The Weekly Journal. — 1904-08-12 (Hartlepool, Cleveland, England)

SYNOPSIS OF INSTALMENTS I. TO VI. Rupert de in Touche is second mate on one of • fleet of convict ships, leaving England for a distant country. Among the women prisoners is a young and beautiful girl, but what her name is, or for what she is being banished, no one knows. When only a few days at sea this girl jumps overboard, and is Touche immediately dives after her, but though rescued and taken on board again she dies almost at once, and is buried at sea. The voyage now becomes eventful in the extreme. Several of the sailors and convicts declare that the ghost of the dead girl has appeared to them, strange and amazing scenes frighten the crew, and even the Captain Is awestruck by the sight of it strange white coast not marked on the chart, but which turns out to be an apparition. When within a few days sail of their destination, a three-masted schooner in distress is sighted, which signals to theta for a supply of fresh water. A boat is at once lowered, and is Touche and four sailors proceed to the vessel. The Captain invites la Touche into his cabin, and under the pretence of bringing wine goes out, locking the door behind him. The ship now starts ou her voyage, the efforts of the convict fleet to come up with her being unavailing. At last the Captain !goes back to his prisoner, and tells him that he and his companions have been taken in order to help him to navigate his ship to the South Sea Islands, some of his crew having died. La Touche knows that resistance is useless, so he promises to act as mate on this extraordinary voyage. A few days later, during the mid-night watch, the schooner strikes a reef, and becomes so firmly wedged on the rocks that hope of getting her off again is abandoned. Daybreak discloses another ship also stranded, but a short distance away. The Captain asks Is Touche to go and inspect her, which he does. The only discoveries he makes are the dead body of a nian, and a chest containing valuable stones and silty articles, some of which he takes away with him. On his return he finds that the Capt.** has been murdered by one of his crew, While others are engaged in breaking open the rum casks. Leaving them to their fate, la Touche and four men launch a boat and set sail, hoping to arrive at an island. Another strange vessel is sighted, but though signalled to does not respond and suddenly disappears altogether. This was evidently a phantom ship, and the men look upon it as an omen of death ; in fact, almost directly afterwards one of them dies suddenly. They had now been several days on the open sea, when water is noticed in the well of the boat. Thinking that it is leaking, the men set to work to bale it out, but discover that it is the fresh water from the cask, and that they are left with only a drop of brandy to quench their awful thirst. One of them goes mad, two others jump overboard, and la Touche is left alone. On the eleventh day, however, he is rescued b— a girl in an extraordinary manner, taken to her home, and treated with great kindness by herself and her father, who calls himself the King of Great Britain. La Touche is soon himself again. He now begins to wonder who his strange host can be, and on learning his history becomes convinced that his troubles have turned him craze; he therefore z. 217. for the girl's sake, sever to quit the