This is the captain of the ship. He is in his cabin. He is writing in a logbook. The captain writes in the logbook every day. He writes about the weather and he writes about the ship. He also writes about the men on the ship. The ship is old. It is a sailing ship. The wind blows and the ship sails. The captain and his men are going home. They are going to reach home soon. They are well and happy.

Captain, there is a strange ship near us. Can you come on deck?

Now the captain and all men are on deck. They are looking at the strange ship.

It’s a very strange ship. There’s no name on the ship. There are no men on deck.

Where are the ship’s men?

The captain is shouting.

Hello!

Is anybody there?

Can you hear me?

Is anybody there?

But there is no answer from the strange ship.

Where are the men on the ship?

Are they ill?

The captain gets into a small boats. Two men go with him. They row across to the strange ship. They are going to look for the men on the ship. The captain is on the deck of the strange ship. The two men are with him. They walk along the deck. They go to the ship’s wheel. There is nobody at the wheel. Nobody is steering the ship. The ship is sailing in the wind. The wind is steering the ship. The captain shouts

Is anybody here?

There is no answer. There is nobody on deck.

The captain is below deck. He is looking for the ship’s men. Now he is in the cabin where the men eat. There is a table. There is food on the table. But who is going to eat the food? There is water in the jug. But who is going to drink the water?

There is a cigar in the ash tray? But who is smoking the cigar?

This the captain’s cabin but the captain is not here. There is nobody in the cabin. There is a table and a chair. The ship’s logbook and a photograph are on the table. The ship’s logbook is open.

Thursday, 25th of November 1869. Where are we? Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Somewhere between Bermuda and Florida, I don’t know. The ship is in a thick white mist. I cannot see the sun or the stars. There is no wind. The ship is not moving. Every day I pray for wind. When will the wind come?

The men are angry. They want to leave the ship. They want to take the small boat. They want row to Florida. They want to go home.