"Did he find it?"
He shook his head. "No. There was no island. He wouldn't believe it at first. It was a long time before he had to accept it. He would not leave the area, so he went to Australia and there he became interested in looking for gold; he always believed he would find the island although he searched continually and there was nothing where he believed it must be."
"Do you think it was a hallucination? He was shipwrecked, wasn't he? And he was only on the island for a short time. It was strange that he was shipwrecked a second time. Do you believe that he imagined the whole thing? If he did he must have drifted for days and days at sea."
"I think that is a conclusion we have to come to—though he never did at heart. You see, the island was perfect ... too perfect. Those lovable natives ... the gold everywhere. It was a dream... an ideal. Perhaps he came to this conclusion in time, though I don't know. However, he discovered gold. He had great success. He went in for mining on a large scale. He was obsessed by gold because it was there on his island. Well, that was the start. He became rich; he married a girl in Melbourne; he had a son, my grandfather... That's the story. It was my father who bought this island. We use it as a sort of refuge. We come here for long spells sometimes ..."
"You and the rest of your family?"
"Mostly myself. I have no brothers or sisters. My father does not come here much now. He leaves it for me."
"And your family... your wife and children?"
"I have not married ... yet."
"Oh, are you planning to?"
He looked at me very steadily. "I suppose most people think of marrying sometimes. There have been occasions ... but something has held me back. And you? But perhaps I am asking too personal a question?"
"As I did of you?"
He laughed. He said: "We are not really strangers, are we? How could we be in these very special circumstances?"
"That's true. You asked me if I was planning to get married. There is someone at home. I thought I might marry him. He has asked me, but as yet..."
"I understand perfectly. And you came out here ... ?"
"I came with a friend who was going to be married. I wanted to find my brother."
"Your brother. So you have family."
"I had a brother. We were very close because of the family situation, I suppose. My mother died when I was born and my father married again and lives out of England. My grandmother took charge of my brother and me. When we were young there was a question of our being separated and that of course brought us very close together. He came out here in search of this mythical island... and we haven't heard from him since."
"How long ago was that?"
"Two years."
"Oh... that's bad."
"I came out to find him."
"How did you hope to do that?"
"I wasn't sure. I thought I might get clues and be led to the solution of the mystery."
"And have you found any?"
"None really. People knew him ... remembered him ... He was in Cariba. Then he left and no one has any idea where he went."
"And you have not found anyone who could give you an idea?"
I shook my head. "I am so frustrated. It seems so hopeless."
"It does seem a hopeless task."
"I really don't know what to do. I went out to look for the island. There is a man in Cariba. You probably know him ... Milton Harrington."
"Who does not know of him? A forceful character. He practically owns the place, I believe."
"He owns the sugar plantation there."
"And he took you out to where you thought this island should be?"
"Yes, there was a map. The one we found in the walled-up room after the storm. My brother took it. I made a copy. So we were able to see where it ought to have been. There was nothing there."
"Nothing at all?"
"Absolutely nothing. Mr. Harrington said there were no islands for a hundred miles at least."
"And you have this map with you, this copy? Are you sure it is accurate?"
"It's an exact copy of the one which was found in Ann Alice's room. I made it myself."
" row did!"
"You know of the family business. Your greatgrandfather was in the same when he came over to England. I suppose that was abandoned when he went into mining."
"Oh yes, of course. Everyone knows of Mallory's maps."
"I worked in the shop now and then. I knew a little about map making ... enough to make an accurate copy."
"I see. I wish I could be of help regarding your brother. I should have been so pleased to meet him. This has been a most exciting morning for me."
"For me too. I am still staggering from the surprise of hearing your name."
"And you now know that I have not stepped out of the past. You know I'm no ghost."
"It's all perfectly normal. You've explained so much. Isn't it extraordinary that we have met!"
"It seems miraculous. But when you think of it, the island—this
non-existent island—is the focal point. You've come looking for it as all those years ago my greatgrandfather did. It drew him here and he started our dynasty in Australia it's true, but we still thought of the island ... and then we came here to this one. You found the journal and the map... and you're here too. There's a sort of pattern to it."
"Yes, that is what makes it so exciting."
"Do you realize that our hour is drawing to an end. Need you return just yet?"
"I must. My friend, Mrs. Granville, will be worrying. She is in rather a nervous state. She suffered a terrible experience in Australia. Her husband died violently."
"Oh... that Granville. There was a case. The bushrangers, wasn't it? He was after them and fell from a balcony when his gun went off."
"Yes, that is the case."
"The papers were full of it. Poor lady, I can understand that she is in a nervous state."
"I was in the house when it happened. I have brought her with me to Cariba. We shall go home together eventually."
"Not yet, I hope."
"I think we shall stay a little longer yet, though I can see that to try to find out what happened to my brother is rather a hopeless task."
"I fear so."
"And you understand I don't want to cause her anxiety."
"Of course. They'll bring your companion back very soon. You will come again?"
"I should like to. I am sure I shall remember all sorts of things I wanted to say after I've gone."
"And if I may, I will come to Cariba."
"That would be very pleasant."
"Now that we have found each other so miraculously that is a beginning. I hear them coming now."
"Then I must say goodbye."
"Au revoir," he corrected me.
John Everton came in looking flushed and rather pleased. "The island is beautiful. It is a pity you cannot stay and see it."
"Miss Mallory has promised to come again," said Magnus Perrensen.
He walked down to the beach with us. He took my hand solemnly and kissed it. I still felt a little light-headed.
"What a strange morning," said John Everton as we skimmed across the pellucid water. "Who would have thought we should have been so hospitably received! And what an odd coincidence that he
should have known your family. Did you have a good discussion about all that?"
"Yes. It was indeed very strange that our families should have known each other a hundred years ago."
"That's quite amazing. I feel very gratified for having been the means of bringing you together."
"Thank you. It was a wonderful experience."