Part 4 (1/2)
But Merritt had stu n it seehly i-book,” he exclai to the eht on a partial solution of this e, and learned fro hich it was covered, that the _Good Hope_, Ezekial T
Daniels, master, had set sail froround in April, 1879
”Gracious, that was about thirty-three years ago,” stammered Merritt
”I have heard of derelicts that drifted longer than that,” said the naval officer cal book It was an epic of the sea Every incident that had befallen the _Good Hope_ on her long voyage was faithfully set down He ski bits of information out aloud for the benefit of his youthful co book it was learned that the _Good Hope_ hadthree years' cruise, but had suddenly run into a ood fortune
”Listen to this, boys,” exclain hat, for one of his self-contained nature, was strong excitement, ”it reads like a bit of wild ro:
”'May, 1883--This day encountered the strangest thing in all my experience As set doe have drifted into the Antarctic ice pack
This day sighted a berg within which was a dark, shadowy object On going in the shi+p boats to investigateto our amaze it was thin,melted
”'From what I knew of such craft I decided, incredible as the ideafrozen up Viking shi+p Not knowing just what her recovery ht mean, I undertook to blast her free of her prison We had plenty of dyna By three of this p m we had the shi+p blasted open I and my officers at once entered the hole the explosive had s, but none of us was prepared for what followed The hold of the imprisoned shi+p was full of ivory
”'My first officer, Willia drink ruined him, pronounced the ivory to be that of the tusks of the extinct ions'”
”Phew! This is roet the ivory?” asked the practical Paul Perkins
”Yes,” rejoined the officer, rapidly ski, ”and they estihly at about five hundred thousand dollars' worth of exceptional quality”
”How did the shi+p get frozen in the ice?” asked Hira shi+p, I n ”I have heard of such things at the North Pole Several explorers have even brought back fragments of the Norseman's lost craft; but I never heard of such an occurrence transpiring in the Antarctic regions But let's read on”
The log continued to tell of hardshi+ps encountered in beating back around the Horn with the valuable cargo; of discontent of the crew; of their constant de the officers and men, and of the captain's refusal to accede to their requests Finally the entries began to grow short and disconnected, as if whoever riting up the log was on constant watch and had little time to spare Indeed, one entry read:
”Mutiny threatens constantly The men mean to seize the ivory and take to the boats”
Following that no entries wereannounceedy
CHAPTER V
A MESSAGE FROM THE PAST
”'What I dreaded has con; ”'the men mutinied, but thanks be to Providence, we are safe But a fearful catastrophe overtook thelost ten hands by scurvy and drowning in the South Seas, the crew ht ainst theht on July 27th, 1883 Luckily ere on the watch, and as the men came aft we met them with firearms