FICTION.
THE OILSKIN PACKET.• WE have to thank Messrs. Reginald Berkeley and James Dixon for proving in their excellent and exciting yarn that the last word has not been said on the subject of treasure islands. Local and, so far as we can judge, technical knowledge they possess in ample store ; but, what is not always combined with this equipment, they have invention, and can spin a yarn in good forthright style. It is not the business of a reviewer of such a book to tell too much of the story, but it may serve to whet the curiosity of the readei• if we briefly outline its preliminary stages.
Captain Crawford, an elderly and kindly man, the sole survivor of an outbreak of cholera in his ship, was wrecked and cast ashore on a small uncharted island in the South Pacific in the year 1871. There were five natives on the island, with whom he soon established excellent relations, a house formerly occupied by pirates, and a quantity of treasure. After four years of complete isolation Captain Crawford wrote a narrative of his experiences, mentioning the treasure but not its whereabouts, sealed up the packet in a chart-tin, addressed it to a solicitor in Sydney, and cast it into a sea current on the chance of its floating out and being picked up. It did, but unfortunately fell into the hands of a cut-throat ;3eots skipper. But while " Citrly Jock " was actually reading the document his brigantine was boarded by another skipper— the crew were all on shore at the time—an American named Woodrow, who overpowered him in a desperate struggle, made off with the oilskin packet, and in due course delivered it unread to the solicitor in Sydney. The solicitor, convinced of the bows fides of the story, at once chartered a ship and appointed Wood- row—a fiery but honest man—to command the rescue expedition. In due course they reached the island, only to find .that " Curly Jock " was already there, though he had lost his ship (he had not got as far as the sailing directions when Woodrow surprised him), and was installed with his crew of desperadoes in the • The Oilskin Packet : a Tale of the Southern Seas. By Berkeley and
Jamey Dixon. With Ilinstaations by Arch Webb. London: *worth and Co. Ka net.]
house or Buccaneers' Castle. Woodrow at once resolved to storm the house by night, "but pressing on too far in advance of his men, was wounded and taken prisoner ; and though his second-in-command captured the stronghold, " Curly Jock " got away with Captain Crawford and Woodrow to the ship, which was treacherously surrendered by the engineer, who had sent him a message warning him of the attack. Meanwhile the natives had lain perdus, and Crawford, the only other person who knew where the treasure was, had from the moment of Curly Jock's " arrival successfully feigned insanity. " Curly Jock " now had the means of removing the treasure ; but he did not know where it was. But he had two valuable hostages. On the other hand, the rescue party had lost their ship, and though they found the treasure, could hardly avoid surrendering it to save the lives of the hostages. It is a very pretty problem, but we must leave our readers to find out how it was solved—after hard fighting and periodical truces. It is enough to say that the natives—elusive, amphibious, and devoted to Crawford—were the determining factor. For the rest, the sharply contrasted natures of the three skippers are well conceived and brought out in speech and action, and the authors show a decided gift for character in their clear-cut portraiture of the minor actors in these brilliant variations on an old theme.
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