# The Mystery (Adams and White)

A merchant ship on the Pacific sights a strange vessel moving along with its sails set, but apparently deserted by its crew. A careful investigation shows absolutely no cause for the abandonment, so a crew from the merchantman is placed in charge, and the two vessels proceed on their way. During the ensuing night a storm springs up and the ships are driven miles apart. A day or two later the stranger is again sighted, but signalling brings from her no response, and a second crew that is sent aboard finds the fires still burning and the same terrible and inexplicable absence of human life. A call for volunteers brings to the front a few resolute spirits, who are installed on the mysterious vessel as a third crew. Again there comes up a storm, in which the stranger vanishes and is never heard of more. Add to this the phenomenon of a nebulous light on the horizon and you have substantially the problem which confronts the officers of the United States cruiser Wolverine … —extract from the review in The Bookman, March 1907 (Full review(s) on the Talk page)
Layout 2
THE MYSTERY
"And you know a heap too much"
[Page 201]
THE MYSTERY
BY
STEWART EDWARD WHITE
AND
SAMUEL HOPKINS ADAMS
Illustrations by Will Crawford
NEW YORK McCLURE, PHILLIPS & CO. MCMVII
Copyright 1907 by McClure, Phillips & Co. Published January 1907
Copyright 1906 by Colver Publishing House Copyright IQO? by The Phillips Publishing Co.
Contents
PART ONE
THE SEA RIDDLE
* chapterpage
* I.Desert Seas3
* II.The "Laughing Lass"11
* III.The Death ship19
* IV.The Second Prize Crew25
* V.The Disappearance32
* VI.The Castaways38
* VII.The Free Lance49
PART TWO
THE BRASS BOUND CHEST
Being the story told by Ralph Slade, Free Lance, to the officers of the United States Cruiser "Wolverine."
* I.The Barbary Coast57
* II.The Graven Image71
* III.The Twelve Repeating Rifles80
* IV.The Steel Claw89
* V.The Philosopher's Stone94
* VI.The Island105
* VII.Captain Selover Loses his Nerve113
* VIII.Wrecking of the "Golden Horn"124
* IX.The Empty Brandy Bottle133
* X.Change of Masters138
* XI.The Corrosive145
* XII."Old Scrubs" Comes Ashore162
* XIII.I Make my Escape174
* XIV.An Adventure in the Night178
* XV.Five Hundred Yards' Range183
* XVI.The Murder189
* XVII.The Open Sea193
* XVIII.The Catastrophe201
PART THREE
THE MAROON
* I.In the Wardroom211
* II.The Jolly Roger217
* III.The Cache224
* IV.The Twin Slabs230
* V.The Pinwheel Volcano238
* VI.Mr. Darrow Receives245
* VII.The Survivors254
* VIII.The Maker of Marvels260
* IX.The Achievement269
* X.The Doom278

### ILLUSTRATIONS

* FACING PAGE
* "And you know a heap too much"Frontispiece
* FACING PAGE
* A schooner comporting herself in a manner uncommon on the Pacific14
* A man who was a bit of a mechanic was set to work to open the chest30
* "Where we goin'?" "I brefer not to say".60
* Slowly the man defined himself as a shape takes form in a fog74
* "The spirit of the wild beast, cowed but snarling still"94
* "These sheep had become as wild as deer"136
* "Drop it, you fool!"142
* "I jerked out the short-barrelled Colt and turned it loose in their faces"168
* "You good fellowsh, ain't you?"172
* The firing now became miscellaneous. No one paid any attention to any one else186
* With a strangled cry the sailor cast the shirt from him222
* The finding of the two slabs236
* "Sorry not to have met you at the door," he said courteously250
* "It was my duty to follow on and drag him away when he fell unconscious"266
* He floated the model in the tub284
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1958, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 65 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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