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for shore and disaster. At first they believed it was an optical illusion, but as the vessel drew closer, they heard its weather-beaten sails flapping like shrouds in the stiff breeze, and they shouted: "It's the Seabird?" Frantically they tried to wave her, from her course. But the vessel come (sic) on. The watchers, most of them God-fearing fishermen, crossed themselves, and like a funeral procession, boarded the ship, their hearts filled with fear of the sight that their eyes might meet. But the only thing they did meet was a friendly mongrel, its tail wagging as it emerged from the shadows of the vessel and followed them about the dock. A search was made for Captain John Durham and his crew, but no sign of them was found. A look of bewilderment covered the faces of the searchers when they crowded into the small galley and found coffee boiling on the stove and an elaborate breakfast laid out on the table. They also found that the crew's quarters smelled strongly of tobacco smoke, but there was no clue to the crew's whereabouts. Captain Durham was a rugged New Englander, not afraid of the Devil himself, and an excellent seaman. The ship's course was carefully plotted and the navigation instruments all in order. The ship's log lay open, with the last entry neatly noted: "Branton Reef, sighted." Branton Reef, a chain of rock off- shore, is only a couple miles from Newport, where the 300-ton trading boat was scheduled to dock. The Seabird had been on a four-month voyage and was just returning from Honduras. The Seabird remained beached on the sand, the object of many curious eyes. There was mu;ch speculation of how, where, when and why the captain and his crew had disappeared—so close to home—without leaving a tangible clue. The crew of a fishing boat, which returned two hours earlier with a catch, reported hailing the captain from a distance, and said that he waved back at them. They said that the Seabird then was on her course for Newport. crew. Friends nodded agreement, for there were reports by reputable seamen of the sightings of strange denizens of the seas, bigger than whales. A thorough investigation by a Board of Inquiry failed to shed new light on the mystery. They reported their findings to the Captain's wife, a woman of few words. She glanced up from the Bible she as reading, and with a look of resignation, said: "Tis the will of the Lord." The vessel's holds were unloaded. Tropical hardwoods, pitchpine, sacks of coffee and some dyewoods were transported to her designated port of call. Then an attempt was made to refloat the ship—but the Seabird dug deeper into the sand. Soon after, a night gale blew itself into a violent storm. The wind howled around the neck of Rhode Island, kicking up the sea. The sea, in turn, threw mountainous waves at the Seabird, lifting her from her sand anchorage and tossing her about. In the calm of the day that followed, when the sea was gentle again, the fishing folk who lived in the quiet village near Easton's Beach arose early to see what damage the storm had done. They expected to find the Seabird pounded to pieces, her debris littering the shore. Instead, the vessel was gone. Like her ill-fated captain and crew she had vanished without a trace, and was never seen or heard of again! (Fate, April, 1953) 92 Then miraculously, as though lifted by giant hands, the vessel majestically berthed herself on the shore, undamaged. Should Have spilled. One fisherman speculated that a sea monster reached aboard the vessel and swallowed the Peete ed ne bee te ee eee bee eee eee a ate Ae ee FOOD-SHIPS or Home ships She was pushed in Deeper. (Italic by Mr. A)