"A letter!" cried Shandon. "He is on board, then?"
"He was, that's certain, but he isn't now," said Johnson, pointing to the deserted deck.
Shandon held the letter without opening it in his astonishment.
"But read it, read it, I say," said the doctor.
Shandon looked at it. The envelope had no postmark or date; it was addressed simply to:
"RICHARD SHANDON,
"Commander on board the brig
"Forward."
Shandon opened the letter and read as follows:—
"Sail for Cape Farewell. You will reach it by the 20th of April. If the captain does not appear on board, cross Davis's Straits, and sail up Baffin's Sea to Melville Bay.
"THE CAPTAIN OF THE 'FORWARD,'
"K. Z."
Shandon carefully folded this laconic epistle, put it in his pocket, and gave the order for departure. His voice, which rang above the east wind, had something solemn in it.