The Secret of the Desert

The Secret of the Desert by Coutts Brisbane is a stunning accumulation of mysteries: a ship with no known origin, a naturalist shot dead during a butterfly hunt, and much, much more. Excerpt: «SAIL lib, port bow, suh!» the lookout in the fore-crosstrees hailed the schooner's deck. «Two stick boat lib, suh!» Captain Girvan, R.N.R., hoisted his long body from the depths of his deck-chair, stared ahead over the shimmering wake of the sun setting across the placid waters of the Gulf of Carpentaria, then swung himself into the main rigging."