The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-10-24

coast of Greenland, when the lookout
reported a small boat with something
looking like q mans body lying across
the thwarts. ! gave orders to change
the course. and sure enough, that's
what it was, and, to make long story
short, we found he was alive and got
him aboard. Oddly enough, he didn't
seem to have been on short al owance,
yet alone starved; and there wasn't a
mark on him but that queer slash
across his brow, which I don't know
whether it was burn or a cut. 1t
evidently hadn't bled much, and it
wasn't over two days old, I should
judge. Well, as I said, we got him
aboard, brought him to, and tried to
make him comfortable and get his
yarn; but, Lord bless you sir, there
wasn't any reason in his talk. He jest
raved about ice walls and open polar
seas and angels and flaming swords
and all that sort Of stuff. The only
thing that we could get commercially
was that he'd belonged to a ship that
had been lost in the ice up Baffin's
bay, which was lie, seeing that We
found him on the other side of Green
land in one of his ships boats"
Did the boat have any name on it?"
I asked.
"Yes-'Melpomene;' but never
heard of such u ship"
Well, there was nothing for it but
to thank the captain and get back to
the infirmary. On the way, however,
it occurred to me to stop in at Lloyds
agency and find out If they had any
knowledge of such vessel as the Mel
pomene. The result was all that
could have hoped for, being as follows:
'Melpomene'-whal bark-New
Bedford, Mass, U. S. A. Spoken June
10. 1888, by ship John Mcpherson, Of
Glasgow-Reported icebound. Latitude
eighty degrees fifteen minutes north.
longitude seventy degrees ten minutes
west. Crew refused assistance. Cap
tain of John Mcpherson reports sudden
movement of pack northward within
ensuing twelve hours and narrow es-
cape Of his ship. Entertains grave
fears of safety of Melpomene."
Let me see," said l to the clerk who
had attended me, "is there nothing
later? This entry is a year old, and
have you no other Melpomene on your
list?"
He glanced at his index, and then at
the entry again.
NO" said he. THAT seems to be all.
There is hardly a doubt but that the
bark was lost. I hope you had no in
terest in her, sr?'
i answered vaguly, thanked him and
hurried out into the street, for my
mind was full of the strange conflict
of evidence which the facts disclosed.
l knew enough Arctic geography to
place eighty degrees north almost at
the southern entrance to Kennedy's
channel, and for any ship or boat or
man to get from there around Cape
Farewell and w to latitude seventy
five degrees of the east coast of Creme
land in eighteen days was simly i'm
possible. Besides the Melpomene was
being carried north when last seen.
l could conceive of no reconciling hy-
pOthesis, and vet the conflicting tes-
timOnies were incontrovertible. In this
frame of mind l reached the infirmary
and found Mcleod where l had left
him-by the patients cot.
The condition of the latter did not
seem to have changed materially. Per-
haps the pulse was a shade weaker,
save on the other hand, he was quiet.
but for slight nervous twitching, and
had been so ever since 1 left.
l now come to that part Of my story
which I look back upon with more or
less self-reproach. That my conduct
was professional in the highest sense
of the word, 1 am often driven to
doubt, however much / try to justify
myself by the argument that a better
knowledge of the history of the case
was indispensable to its safest treat
ment. When / am most frank, how
ever, as is the case tonight, am driv-
en- to admit that the prime motive of