The morning call., 1891-07-26

THANKS, many thanks, Zach; you little
know how happy you make me- Tell me,
oh, tell NE again that you believe that Cap
tain John was not lost in this wreck"
Yes, Mrs. Allaire, yes! and the proof
that he is still alive is that he will be found
some day or other; and if that's not a
proof"
Hereupon Zach French entered into a
number of details with regard to the finding
of the fragment of wreck by the Golden.
Gate. As he concluded. Mrs. Allaire said
Zach. Pm resolved to institute a new
search at once"
Good! 1t will succeed this time. and If
you'll allow me, madam, I'll take part
in il" ,, -.
That l will, madam"
"oh, thanks. Zach! With you on board
the Molly's Hope it will seem to ME like
I one more chance in my favor
u believe it, Mrs, Allaire,"' replied the
| boatswain, with a kindly light beaming
from his honest eyes. I'm ready to sail
! any moment"
Molly had taken hold of the sailors hand.
J She felt that it belonged to a true friend of
! hers. Her feelings got the better of her,
and she was now convinced that the boat
| swain was destined to succeed where others
| had failed.
However, although Molly had no doubts
on the subject, yet, as Captain Willis had
| suggested, it now became necessary to de-
termlne positively whether the fragment of
| wreck picked up by the Golden Gate really
| belonged to the Dreadnaught. This piece Of
| the wreck had been forwarded to HOLSTER
| IL Co. by express from San Francisco, and
| been sent to the Superintendent of the ship
! yard bv whom it had been submitted to the
| examination OF the builders and their fore
| men.
The fragment of wreck which had been
! picked up by the Golden Gate off Melville
| Island. about ten miles out from shore, was
| plece OF ships stem, or rather of that
! carved cutwater which is commonly attached
| TO the PROV of sailing vessels. This piece of
| wood had undergone considerable change of
| texture, not from lying in the water for
! long while, but from exposure to the in-
! clemency of the weather. Hence the con-
| clusion that it must have remained
for long time on this reef on " hich the
| clipper ship had struck, then in some way
or other been detached, possibly by the
| action OF strong current, and tossed about
| In the water for several months, or possibly
| weeks, when 1t was picked up by the Golden
Gate. But did 1t come from Captain Johns
! vessel? Aes, for the carving on this piece
OF wood matched that which had orna-
! mented the Prov of the Dreadnaught This
| was the conclusion reached by the builders
! at San Diego. The teakwood, for such was
! the fragment, was positively recognized as
identical with the stock on hand They
| even discovered the mark Of the iron brace
| which clamped the cutwater to the ships
! Prov. and also the remnants of coat of
red paint, with tracery of foliage in gold
| line.
Therefore the fragment of wreck picked
up by the Golden Gate once belonged to the
good ship Dreadnaught OF this there was
absolutely no doubt. This point estab-
! lIshed. it became quite possible to accept
Captain Willis theory, that since the Dread
naught had been sigualed in the Java Sea-
to the southeast of Celebes Island, she must
have been a few days later carried through
! Lombock or some other passage opening
| into the Timor or Arafoura Sea and hurting
/ upon the reefs of the Australian coast. And
hence it was perfectly reasonable and justi-
! fable to send craft to explore the waters
| lying between the Sunda Islands and the
| north coast of Australia. But would this
| expedition succeed any better than the one
| which had included the Philippines, the
| Ceiebes and the Moluccas? Yes, the pros
| pect was brighter.
This time Mrs. Allare was quite deter
| mined to accompany the expedition, and it
! required the combined appeal of Andrew
HOLSTER, Captain Willis aud Ztch French
! to dissuade her from so doing. A cruise of
this sort. which would of necessity last
| long while, might be hampered by the
| presence OF woman on board.
| 1t need hardly be stated that Zach French
| was shipped as boatswain of the Molly's
| Hope, which was now reported by Captain
Willis as ready to sail.
CHAPTER XIII.
CRUISE OF THE MoLLY's HOPE IN THE
TIMoR SEA.
Captain Willis sailed from San Diego at
10 o'clock on the morning of April 8. 1882,
| following southwesterly course, with the
intention of proceeding by as direct route
| as possible to the Torres Strait, and so into
| Arafoura Sea.
The Molly's Hope not having any reason
| for touching at the Gilbert or Salmon
| Islands, after an uneventful voyage of
three weeks, sighted first the high land of
the New Guinea coast and then the most
northerly point of Australia, known as
| Cape York.
] Torres Strait lying between this point
| and the New Guinea coast, enjoys the re-
pute of being an extremely dangerous pass
! age, partly due to the violent currents
| which set in from east to west, and partly
to the shoal water. Only for a certain part
| OF the day, while the sun is in such posi-
ton as to make the breakers plainly visible,
| Is 1t at all safe to venture into this narrow
1 water lane.
Was it quite as far up as Melville
| Island that the Golden Gate picked up the
| fragment of the wreck?" asked Captain
| Willis of Boatswain French
Quite" replied Zach.
1 a n AA