THE MYSTERY AND BOBBY Abel had often seen death before.

He had seen men drowned, men who had frozen to death, men accidentally shot to death, and men who had died naturally and comfortably in their beds.

It was, therefore, not the sight of death that startled him, but the horror and tragic appeal in the dead man's staring eyes.

It was uncanny and supernatural.
This, at least, was Abel's first intuitive impression.

Though he could not have defined this impression or put his thoughts into words, he felt much as one would feel who had heard a dead man speak.
He pushed his skiff a few yards away and, resting upon his oars, viewed the derelict from a respectful distance.