The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-03-22

men made their appearance at Prospect
cottage and were received by Mrs.
Allaire in the parlor on the ground floor.
capt Willis" said she, after they
had taken their places around table
upon which was unrolled n map of
northern Australia, "be pleased to
make n report of the expedition"
Mrs. Allaire listened with the deepest
interest, uttering no word of comment,
with her clear and hopeful eyes riveted
upon the speaker. AS the captain in
his report entered upon the portion re-
lating to Browse island she insisted
upon the greatest particularly.
Capt. Willis, drawing from his pocket
a medallion tarnished by dampness,
placed it in her outstretched hand. II
contained portrait of Molly, photo
graphic miniature now almost faded
out. She had given it to John on the
sailing of the Dreadnaught, and it had
been found by Willis men in a corner
of the cave upon a second examination
of the place. II this silent witness tes-
tilted 10 the presence of Capt. John
among the survivors, was not the con-
clusion inevitable that he had perished
with the others from want and ex-
posure?
Had we reached here few years
sooner" said Capt. Willis, perhaps we
might have found John and his COM
panions-some of them still alive"
"Yes, perhaps" sighed Andrew Hol-
lister. YES" he continued, sit was
there that the Mollys Hope should
have been sent In the first place, but
who could ever have thought that the
Dreadnaught had been wrecked on an
island of the Indian ocean?"
mo one" replied Willis; "at least
not from the route he was to have fol-
lowed, and which he did in reality fol-
low, too, for the Dreadnaught was
sighted to the south of Celebes island.
Capt. John, having lost control of his
vessel, must have been swept through
some strait into the Timor sea and
driven upon Browse island"
"Yes, that must have been the way it
happened" added Zach
Captain" said Mrs. Allaire, "you
have only done what you should have
done in searching the Malaysian seas for
the Dreadnaught; but if we had only
gone TO Browse island on the first ex-
pedition--oh, yes, if we had only gone
there!"
Then, with a sudden change In
her manner, and with that same hope
full ring in her voice, she cried out:
"You found the remains of five of the
sc1o l~..A
do you think has become of the nine
others? for besides Capt John and his
mate, Harry Shelton. there were twelve
ordinary seamen on board the Dread
naught-"
"It's n mystery" replied Willis.
But not for mel" exclaimed Molly.
81 know, but ! ask you what you
think"
Perhaps they perished when the ship
went to pieces on the reefs" said Capt.
Willis.
"You think then that only five of
them reached the shore alive?"
Unfortunately, that seems TO be the
only explanation" answered Mr.. Hollis
ter.
81 don't agree with you," came from
Mrs. Allaire. "Why should not John,
shelton and the twelve men have been
nble to get safely ashorep Why should
not nine of them have been able to
leave the island?"
"But how, Mrs. Allaire?" asked Capt.
Willis, eagerly.
"By putting off in launch, built out
of the rprnains ~ tho vyreclt ~
"Mrs. Allairc," said Willis, zach
will bear me out in assuring you that
from the condition in which we found
the debris of the wreck the thing would
have been impossible"
but the ships boats"
Admitting that they were not bat
tered to pieces, they would not have
been stanch enough to reach the Sunda
islands or the Australian coast"
"And STILL" remarked Andrew Hollis
ter, ''if nine of the castaways were able
to get of the island, why should the
other five have remained thereP"
"In my opinion" added Capt. Willis,
'if they ever left the island in boat
they either went to the bottom, or else
only reached the coast to be slain by
Australian savages."
The brave woman didn't finch at
these terrible words.
Zach" said she calmly, what do
you think of what Capt. Willis has
said?"
II think" replied French, with a
shake of the head, II think that IL it
was possible for things TO turn out this
way-it was possible for them to turn
out in other ways"
"And, therefore," said Molly, my
position is that we really know nothing
of what has become of the nine men not
found on the island. AS for you and
your crew, Capt. Willis, you have done
everything that brave and devoted men
could have done"
II wish that could have done more.
Mrs Allairel"
"Wc are going 20 leave you now, my
dear Molly" said Hollister, thinking
that IL was useless to prolong the inter
view.
"Tis well, my dear friend" answered
Molly, with n sad smile. 81 desire TO
1sr =. ~