My last real adventure had ended with the
burial of the Leckwith, which sank in the Red
Sea, and I was hungry fo-some new excite
ment-the very essence and sole enjoyment of
my life. While casting about for something to
satisfy my appetite, the recollection of the
Yarmouth outrage came over me and I decided
to steal a ship and let the underwriters pay
for her, as partial compensation for the one
they had stolen from me.
After a survey of the available supply, I hit
on the Ferret, a handsome and fairly fast lit
ite passenger steamer belonging to the High
Railway Company, which was lying at
" Bay on the Clyde. They would not
jiitn a general charter, which was
htI wanted, so I concluded to charter her
for a year for a cruise in the Mediterra
nean, with the option of purchase for fourteen
thousand pounds at the end of that time. All
of the negotiations were conducted and the
deal closed by Joe Wilson, my trusted aide,
and I was careful to impress him with the ne
cessity for the insertion of the option-of-pur
chase clause. I had so much confidence in him
that I did not closely examine the charter pa
pers and not until it was tdo late did I dis
cover that he had neglected the one vital point.
