Page:Weird Tales Volume 12 Issue 06 (1928-12).djvu/51



N THE early summer of 1928 the steam yacht Narcissus, owned by the scientist-inventor, John Melville Shepard, was lost in the Pacific Ocean under particularly mysterious circumstances.

When she disappeared the vessel was en route to Hawaii from San Francisco carrying on board Mr. Shepard and his family, together with Jeremiah Hillis, who assisted Mr. Shepard in the operation of the deep-sea diving-bell with which he had recently equipped the ship for exploring the depths of the Pacific. The Narcissus was captained by Count Alexius Karlak, one-time officer in the Imperial Russian Navy. The second in command was Rudolph Brillitz, also a naval officer during the imperial regime. The crew, with three exceptions, were Russians, all having apparently been brought together purposely at the instigation of the captain and his second officer.

Five days out of San Francisco Mr. Shepard and his family, together with the three non-Russian members of the crew, were turned adrift in one of the yacht's open boats. Hillis was held captive aboard. The Narcissus stood by at a distance of several miles until the small boat was picked up by the freighter, Bemis, which had been called to the scene by radio from the Narcissus intimating that the yacht was in trouble.

The last seen of the yacht was by the lookout of the freighter, who reported that she steamed away due