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STORIES BY ENGLISH AUTHORS

THE SEA


  THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURE OF A CHIEF MATE BY W. CLARK RUSSELL
  QUARANTINE ISLAND BY SIR WALTER BESANT
  THE ROCK SCORPIONS ANONYMOUS
  THE MASTER OF THE "CHRYSTOLITE" BY G. B. O'HALLORAN
  "PETREL" AND "THE BLACK SWAN" ANONYMOUS
  MELISSA'S TOUR BY GRANT ALLEN
  VANDERDECKEN'S MESSAGE HOME ANONYMOUS






THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURE OF A CHIEF MATE

BY W. CLARK RUSSELL


In the newspapers of 1876 appeared the following extracts from
the log of a merchantman: "VOLCANIC ISLAND IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC.
--The ship Hercules, of Liverpool, lately arrived in the Mersey,
reports as follows: March 23, in 2 deg. 12' north latitude, 33 deg.
27' west longitude, a shock of earthquake was felt, and shortly
afterward a mass of land was hove up at a distance of about two miles
from the ship. Michael Balfour, the chief officer, fell overboard.
A buoy was thrown to him, the ship brought to the wind, and a boat
lowered within fifteen minutes of the occurence. But though the
men sought the chief mate for some time, nothing could be seen of
him, and it is supposed that he sank shortly after falling into
the sea. Masters of vessels are recommended to keep a sharp lookout
in approaching the situation of the new island as given above. No
doubt it