Then we returned to find that Bickley had already set the table and was engaged in frying the fish very skilfully on the saloon stove, which proved to be well adapted to the purpose.

He was cross, however, when he found that we had bathed and that it was now too late for him to do likewise.
While he was cleaning himself as well as he could in his cabin basin and Bastin was boiling water for tea, suddenly I remembered the letter from the Danish mate Jacobsen.

Concluding that it might now be opened as we had certainly parted with most of the Star of the South for the last time, I read it.

It was as follows: "The reason, honoured Sir, that I am leaving the ship is that on the night I tore up the paper, the spirit controlling the planchette wrote these words: 'After leaving Samoa the Star of the South will be wrecked in a hurricane and everybody on board drowned except A.B.and B.Get out of her! Get out of her! Don't be a fool, Jacob, unless you want to come over here at once.

Take our advice and get out of her and you will live to be old .-- SKOLL." "Sir, I am not a coward but I know that this will happen, for that spirit which signs itself Skoll never tells a lie.