The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1890-09-11

~ Boyesen, OF Columbia
| - College, as he sat in 8
group at the Authors Club.
"That's So" said Edgar saltus
''but I've found that the best schemes
for odd fiction are postated by the
necessary death of the principals
without disclosing the material for a
climax" --.-
IL know what you mean,'' said
Editor Gilden of the Century Maya
zine, ''and I wonder why some of you
gentlemen don't extend a romance
beyond death-say by means of a
spiritulistic communication from the
actors. Now you, Professor Smith,
you're a scientist, why don't you do
it?' ~
The gentleman thus addressed was
Professor Brainard Gardner Smith,
of Cornell University.
And have the start of it in mind
now" Professor Smith replied.
"Once, when I was in journalism,
had occasion to go over pile of old
Liverpool newspapers, and thus
came upon a remarkable paragraph
in the ship news. Translated out of
the language OF commerce it was to
the effect that the good ship En-
press, just arrived from Australia,
reported that while rounding the
port OF Good Hope she had been
driven southwark far out of her
course by a storm, and away down
in the southern Atlantic had sighted
a vessel drifting aimlessly about.
The first mate boarded her, and re-
turning, reported that the derelict
was the ship Albatross. That she
had been abandoned was plain, for
all the boats were gone, and so were
the log and the ships Instruments.
On deck close by the companion
hatch lay two bodies, or rather skel-
etons, clad in weather rotted
garments that showed them to
have been man and woman.
These bodies were headless, but the
heads were nowhere to be found on
the deserted deck. The mate found
on the cabin table an open book, with
writing on it's pages. A pen lay on
the table and a small inkstand, in
which the ink had evidently long since
dried. The book was evidently a
journal ordinary, so the mate report
ed, and he put it in his pocket, mean
ing to carry it aboard the Empress,
but when he was getting down into
his small boat the book slipped from
his pocket, dropped into the water,
and sank. The Albatross was badly
water-logged and he thought could
not have foated much longer. To
this report the editor of the paper
added a note saying that the readers
would all doubtless remember that
Albatross had sailed from Liverpool
several years before, bound for Aus
tralia, and was thought to have gone
down with all on board, as no news
Of her had since been receive d.
That was the substance of the re-
markable paragraph. What was al
most as remarkable to me, a news.
paper man, was that the Liverpool
paper had evidently made no effort
to learn the owners name of the Al
batross, the name of her captain and
crew, Or whether or not she carried
any passengers,
"A lew weeks after that / went in
to northern Vermont to report the
Benton murder trial, which was at
tractlng much more than local at
tention. ! was pleased to find that
the prosecuting attorney was an old
classmate of mine, butnot pleased to
find that he had become spiritua-
list. [ mentioned the headless bodies
to him, and, as a joke, asked him to
conjure up the two spirits in seance.
SO as to solve the mystery. We got
the whole story through a medium.
| The bodies were those Of Arthur n art
ley and Helen Rankins,' and he
looked defiantly around the circle for
a communication we got through the
Vermont medium, and this is what
he said:
Helen and I were passengers
aboad the Albatross. My Uncle j Ohm
promised me a fortune. He was con.
fident that an explosive OF his inven
ton would work such wonders in
Australian mines that within 10
years we would go back to England
rich beyond the dreams ofavarice.
] One day Uncle John got into a hot
discussion with Captain Raymond
about the efficacy Of the wonderful
explosive compound. The captain
seemed doubtful. Uncle John was
for the instant angry
"pll show you, then he said,
and he rushed into the cabin where
! his boxes were stored and came out
| shortly with two tin cans, each hold
| ing something less than q pint. He
nnscreWed the top Of one, disclo sing