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The Castaways, by Harry Collingwood
The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Castaways, by Harry Collingwood This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: The Castaways
Author: Harry Collingwood
Illustrator: T.C. Dugdale
Release Date: November 15, 2007 [EBook #23491]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CASTAWAYS ***
Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
The Castaways
CHAPTER ONE.
MISS ONSLOW.
It was on a wet, dreary, dismal afternoon, toward the end of October 18--, that I found myself en route for Gravesend, to join the clipper ship City of Cawnpore, in the capacity of cuddy passenger, bound for Calcutta.
The wind was blowing strong from the south-east, and came sweeping along, charged with frequent heavy rain squalls that dashed fiercely against the carriage windows, while the atmosphere was a mere dingy, brownish grey expanse of shapeless vapour, so all-pervading that it shut out not only the entire firmament but also a very considerable portion of the landscape.
There had been a time, not so very long ago--while I was hunting slavers on the West Coast, grilling under a scorching African sun day after day and month after month, with pitiless monotony--when the mere recollection of