The Isle of Dead Ships
Crittenden Marriott
Read by Roger Melin
There is a floating island in the sea where no explorer has set foot, or, setting foot, has returned to tell of what he saw. Lying at our very doors, in the direct path of every steamer from the Gulf of Mexico to Europe, it is less known than is the frozen pole. Encyclopedias pass over it lightly; atlases dismiss it with but a slight mention; maps do not attempt to portray its ever-shifting outlines; even the Sunday newspapers, so keen to grasp everything of interest, ignore it.
But on the decks of great ships in the long watches of the night, when the trade-wind snores through the rigging and the waves purr about the bows, the sailor tells strange tales of the spot where ruined ships, raked derelict from all the square miles of ocean, form a great[6] island, ever changing, ever wasting, yet ever lasting; where, in the ballroom of the Atlantic, draped round with encircling weed, they drone away their lives, balancing slowly in a mighty tourbillion to the rhythm of the Gulf Stream.
Fanciful? Sailors’ tales? Stories fit only for the marines? Perhaps! Yet be not too sure! Jack Tar, slow of speech, fearful of ridicule, knows more of the sea than he will tell to the newspapers. Perhaps more than one has drifted to the isle of dead ships, and escaped only to be disbelieved in the maelstroms that await him in all the seaports of the world.
Facts are facts, none the less because passed on only by word of mouth, and this tale, based on matter gleaned beneath the tropic stars, may be truer than men are wont to think. - Summary by the author's prologue (4 hr 42 min)
Chapters
Prologue and Chapter 1 | 10:55 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 2 | 10:44 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 3 | 13:45 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 4 | 9:39 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 5 | 17:12 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 6 | 15:46 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 7 | 23:06 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 8 | 13:51 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 9 | 26:51 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 10 | 12:18 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 11 | 9:08 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 12 | 5:42 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 13 | 17:17 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 14 | 17:16 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 15 | 8:34 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 16 | 18:07 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 17 | 13:43 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 18 | 20:49 | Read by Roger Melin |
Chapter 19 and epilogue | 17:57 | Read by Roger Melin |
Reviews
entertaining
Shelly
An unusual entertaining ,well- paced yarn. Much of its time as regards race , class and women. Another excellent narration from Mr Melin.
Great adventure
Mr Barnes
A well written adventure story. As always Mr. Melin makes the story even better, one of the best readers on librivox.
Great adventure story.
Sharon
Well written, kept me completely interested. Really enjoyed the reader. Thanks