Tales of terror
‘But the captain was with you?’
‘Yes.’
‘And he saw it?’
‘I have reason to think so.’
‘Then were you both deluded? Anyway, poor fellow, he was deluded to his
death. For he has perished.’
I could not enter into any argument. I felt too ill and distressed. I
thanked her for her attention, and begged that she would leave me, as
I thought I could sleep. She complied with this request, but I tossed
and dreamed nightmare dreams, and dreamed and tossed for hours. It took
me several days to recover from that awful shock to the nerves; indeed,
I don’t think I have ever quite recovered, or that I ever shall. I
need scarcely say that from the moment the poor demented captain took
that flying leap into the sea nothing more was ever seen of him, and
an entry of his suicide was made in the log-book, and I signed it. On
our arrival at Havana an inquiry was held by the British Consul, and
I was called upon to state what I knew. I confined myself to saying
that the captain believed himself that he saw a vision occasionally.
He was very greatly affected, and I presume his brain gave way. I did
not attempt to speak of my own awful experience. It was not necessary.
Even if I had done so how could I have hoped to be believed? And yet
I had seen with my own eyes. I, a scoffer in such matters, had been
convinced, and what I have written here I solemnly declare to be
true. Perhaps somebody cleverer than I, and more learned than I, may
be able to explain away the mystery, but for me it will remain an
awful, appalling mystery until I cease to breathe. Then, perhaps--who
knows?--I may be able to solve it.
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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
Perceived typographical errors have been corrected.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.
Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.
On page 181, the sentence "There was but one person at all disposed to
rebel against the despotic sovereignty which John Morgan--" appears.
The transcriber believes that the name should be William Morgan, but
has retained the text as printed.
On page 222, the sentence "Morgan, as was remembered, had gambled his
fortune away..." appears. The transcriber believes that the name
should be Jones, but has retained the text as printed.