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Show f THE DOUBTFi a Lji ; ?!Qir''lJ5,';?K 3'acut Alceste, white i gPi oud vlrginnl, dabbed i(Jrv wis T' W through the sapphire sea I qJ 7 rsS 1 raj in tho gold and silver of feT ttoc n0ontime-' Everything J'1 J :s&islJs5is about her was white, even alk : her smokestacks and ventilators. Nothing rfcv t sharI,cr- cleaner or more graceful could w ' C l,c lmaS'0C(1 tban tllc llncs o the -A100810" $ but hor tonnage was over the two thou-saud thou-saud mark, and she might have passed ijj? for the little sister of a enr third cIusb ti! cruisar. Her nfterdecV n a clear of ti? cuphlons, rugs and hammocks as the quar-"ftjj quar-"ftjj terdeck of a war ship. She had Indeed & the aspect of a fighting ship on a holiday, W$ and she could have given a go-d account s2 f herself either in fighting or running. 3? ! Below in her great cabin, a splendid a M room thirty feet square, sat two men 2 ) moklng and talking. Is . "Here," said Sir Kenneth Moncrieff to " Warrington, the American newspaper jk correspondent, "is the record," handing $. J'him at the same time a manuscript. j Warrington grasped it eagerly. He had III f been sent out by a great New York daily it S to discover certain things concerning a Kl : i mid-Pacific island about which strange 75J hand conflicting accounts had been given, '5JJ : By the exercise of superhuman tact and 3 ! :colossal audacity he fouud himself aboard f the yacht of Sir Kenneth Moncrieff, the ; V ''. man more interested than any other , V. r human being in the doubtful island. " It was agrped between the two men, j rtfho had become fagt friends, that Sir . mX. Kenneth should write in full the history fof the island, and Warrington solemnly,' Bwore that he would respect the private ; part of the record in making up his news- j paper story. Sir Kenneth Moncrieff, how. ever, stipulated that in the event of hisjj deatli the entire record should be deposited j In triplicate with the naval authorities of the United States. France and Great ( Britain. L Warrington had the keen American J' face, the light bine, undaunted American-. eye and the sharp American voice. Sir Kenneth was the Their Widely perfect picture of a ( Different Types, beautiful English- , man, long, thin ; flanked, blond, with a tawny leonine j blondness, and with that ley self-control , with -which an Englishman can discuss j coolly all the things that fire other men I to madness. lie smoked lazily while War-! rington pounced upon the story as a1 pointer takes to his field work. He felt . that his professional reputation would bo made by the story, and the thought made' bis blood gallop. Sir Kenneth began reading the manuscript, which was in his own handwriting, singularly firm,, with-ont with-ont blot or erasure: "In 1823 tho ship Sclina. of nine hun- . dred tons, of Bristol, England, command- . ed by Captain Wright, from Singapore ' to Vera Cruz, reporteoSthat on Februnry o 21, in longitude 143 deg. 1(3 min., latitude r 11 deg. 2-1 nun., he sighted an unclinrtcd j Islaud of approximately ten square miles. There was a bay with good anchorage, T and tho Selinns skipper. Captain Wright, g went ashore and took possession of the ( island in the name of the British govern- t ment He planted a flagstaff and made fflj a cairn of rocks, under which he buried ( j : a tin box containing a formal claim to Pi the island, which he named Sclina Island, c l I after his ship and his wife. The island j wi was remarkably beautiful and promising. t jl 'but the vegetation was singular, and while ttfl there was some indication of volcanic or- f iff igin In other ways this origin appeared K vto be flatly contradicted Captain Wright. i rji, -however, did not fully explore the island. Hl '. "His report was forwnrded to the Brit- s K Jsh Admiralty, and two yenra aud a half c A ! later, in August, 1S20. the British sloop ( hA ' of war Dioiuc-dc, Captain Moncrieff, then ( fl f cruising in Pacific waters, was sent to j f tako possession of the Island. I 'm "The Diomede reached the spot indicat- '"& . ed by Captnin Wright and cruised over the' j ji whole ground for a month, but was totally . M unable to locate the Island. Her com- j aj mauding oflicer, Captain Moncreiff, on re-', ''turning to Singapore, reported his failure , 7 to find tho island to his flag oflicer. Ad- tniral Knowlton. Captain Moncriefi'V ' cruise "had not been altogether satisfactory ', T l0 tne m'ra' wno mide some severe cem-j 'd tncnts on this particular point of the fall- i r urc to find the island. I 2'i- "Feeling insulted by the Admiral's Ian- . 'JlrEUiEe, Captain MoncriefT got leave, re-'. 3T turned to England, found Captain Wright!; r!-and secured every detail from him concern- , Mjfcing the island. Then Captain Moncrieff,!; W who was a man of fortune, fitted out a !J bark and, putting Captain Wright in 'jj ..command, sailed In her himself as a pas- ; Sfrf ffnger to the Pacific. While passing tnrouSn tuc Indian Oceau Captain Wright ; rf-:: suddenly developed a violent form of In-eanity In-eanity with suicidal mania oud succeeded 2 U in throwing himself overboard and was 5 lost Captain Moncrieff then took com-;- mand of the vesel. The data given by gjr'l Captain Wripht was, however, complete i 5 and Captain Moncrieff had no difficulty Ic ; finding the Island. ffi- Ti "He landed In January, 1880, and discov-fjih discov-fjih crcd it to be more beautiful and more e.v-riM e.v-riM teu'Te rlian aPtaIu Wright had sup-' sup-' j posed. He also noted, as Captain Wright ijkJjt had done, the flora and fauna aud tem-S tem-S pcraturc were unusual for that latitude. jS'I n l'le m'dJ'c f t"0 island was a eone-jS eone-jS k lite elevation, which appeared to be a re solitary peak. Cuptuin MouLTieff climbed fk -f t0 la P' ul i11511 tiuding a 5 plateau, as he expected, there was a great J. batiln the size and ehapo of an extinct -M i volcano. '3 -r "l musl u&vu CD Mucnched, howeer, ."3 -8Q a5cs and ages ago, foe trees and huge TE V icrns grew, not only to the edge, but &l witbiu the basin itself, llie flagstaff left il54 P111 Wright -was gone and also mtit the tin box which he had burled under jf the cairn. In digging for this box, how- f ever, which Captain MoncFlcff himself 4$ yi ld le foU!,(1 a ,u,nP of 'TilDCP weighing W ) 8omelhirig like fifteen pounds. There l vrc also indications of amber in great aSvj Profuiiion over tho whole Island and cpe- eM f dally upon the sltores of Seliua Bay. :M "8 Captain Moncrieff was inspired sole- tiff. ly by professional pride and the detcrnn- J-&'!. nation to set himself right -with the Ai gf i mlralty he said nothing about bis dib- Jgfi 'i covery of amber to auy ope on bonft .TO 4 Vpi bark. The wisdom of this wa- &? I ihown the neat day, when Captain Mon- O I lfr JnA .. ,, thr Ami At hM Utanrl is which proved to be nearly twelve miles J long, a Fronch fla? flyinp and a paper 1 in an iron box lying at its foot in which i the island was claimed for France by Cup-: Cup-: tajn Gaston, of the French brig Celine, of . Boulogne. Captain Moncrieff, "who happened hap-pened to bo alone when he discovered tile 1 French flag, removed it with tho iron ' box. He had intended to remain at least I n fortnight longer on the island find to , explore it thoroughly, but he thought it best after this discovery, and knowing I the value of the amber deposits, to return to England as speedily ns possible. ThU ' he did. carrying with him the lump of amber. He made a long report to the Admiralty, giving exact geographic and topographic detail, and presented the lump of amber to the Admiralty, asking that it might be sold for the benefit of GreenwichHospital. This was done and the amber brought something like thousand thou-sand pounds. "The affair was published not only In the service journals but In the popular press and excited much attention. Immediately, Im-mediately, however, the Admiralty was informed by the French maritime aulhor-itles aulhor-itles that the island had been discovered by Captain Gaston, of the French brig Cf'linc, In October. 1S20. who had taken formal possession of it in the name of France. The matter was not of much International consequence, but there was sharp correspondence between tli6 naval and maritime authorities of Great Britain and France over the question.. Tills was accentuated by the French covernmeiit sending out a small frigate IIIIrondellc to take formal possession ot the island, which had been named by Captain Gaston L'lsle CCliue. The similarity of names increased the conTusion, and as Captain I Wright was dead there was no explanation explana-tion except by word of mouth of his hav-ing hav-ing given it the name of Sclina. "Some mdnths after Tnirondolle returned re-turned with the strange news that the i?l-and i?l-and could not be found. The awkwardness of this situation The Island Could ""as extreme. Cap-Not Cap-Not Be Found. tflin WrIsllt $ dead and soon after! Captain Gaston wns murdered by mutineers muti-neers on his vessel. After this, by tacit agreement, neither the British nor the French maritime authorities; took any further fur-ther stops in the matter. "The island was not heard of.ngnin until I8r4. when an American merchant vessel, the Jane, of Mnrblchcad, reported having spoken the American sloop of war Albany in Pacific waters. The Jane, being homeward home-ward bound, brought some letters, both official and private, from the Albatiy to the United States. One of these was a communication from the commander of the Albany. Captain Gerry, to the naval authorities at Washington, mentioning, having found and v1 ' ' an uncharted islam! In latitude 1" !4 min..-longi tude 143 deg. 1G m' ich he identified as the Selina Ishnut of the British Admiralty Ad-miralty nnd L'lsle Celine of the French Department of Mnrine. This was the last communication from the Albany, which, it will be recalled, sailed from the United States In August. ISuIl, and mysteriously disappeared, her fate remaining unknown to this day. "Meanwhile, nlmost immediately upon Csptnin Moncrieff's return to England from his voyage to the Pacific, he suc-ceedei suc-ceedei his father as tenth baronet, also Inheriting a large estate, and retired from the navy. Soon after he became hopeless- ( ly invalided, but he survived more than forty years, dying, at the a;e of seventy- two. in 1S74. i "He was a man of peculiar temper, but with n high sense of persoua) and profes- sional honor. He was passionately fond of the navy, nnd corceivod that his pro- i fesiional reputation, as well as his per- j sounl honor, had been crnelly wronged in i this matter of the Island's discovery. 1 "Ills elder son. also a naval otHcer, died some years before Captain Moncrieff, leaving an only sod, Kenneth Moncrlcfi', a hoy of fourteen at the time of his i father's death. The boy lived with his 1 grandfather, who never censed to impress upon him that when he reached man- ( ,hood he should make evcrj effort to clear , his grandfather's memory in this matter of Sclina Island." j Warrington paused for a inoiueut and , , looked at Sir Kenneth, Ijiug back in his long chair and matching the faint blue i I wreath of Mnoke from his cigarette. Not In quiver of an eyelat.ii betrayed that the injection of Sir Kenneth's own personality person-ality into the story affected him in the I : least. Warrington, who Inwardly marvelled mar-velled at thlfl, read on with clear emphasis the tragedy of Sir Kenneth's life, as II Sir Kenueth himself were dead and gone like lhoe souls now In the world of &plrits whose earthly feet had trod the mysterious shores of tho vanishing Island-"The Island-"The boy, who succeeded to his grandfather's grand-father's title and estates', early showed great fondness and aptitude for the sea. lie became an enthusiastic yachtsmau, belonging be-longing to most of th big yacht clubs in Great Brituln, France and America, lie determined to acquire experience in yacht-lug yacht-lug before undertaking th rediscovery of the Island. His warm friend and coadjutor coad-jutor in this uoblc sport was an old school and university comrade of hiu, Hugo Langtou, aud, like Sir Kenueth Moncrieff, a man of large inherited fortune. The Intimacy, In-timacy, which began at Harrow and continued con-tinued through Oxford, was cemented by the similarity of tastes between the two , men, "Langton was reckoned by Sir Kenneth Moncrieff to be the soul of honor, lie had great charm of manner, united with all the accomplithnicniJl of u man of the . vforhl. No thought of jealousy or rivalry between langton and Sir Kenneth had ever arisen In Sir Kenneth's mind. j "I.angton became almost us deeply inter : cstcd in thin matter of Selina Island as . Sir Kenneth himijolf, and together tho f two friends mode a number of cxperi- ; mental voyages In a huso seagoing yacht, '. the Alccstc, built on the JJyde for Sir I Kenneth MoncriefT. 'At last in 16U4 Sir Kenneth, accompanied accom-panied by Langton, sturted upou Ills rral .. voyage of discovery, not mentioning, bow-i- :sver, to any one except Langtou what his ultimate object wae. The yacht sailed :. dv way of Suez, called at u number of it torts and finally stopped at Singapore. There Sir Kenneth met for the first time i- the lady Trho. within two months, became 1 hl wiff JL ISLAND B Fbkcgo'ft'Davia1 "This was Eleanor Chelwynd, the ouly and motherless child of Lieutenant General Gen-eral Chetwyud, who was on his wny home to England before his retirements She was a girl of singular beauty, with great masses of long golden hair, which she sometime, lot fall about her like a veil. Her manners were fascinating, and both Sir Kenneth cud Hugh Langton were ranch interested in her from the beginning. be-ginning. It made, however, no outward difference in their relations, although it became a matter of doubt as to which one the young lady favored. Soon after General Gen-eral Ciietwynd's arrival at Singapore he grew 111 ond it was Impossible for him to proceed to England. Within six weeks his death occurred. "This broilght matters to a crisis; Sir Kenneth Moncrlcft proposed to Eleauor Chetwynd, was accepted, and they were married withi a fortnight. Throughout Langton behaved apparently apparent-ly with Kenerosity and consideration. The new Lady Moncrieff was an enthusiastic yachtswoman, and insisted thnt Sir Kenneth's Ken-neth's marriage should make no change in Ills plans. Sir Ienne!h, charmed at her willingness to accompany him on his voyage, had a room on the Alcestc most bcnutifulb fitted up for her use. It wanj hung In blue satin, and had In it a greatj mirror to reflect Lady Moncrlcft's loveli-j UCbS. I "Langton suggested that it would no) doubt be more agreeable to Sir Kenneth, under his changed circumstances, not to have a guest aboard the Alcestc. nnd proposed pro-posed to churter a hcagoing yacht and accompany ac-company the Alcesto upon her voyuge. This was highly acceptable lo Sir Kenneth. Ken-neth. By good fortune and n large outlay out-lay of money h seagoing yacht was chartered char-tered at Malta by Langton. It wns arranged, ar-ranged, as soon js tlic season permitted, 'that the two vessels should continue their voyage In company. Sir Kenneth had entire confidoucc in his young wife and his friend, and from motives mo-tives of delicacy aud gcnero.sity put no I obstacle Su the way Langton Seemed of their frequent to Have a Desire association. Lnng- To Be Revenged ton was u remark-j Upon Sir Ken- "biy handsome man j nejjj aud a favorite with Women. Sir Kcn-uoth Kcn-uoth discovered afterward that Laiigton's' attuntioiiH to lidy Moncrieff while at Singapore were vcrj much noticed byother persous- from the beginning Langtou, besides, let full sonic expressions showing n feeling of Injury toward Sir Kenneth for having susked Miss Chetwynd to marry him In the flrst moments of her bereavement bereave-ment and when it was known that she would be loft penniless. Also Langton seemed to have a desire to bu revenged upou Sir Kenneth. This, however, wax unknown and unsuspected by Sir Kenneth, Ken-neth, and he regarded Langtou with even warmer friendship than before. "In April, ltstKi, the Alcestc, with Sir Kenneth and Lady Moncrieff abourd, and Langton in his hired yacht, tho Siren, ! started in company to search for Sclina Island. The coal capacity of both yachta gave ihcm a steaming radius of about j eight thousand miles from their lasjKeoul- , jHg place, and they had besides, eonsid- erable aail power. , "They managed to get a fnll supply of r coal off tho coast of Madagascar and reached by the middle of June the Ira- - mediate neighborhood of Selina Ihl.lud as 1 charted by Captain Wright, Captain - Moncrieff, Captnlti Canton und Captain s Gerry, of the 'Jnitcd States sloop of war 1 Albany. f "Like Columbus, Sir Kenneth promised ,, a hanJsome sum of money to the first c man on thp Alcestc or the Sirou who made t out tho island, and Lady Moncrieff, who turned out to be an admirable and enthu- siastlc sailor, demanded that he should give her n riviere of diamonds If 6hc should be tho first one to Bee land. "The Alcesle and the Siren sailed In such close company that Tislts were often exchanged between the yachts, and on the night of June 10, 1S93, Langton came abourd the Alccstc to dinner and to remain re-main the night. At that time every one on both yachts was expecting to sight the island at any moment, It was not, howovcr, seen before sunset. After dinner din-ner Slf Kenneth and his wife and Langton Lang-ton went cp on deck, where they remained re-mained until nearly midnight. A great moon blazed in the henven, making the ocean almost a light as day. The beauty of the sceue seemed to bewitch Sir Kenneth Ken-neth nnd his young vifo and Langton. and they remained o deck talking with 'The-Next Moment Came a crash .Which Seemed to rend the Ocean the givate'st intimacy until midnight. After Af-ter giving ordiMs ttial the Alccstc ahottldj proceed at half speed during the nlght the party separated. "Sir Kenneth retired to his own room wlinro he slept soundly uutll about two o'clock in the morning. lie was then n wakened by n strange and overmastering feeling ns if sonic injury were being done him and that he needed to be avenged on Home one. He rose, and, driven by the feeling, which he never before experienced land which he coulo not explain or even j understand, started up on deck. As ho reached the companionway he was amazed to see Lady Moncrieff and Langton standing stand-ing together nt the head of the stairway, but all other feelings were swallowed up in surpriso and delight wheu Lady Mou-crielV Mou-crielV cried our joyfully to hlra : "1 haw seen land! I was the first to see it. nnd you owe me a riviere of diamonds.' dia-monds.' "Sir Kenneth ran up on deck, aud there in the far distance upon the moonlit ocean lay a black speck. At the same moment the lookout in the top shouted: "'Lund, hoi' "There could be, however, no doubt that Lady MoncriefT waa the first to see the mysterious Island. ! "All was now excitement on the Alccstc Jaud steam was Increased as rapidly as possible. Every soul on hoth yachts was soon awake and alert, and as a splendid ! I sunrise blazed upon the blue ocean the Alcestc, closely followed by the Siren, dropped anchor in Selina Bay. By the I lime the anchor kissud the ground the steam launch of the Alccstc was out and Sir Kenneth, with Lady Moncrieff and , Laugton, was speeding toward the shore. "Nothing more charming than the island In the June uurb could be imagined. The beach, alcEwtf ta hard and white as , marble, glittered 1h the jocund Ught of the curly morpiuz. The rich foliage, the green, gently rolling landscape and flower i scented air gave sweet invitation to inun . i to mak his dwelling in this place of en-chanting en-chanting beauty. The. very first aspect of it impressed Sir Kenneth with the unraaal nntuic nnd temperature of the ! island, us it had improved Captain , Wright and Oapluiu Moncrieff. In tho centre was the concllkc elevation which i -had been observed by all who had set : foot upou this strange isluud At this season It was clothed with green both 'inside and oat, and from the c3go 0f the I interior basin waved a crown of titanic ferns, their graceful branches outlined liko j luce agaiiifct the vivid blue of tho sky. J i "Sir Kenneth had mado provision for a s considerable stay upou tho Island, and i; tents were immediately et up und ip equipped, in which the Moncrieffii and rj Langton lived ashore. Sir Kenneth on jthat duy considered that ho hud reached lithe ultimate height of human huppineas. t!lle had imbibed his gra"dfl,ther's pas-ejsionatc pas-ejsionatc dosiru to rediscover the island and o to make his discovery known to the world, 'and this he had accomplished without trouble or delay. "A great rappincss had come to hlmi unexpectedly in his marriage, und through' what he supposed was Langlon's generosity gener-osity this happiness would iir no "way Interfere with tho object of Sir Kenneth's voyage. Langton showed a warm desire to assist Sir Kenneth In exploring the island, and it was arranged in order to save time that they should do alternate shifts of exploration lasting tvro days at n time. While Sir Kenneth was absent Langton stayed at the encampment "with Lady Moncrieff. nnd -when Sir Kenneth returned Langton would for a couple of days take up the work. Sir Kenneth was surprised, however, to find no 'amber nlong tho coastline and no indications of it nnywhere upon the island. "The weather continued exquisitely oeauiuui, wijn ciouuiess uays anu starut nights. Life in tho tents, which were provided with every modern convenience, was luxurious. Lady Moncrieff was in tho highest spirits, and her sympathy and pride in her husband's success added much to Sir Kenneth's happiness'. He promised her that his gift of diamonds should be m wSm even more costly than ho 'iad at first designed. "Sir Kenneth would gladly have remained re-mained months on the Island, but his work being finished within thtjee -weeks, he felt it u sacred duty to Captain Moncrieff's Mon-crieff's memory to return to England. Ar-rnngeinputs Ar-rnngeinputs were inndo. therefore, that the tents should be struck and the return voyage begun on the morning of July 7, 1S0H. "Ou tho evening of the Gth of July dinner din-ner was nerved for the last time in their island home to Sir Kenneth Moncrieff and Lady Moncrieff and Langton. The ;ceiie wns particularly impressed upon Sir Kenneth. The tabic, brilliant with lights und flowers, the menu prepared by the Alceste's chef, and Lady Moncrieff in a white evening gown looked seductively beautiful. All were in great spirits and rather more champagne wns drunk than usual b the party, but there was nothing approaching drunkenness. After dinner Lady Moncrieff mid the two men went out of doors and walked down upon the bench. There was no moon, but the sky was radiant with stars. Both yachts had steam up, and it wns settled that the Moncrieff s nnd Langton should sleep on board their respective yachts that night. ."While standing upon the beach in the moonlight Lady Moncrieff did what Sir Kenneth had never known her to do before in the presenco of n third person she pa?seil her arm around his neck, drew him to her breast, and kissed him, Langton looking on. Sir Kenneth was surprised nnd embarrassed nt her action, and, glancing glanc-ing toward Langto", saw an expression in his eye, not of amusement, but of menace. men-ace. After that Sir Kenneth remembered nothing more until he fcund himself lying fully dressed in his berth ou tho Alcestc in the midst of a convulsion of all the elements. "He knew not whether it were day or night, whether he were awako or dreaming, dream-ing, or if it were time or eternity. Tremendous Tre-mendous reverbcra-The reverbcra-The Siren Hadtioas thundered from Been Engulfed. ky and sea. The air was black and the Alccstc trembled and plunged like n living thing in an agony of terror. Sir Kenneth managed to crawl upon the deck and the sight which met. his- eyes appalled him. The Island tvus about five miles away and seemed now one great, glowing, red hot furnace, with masses of lava nud flauics that leaped almost to the low overhanging, over-hanging, black sky. A furjous -wind seemed blowiug from all quarters at once, and ashes, rocks aud trees were being hurled in every direction miles outward upon the black ocean. "The sea was evidently agitated and huge gulfs and mountainous waves were on every hand. The Alcestc one moment tossed high upon the great green crested mountain of watct-, the next moment slid down iuto a black and seething ubyas. At one moment hor screw raced violently around, at another it was buried under tons of billows. Two of her water tight compartments were stove in, her upper works wcro a ma& of wicckage, but still she floated like u log upon tho convulsed ocean. Thcroaring and thundering came from the depths of the sea, and it seemed ns if the tloor of the ocean were being rent asunder. "Suddenly between the Alcestc and the gigantic roaring furnace of the Island, which cast a red glare for twenty miles upon the black sky and sea, appeared what seemed to be the ghost of a vessel. It' was the Siren, flung so close to the Alecs Al-ecs te that it was ns if some giant hand had hurled one yacht against the other. Both were completely helpless, and every houI on the Alcestc waited for the moment when the two vessels should deal each other a mortal blow that would send tbem both to the lxntoni. A sudden chasm opened in the Ocean into which the Alcestc fell head foremost. The sumo glguntlc convulsion changed the courae of the Siren, and she passed 'directly across the i forefoot of the Alceste, hut high above, 1 her gunwale almost touching the stump '. of the Alceste's mainmast. i "The Siren was silhouetted with aucarth- ly clearness against the blazing glnre that ' illuminated the coppery heavens nnd 'the i storm swept ocean. Only one living soul was visible upon the Siren's plunging deck. HiIr wns Langton. who. stood with arms outstretched and head thrown buck, as If inviting destruction nnd retribntfon. The next moment came n crash which seemed to rend the ocean jtself. The Siren dls-oppeared, dls-oppeared, and Sir Kenneth knew no more. "When Sir Ken- The Horror of Itneth C3tne t0 Wm aii it , self it was with the All Appalled 9transe subcon. Him. sclousness that ter rible events had happened and the calmness of destruction, had succeeded the tumult. He was still lying in his berth on the Alceite, bur the sea was xmooth and through the open port he could see the sunlit waves heaving gently. gen-tly. He felt fof his electric bell and touched it. and it was an3W,crctl not" by his valet but by the Fkipper of "the yacht. Sir Kenneth asked the-details of all that had happened; and from him found tnat he had come aboard tho Alcestc alone the night of the Gth of July apparently quite himself. JLhe absence of Lady Moncncff aston- ished the skipper, who asked if he should ' send the launch back for her. To this Sir Kenneth gave an unintelligible reply and went below. While the skipper was) considering what to do he saw a boat put off from the Island for the Siren and in i It were Lady Moncrieff nnd Langtou. The skipper supposed that J-ady Moncrieff Mon-crieff had gone with Sir Kenneth's knowledge knowl-edge aboard tile Siren and that he -would probably go after her. In the launch and therefore did not have the beat kenied up. Suddenly a great flame shot up from the green cone on the island. The sky gre instantly black nnd then began the scries of gigantic convulsions which lasted for three days and nights. The Siren had been engulfed and the escape of the Alccste was miraculous. She was terribly ter-ribly injured, but by means of the supplies sup-plies she carried would be able to refit enough to crawl back to Singapore. Every soul on the island had undoubtedly been swallowed up and the island itself had been destroyed. It was now the fifteenth day afterward and only within twenty-four twenty-four hours had the sea assumed Us usual calmness. "The skipper told his fearful story stolidly, stolid-ly, but Sir Kenneth noticed that the man's hair, which had been of raven blackness, jhad suddenly grown nn iron gray. The Ishoek of what the skipper had told affected affect-ed Sir Kenneth strangely. For the first time he had an illumination of the mind, concerning Lady Moncrieff and Langton. i and he realized that he had been bereft 'both of his wife and his friend before the .frightful catastrophe of the island happened. hap-pened. Tho horror of it appalled him and he lay still as deatli, but abnormally conscious for hours. His grief and his rage were swallowed up in contemplating the terrible fate of all who had visited 'the Doubtful Island. Death or disgrace seemed their portion. "Ills grandfather; Captain MoncriefT, had been wrecked in his professional reputation reputa-tion and health nnd happiness after having hav-ing once set foot on the Island. Captain Wright had been a suicide and tho French captain, Gaston, had died a death of violence vio-lence at the hands of his own men. ' "Captain Gerry, of the United States sloop of war Albany, bad touched at the island, and he and his whole ship's c6m-Ipnny c6m-Ipnny had disappeared forever from the Jfacc of the water?. Both death nnd dishonor dis-honor had been the portion of Lady Mon-jcrieff Mon-jcrieff aud Langton, nnd Sir Kenneth 'asked himself, with the coolness born of despair, what further blow of fate was left for him. "At the ond of several hours of this strange lethargy of body and tumult of mind he rose, 'dressed himself and went on deck. It was then about eleven o'clock in the day. The Alccste had got up 6team for the first time that morning, and by Sir Kenneth's orders she wan headed for where the island had once been. Within an hour she was stationary over the spot where, three weeks before was an earthly paradise- The island seemed to have droppcdinto the ocean's depths. "It wns then precisely twelve o'clock and the sun was blading In the cloudless heavens. Sir Kenneth, who was forwnrd, happened to glance iuto the standard conipa.ss. He was nstoaucjed to see tho magnetic needle violently agitated and varying more than twenty poiuts. At the same moment the first officer camo up and, going to the skipper, who stoo.J near, announced that the yacht's chronometer had suddenly stopped. "The skipper and Sir Kenneth simultaneously simul-taneously looked at their own chronom-'elere. chronom-'elere. Both had stopped, and it was found that every watch on board had done likewise and every compass had temporarily lost its magnetism. Although there was a brilliant noon the yacht's! position had to be ascertained by deadf reckoning. Fortunately this strange uud alarming condition was not observed by the crew, but its effect upou the officers! was uncomfortable. It was not until the! Alcestc had made about sixty eca iuilo3r that the standard compass became) normal. ' j "The destination was Sumatra, as Sir' Kenneth preferred to refit before taking the Alcestc to Singapore." Here the manuscript abruptly ended. Sir Keuncth added, in his lsu.iI unshaken un-shaken voice : "It wns there I met you and took you-aboard. you-aboard. ' 1 think we shall reach Singa- , pore to-night. buL tuo.Jatc, to get a.piloL We shall probably be at anchor before ; 'midnight' ' ! Warrington did not share Sir Kenneth's i coolness. The story he had beard agi- t'atcd bint, and, besides, it indicated tint he hud not advanced au inch In solving I the mystery of the Doubtful Island. : So far from doing so, It appeared to i have deepened. Warrington was at a c loss to determine how ho should account to his newspaper for his failure to dis- c cover anything tanfible about the Islaud. Instead of the expedition establishing his 1 reputation in his profession, it wns more t likely to blast his future, Theso painful e thoughts and the dffect upon his nerves I of the story he hnd heard wer extremely c harassing to him, nud he reckoned the day f one of tho most anxious ho had ever apenL 1 AU day tho Alceste sped over purple 1 ao, but hortly before ten o'clock that f night she reached Hie lowcr"by of Singn- pore- A great flood of moonlight made tho ' sea nnd sky nlmost ns light an day. An- ' other Teasel, nn American second class H cruiser,. lay stately nnd serene at nnchor. The nrrangement of lights on the cruiser H showed that hor comrnander wns on board. 'H The Alceste chose n berth above a qunr- - tor of a mile to the windward of tho H cruiser. In letting go the anchor an un- H fortunate accident occurred. The hawser ' H beenroe cntnngled In the screw. As this H very much endangered the screw, the men H were set to work at once to clear it. Iu H order to work bettor the Alccstc was listed H to starboard at an angle which to War- M rington, a landsman, seemed dangerous. H An apprehension of evil quick'.v possessed M him, and he determined to remain on deck H Instead of going below. Sir Kenneth was H on the bridge, his tall figure standing out H , distinctly ,n the white radiance of the LH Silri, b1r,tkmoon' 0 sky, however. M uhlcl, hd beon beautJful, , d m "tudded with lustrous stars, suddenly be- iH came obscured by scudding clouds, through H hlch the moon glared fitfully. Great iB Z3T bKlCk Cluds Cflmc ashing from .M inn! were found necessary in order H 1 iii n lntot while working to H : I'sentangJe lhe ,mvacr Th , s H ; SS "t tle crulser' whU Mt UP a 1 oifrnai, xo you tippi n..;. .n IH wheh the Alceste signalled "back. Xo help H required. Itepalrlng trifling-accident." M wd-W tM0Jinarily tedious M still L ST dCk ?D the frn!nMb das M never uft0D' W"rin'". ""ho had H ,7,? liC P00p' fe,t Li? PPrehenSion M tine th f tak'C l,,C "Ion of put- H bonk C manV8cr,Pt iD leather pocket- M book he carried and placing it Inside his M wit1",1; 'l!' fDd hnd saS P-the wmd called by the Cingalese "the wind M A WJr.,1 c o ,,entu-" Present- H UnZX ?-a!lg ly a hu d rip- H UP-reWuid pie began to ad- of Death. vance over the snr- M , fa;e of the ocean; H ail at once there bnrs,t froin the threaten- IH Jng rtj a terrific gust of wind, which H struck the Alceste as if with a giant hand. M Harrington felt tho deck slipping' from M under his feet aud saw the yncht turning H slowly over to starboard, 'hm, suddenlv H losing her equilibrium. be plunged head H foremost into the black and seething H waters. A fearful cry arose from the souls H engulfed. H There wns a roar of cracking timbers and shattered metals and a crash as the H ' great cataract of water forced the air from H the yacht. Warrington felt himself hurled H : Into the sea. The suction of the vessel H ,was so tremendous that although Warring- H j ton was a strong swimmer and struck out H quickly, it was only by the utmost effort H ! he could drag himself away from the mael- H strom that would have carried him down H i with the doomed Alceste and her company. H He fought and struggled with the waves H j he knew not how lotig; but after a time. .H ; recovering himself enough to raise bis lH I head above the water, he found himself i floating close under the qunrter of the iH cruiser, upon which many lights were iH 1 shining. !H - He had strength enough to utter a faint jH cry; the next moment a life buoy was ' i thrown out to him, followed by n rope i with a bight in It. This Warrington man- jH aged to catch and wns hauled on board j the cruiser. As he was dragged out of the ! i sea aud laid upon (he forward deck he M ! fainted. When consciousness returned he H wns lying iff a comfortable berth and at- 'M i tended by n surgeon. He felt only n Ian- 'M guid interest in life, nnd after a few mo- - ments of semi-consciousness be dropped 'Ll i into a heavy sleep. :H When ho awakened next he realized that ; ; it was morning and he was lying in the H sickbay of the cruiser. His clothes, dried H ; and pressed, were lying on a chair beside H ' him. Anxiety concerning the fate of the H : Alcestc nnd her company made him rlao JH : from his berth, and although feeling i strangely weak he dressed himself quickly ' and went on deck. All was bright and H orderly nnd gave no indication of the ,H i storm through which the ship must havo jH : passed during the night. Warrington went H up to the officer of the deck and, after H : expressing his thanks for his rescue, asked H eagerly about the Alceste. H "I beg your pardon." replied the lied- iH tenant, looking slightly puzzled, "but I H know of no such vessel as you describe. H Last night wns perfectly calm. About H two o'clock your cry vas heard and we H picked you up. We supposed you had H fallen or perhaps had been thrown from H one of the native boats which ply about H these' waters 'and which Europeans some- jH times employ and are occasionally robbed IH and murdered for it." H Warrington's heart stood still nnd his H pulses sscraod to freeze within him. He IH only asked quietly, however, if be might IH sec the captain of the cruiser. IH "Certainly," replied the lieutenant, and Ll in a few minutes Warrington was seated In the cabin with the captain, a keen eyed jH hraan. To him Warrington told with per- H I feet clearness of detail all that happened H since the night before, when the Alcesto H ,cnmc lo anchor by permission of tbo H jcruiscr. The captain iu silence heard him H 'through and then said : H j "I know of no vessel seen by us last H j night, nor do I know of any signals of H 'any kind thnt were exchanged," A cold sweat broke out over Warring- H ton1 and his pale face grew paler. The H captain, coolly turning to his orderly, H directed' the man to bring the log book. H Warrington .sat rigid and ns If clutched H by an Iron band, while the captain ex- amincd the log book. "Ton will see," said tho captaiu, "there H is no entry of any such vessel In the log H book. There were no signals of any sort used last night, which was perfectly Warrington remained silent but in ox- H (rem a torment. After a moment he nroso H and, bowing to the captain, left the cabin. Something in Warrington's face made the H captain say to the orderly : H "Tell the master-at-urms to keep au eye H on that man." H The orderly started off at a rapid pace, fl but ho was too late. Twenty yards away, through the half drawn curtain of an otli- cer's room. Warrington had seen a pistol lying on the bureau. When the orderly caught sight of him he was standing be fore the mirror with the pistol to his car. The orderly dashed forward, but beforo J his hand touched the pistol Warrington fired and fell dead. IH |