I found that
he had been in command of a whaler which was due to return from
the Arctic seas at the very time when my father was crossing to
Norway. The autumn of that year was a stormy one, and there was
a long succession of southerly gales. My father's yacht may
well have been blown to the north, and there met by Captain
Peter Carey's ship. If that were so, what had become of my
father? In any case, if I could prove from Peter Carey's
evidence how these securities came on the market it would be a
proof that my father had not sold them, and that he had no view
to personal profit when he took them.
"I came down to Sussex with the intention of seeing the captain,
but it was at this moment that his terrible death occurred.
I read at the inquest a description of his cabin, in which it
stated that the old log-books of his vessel were preserved in it.
It struck me that if I could see what occurred in the month
of August, 1883, on board the SEA UNICORN, I might settle the
mystery of my father's fate. I tried last night to get at these
log-books, but was unable to open the door. To-night I tried
again, and succeeded; but I find that the pages which deal with
that month have been torn from the book.
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