had a largo • and healthy family that he reared in strict accordance with his own standards of social usage. “That they were' sound standards is evidenced in the people of Palmerston to-da,y. They read, write, and speak - English, this last wtih an accent vaguely reminiscent of , the Bouth-west of England. They are courteous, hospitable, and honest to a degree- little short of startling these days, and although naturally inbred, they do not show it mentally or physically. “The islets scattered round the reef have ibeen equally distributed, amongst th<f descendants of William Masters’s three wives, who now number ninetyeight, and under toe authority of the island council, presided over by ‘Mister Masters himselfare worked to such a purpose that they produce a thousand pounds’ worth of copra per year.” SEWING-MACHINE AS MONUMENT. Ak Niue (Savage Island) they heard ’

some curious things about the burial rites of the Niueans (f- ---“ ‘They’ve always buried their dead alongside the tracks (roads), and we saw no reason to interfere,’ said a resident. ‘Good grave, coral, like a sponge—everything into the sea in no time. On top? Oh, that may be anything from a canoe to a pair of old boots! They have the same idea of “laying the table” with the deceased’s personal belongings as so many cithers. I nearly stole one of them once. It was a perfectly good sewing machine, and my wife h-ad nothing to run up ■ curtains and things with when we came here. But I thought better of it. You have to go warilv with these gentry.’ ” The saddest event in this joyous cruise happened at Nukualofa, the capital of the Friendly Islands, when the author mentioned in an unguarded moment what he thought was a prohibitive price for his ship, and the money was promptly paid. There was no going back on the transaction.' They found a steamer voyage very wearisome after their own little craft. But Mr' Stock has found another dream ship, and no doubt we shall have, one day, another fine book.— John q’ London’s Weekly. . »