
A gritty maritime tale unfolds as a seasoned Pacific trader and his crew drop anchor on the forbidding southern coast of New Britain, a stretch of untouched jungle and whispered warnings of cannibal tribes. The captain, a weather‑worn veteran, balances daring resolve with a fierce protectiveness for his men, sending out small boats to hunt for fresh water while keeping a wary eye on the shadowed shoreline.
Their search leads them to a hidden inlet where an abandoned cutter lies half‑sunk, its torn rudder and battered hull hinting at a desperate escape gone wrong. The crew’s curiosity is sparked, and the quiet of the jungle is broken by the shrill cries of parrots and the uneasy feeling that unseen eyes are watching. As they draw nearer, the mystery of the stranded vessel—and the dangers it may conceal—begins to loom over the expedition, promising a clash between survival instincts and the unknown.
Language
en
Duration
~1 hours (106K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by David Widger
Release date
2008-01-28
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1855–1913
A wandering storyteller of the South Pacific, he turned years of seafaring and island travel into vivid adventure tales and sketches of colonial life. His fiction and memoir-like writing helped bring the islands of Melanesia and Polynesia to a wide English-speaking readership.
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