'An' there's others wastin' their money fiddlin' about just below the adit level,' put in the old man. 'There's one of'n right here in Botallack. Got control of the old Wheal Garth, 'e 'as. Installed a pump and cleared to about the hundred an' twenty fathom level. Just wastin' 'is money, that's what 'e's doin'. Yet she's a rich mine, the old Wheal Garth. They knacked 'er after the adventurers had had a row — that was back in the depression, in '31 or mebbe 'twas '32. Some o' the adventurers got cold feet. Thort they were spendin' too much on development. They didn't knaw the difference atween prills and dradge most of 'em when the mine was workin' copper. All they knawed was the price copper fetched in the market and the amount of copper that was being brought to the surface. When it came to developing down through bad country for the tin what lay deeper — well, they knacked 'er an' near on two 'undred men were out o' work.'
But I wasn't listening any more. My eyes had been attracted by a headline in the paper that lay on the bar. It read: 'MYSTERY OF ABANDONED REVENUE CUTTER — Crew of four disappear.'
I glanced quickly round the bar. They were all intent upon their argument on the future of Cornish mining. Half fearful that my interest in the story would be noticed, I furtively pulled the paper towards me. The first line produced a sudden leaden sensation in my stomach and I read on, absorbed to the exclusion of all other sounds:
A revenue cutter, which had been sent out to intercept a vessel suspected of smuggling, was found abandoned this morning on a lonely stretch of beach near Marazion. No trace has so far been discovered of the four officials who formed the crew of the cutter and the Customs office at Penzance state that they have received no information regarding the missing men.
Percy Redcliff, a fisherman, of 4 Hillside, Marazion, discovered the vessel beached on the sand at 6 a.m. He immediately reported to the police. Police and Customs officials have examined the boat. They state that the wheel-house and starboard side of the hull are damaged as though by a very heavy sea.
The cutter was seen by several ships during the previous afternoon. The last to sight her was a Naval corvette. The Captain of this vessel reported the cutter about five miles off Newlyn heading south at about six knots through calm seas. Inquiries are now being made concerning the Isle of Mull, a fifty-five ton ketch owned by Mr David Jones. It is believed that this vessel may have sighted the cutter later than the corvette. Until this vessel is located officials are unwilling to make any statement.
It is possible that the cutter came into collision with another vessel last night and was abandoned by her crew. Mr Redcliff, however, pointed out in an interview that when he found the cutter she was quite seaworthy. His opinion was that the crew would have had no justification in abandoning her. Further, he stated that the damage was not, in his opinion, the result of any collision.
The names of the missing men are Frank Riley…
I stopped reading then and looked up. Something said by one of the men in the bar had thrust itself into my mind. The landlord was speaking. 'Ar,' he said. 'Reckon 'e knaws summat.' And then I understood why my interest had been aroused. 'Who — Manack?' asked the old accordion player. 'He's just daft, that's all.'
'Ar, 'e's daft right enough,' put in one of the skittle players, 'Bin queer in the 'ead ever since his wife was killed, poor soul.'