Arnault looks from the large winch to the hose and back again.
" I'll take zee hose Mr Starkweather. " he says rushing for the hose and starting to unreel it. Rushing to the rail of the ship.
" Hey! " he yells at Tarlow, " Vhat's your plan vith zis? "
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"I counted three of them!" Stanley calls out to Phoebe. The intense heat begins to wash over him and he starts to cough a little as the smoke intensifies. But people's lives might be at stake, and there isn't time to worry about such things. Trying to stay low, he rushes up to the middle one of the men. Medicine not really being his field, he doesn't stop to check if the fellow is still living and instead just tries to pull him away.
September 14th, 1933 - Evening -
Alphonso is too distracted by the horror of the raging fire to notice anything out of the ordinary.
-------------
Stanley is able to brave the heat and smoke and finds the first of the three men with a weak pulse. He is able to drag the man out of the shed and to safety.
As Stanley runs out Phoebe runs in and manages to grab the second man to pull him out of the fire!
------------
Starkweather runs down and twists open the hose control valve. As he does so he explains his plan, "We'll spray the water right onto those drums hanging over the ship. That should keep their temperature down and prevent them from exploding under pressure from the heat of the fire!" As he is speaking the water begins to rush through the hose and Starkweather, try as he may, clearly cannot control it by himself! "Help me here Dr!" He exclaims.
Arnault runs to Starkweathers side grabbing hold of the flailing hose.
" I've got it! " Arnault yells and suddenly is lifted off his feet by the pressure as water sprays everywhere but the fuel barrels.
" Voh!! "
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Looking up and seeing Stanley rush back in Phoebe would start working on the two men already out of the shed.
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Coughing and sweating profusely, Stanley stumbles back into the inferno to pull out the remaining man while Phoebe sees the the injuries of the already rescued pair. Once he gets the fellow clear he doubles over, hacking smoke out of his lungs and trying to catch his breath.
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September 14th, 1933 - Evening -
The banker heads towards the street to get away from the raging fire behind him.
---
Phoebe is able to assist the first two men who begin to breathe normally and gingerly sit up. The third will need medical attention and soon!
As Stanley hacks up soot and ash.
---
Starkweather heads to the control valve and turns it off.
Wild Hose!
The hose narrowly misses Arnault who ducks underneath it. Starkweather turns back to him, "OK, grab it securely I'll turn on the water again, we have to get it right this time!"
Arnault grabs the hose and runs with it to the ships side railing. He holds on as tight as he can while having one arm on either side of the railing to help brace himself.
Eyes on the barrels Arnault yells back to Starkweather.
" Alright, I'm ready turn on zee vater! "
" Dablughlughlug " Arnault yells as he tries to curse but the hose wrests itself from his grip and blasts his full in the face with a barrage of water.
September 14th, 1933 - Evening - The New York Pier -
The hose begins to whip wildly hopelessly out of control spraying water everywhere but on the barrels.
Wild Hose!
This time the hose strikes Arnault!
Turlow and one of the stevedores continue to work the winch finally bringing the barrels onto the Gabrielle. Preventing a further catastrophe.
Some of the stevedores gather their courage and begin to try and cast off the lines from the pier to allow the vessel to pull slowly away from the dock. As the back lines are tied on and not enough of the crew is present the ship begins to drift into the harbor causing the gangplank to come tumbling down! Luckily, no one is near it at the time.
Thoroughly occupied with the business of recovering from his not one, but two, trips into the blaze, Stanley notices nothing whatsoever besides the winded-ness and painful breathing. I hope I never have to do that again... he thinks to himself.
September 14th, 1933 - Evening - The New York Pier -
The investigators watch helplessly with the crew as the docks and the shed burn. The Gabrielle has shifted far enough away to not start burning...yet. Professor Moore arrives with much of the rest of the crew who were on last leave to look on in horror as well.
Before the fire can creep towards the dock where the ship is still moored fire trucks and fireboats finally arrive. They spray down the building
and the docks fighting but not fully defeating the blaze. Paramedics fan out among the injured assisting them with various injuries.
Thirty minutes after the explosion, as a tugboat takes up lines from the Gabrielle, a large section of the pier shed roof collapses in a shower of sparks. A few minutes later the three boxcars on the pier edge
rumble down the buckling tracks and into the river. Someone has loosened their brakes. Starkweather shouts and grins grimly. A wave of water washes across the deck and extinguishes the few embers that land there.
Her port side midships scorched and blackened, the Gabrielle is towed to a new dock downstream at Pier 66
As you watch the tug drag out the ship that was supposed to bring you to the edge of the world this night you all notice the lights of another ship departing down-river.
Starkweather grabs a set of field glasses, "Godsdammit it is Acacia Lexington’s ship, the Tallahassee, being tugged out of the harbor toward the sea. The Lexington Expedition is under way—one day earlier than expected". He turns to Professor Moore, "Is that a coincidence Moore?"
Before Moore can respond the police can no longer contain the press of the Press trying to get on site and interview those present.
September 15th, 1933 - Morning -
You all wake up disturbed by the events of the previous night. The morning papers have a field day with the blaze. Numerous banner headlines are utilized by the paperS.
FIRE IN POLAR SHIP!
NURSE AND ENGINEER NARROWLY RESCUE THREE FROM A FIERY DOOM!
ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION THREATENED!
The articles give no details you investigators do not already know except that it is not clear who started the fire or if it was an accident. Though Starkweather's raving last night pins the blame squarely Acacia Lexington.
As you all eat a quiet breakfast the concierge approaches Alphonso, "Mr. Wolf, Professor Arnault, a Nicholas Roerich is on the phone requesting to speak with you".
Alphonso nods and stands up having half expected this and goes to answer the phone Yes Mr. Roerich?
September 15th, 1933 - Morning -
"Ah Mr. Wolf, I read about what happened in the paper today dreadful news. I fear I am not just calling about your well being. Our conversation and this even have jogged my memory on something I wish to discuss with you and your friends. Can you come to my hotel today, the Netherlands. It overlooks the corner of Central Park at 5th Avenue and 59th Street".
yes sir my friends and I will be right over. With that Alphonso mskes his way to the others and announces the meeting preparing to go there and bringing his hidden firearm with him.
September 15th, 1933 - Morning -
You arrive and are shown up to Mr. Roerich's hotel suite by a bellhop. The door is opened by a dark haired young man who welcomes you all, "Thank you all very much for rescuing my father. I am George I of course already know all of your names".
Nicholas sits in a chair in an area that has been re-arranged as a sitting room, slightly cramped but enough seats for everyone. Evidence of Roerich’s abduction is still evident. His face is covered with fading bruises and cuts. He has a black eye, stitches in his forehead, and generally looks dreadful.
“Welcome,” he says, waving you all to seats. “It was good of you to come. Ah I suppose Seamus could not make it? No matter. George please head downstairs and arrange for lunch for these brave souls, you and I".
George responds, "Of course father".
He heads out the door. "As you know, I came to New York on charitable business, to raise money for the relief of starving men and women around the world of which there are many these days. Recently I received a letter and a package from a friend, Professor William Dyer of Miskatonic fame The letter urged me to go to New York on Dyer’s behalf, to beg Starkweather and Moore as strongly as possible to cancel their plans for the expedition. As a last resort, Dyer wrote, I was to give them an enclosed sealed manuscript.
As I was bound for Manhattan anyway I agreed.”
He takes a sip of brandy, "My manners! Would you care for some brandy?"
After pouring or not a few glasses he continues, "My communications to Moore and Starkweather went unanswered. Then I decided to see Miss Lexington who I knew to be taking such a trip as well. This all you already know. However, I have been giving more thought to the course of events and something does not add up".
He lights a cigar and continues, "I was a good friend to Acacia's Father when she was a young girl and felt it my duty to warn her of that which I was told by Dyer to tell Moore and Starkweather with whom I had no prior associations at all.
"I telephoned the Lexington mansion on the morning of my abduction, and made an appointment with Miss Lexington’s secretary. When I went to the house, manuscript in hand, I was intercepted on the walkway by my kidnapper, who showed me a gun, asked my cooperation, and was assured that if I was helpful I would not be hurt. They got into the black car and drove to the warehouse. Thereafter of course you heroes intervened".
He takes another drink in a bog gulp, "The manuscript was of course taken by the man who left in the water the same one you tried to apprehend but disappeared in the harbor.
I expected to have one more opportunity to speak with Acacia but even after what happen to me, she refused to meet with me. After much thought, this leads me to conclude that she must have had something to do with my attack.
Consider the following:
First, the assailants were not simple hoodlums. They were not interested in money, they wanted Professor Dyer’s manuscript, and they insisted upon learning Dyer’s location.
Second, The only people who knew about Dyer’s message were the leaders of the Antarctic expeditions. I sent letters and made telephone calls to Starkweather and to Lexington but spoke to no one else about it before
the assault. How did my assailants know who I was, where to find me, and that I carried Dyer’s manuscript if someone had not told them?
Third, my attackers were German. I am not certain what that implies. This Sothcott fled after you backed him down but to where did he go from there? The police have yet to locate him.
Lastly, something I forgot to mention to you when you first rescued me, the abductors kept asking me about “Pym’s book,” something which made no sense at the time. The name was familiar, however, and after thinking about it though I now remember why. The memory comes from another theft which happened ten years before, and in which the Lexingtons'
were also involved!"
He takes a breath.
Arnault sips on his brandy and shakes his head.
" I am fery sorry zat my countrymen have given you zese vounds and trouble... I'm not sure vhat zag implies eizer. Sothcott is a problem and his ability to elude zee police shows his experience in matters of crime! If you zink he is involved viz Lexington zen perhaps he is aboard her ship. "
" Please tell us more about Pym's book and zis ozzer theft. "
This is a lot of information to process at once, and Stanley does his best to keep up with it all. He politely declines the offer of brandy when it comes up, he doesn't want anything to impair his concentration.
"I seem to recall some mention of the name Pym from the notes collected in the late Commander Douglas's effects," he chimes in. "He wrote to his brother that a German man -- I presume he was referring to Sothcott -- kept asking him about nonsense things related to his previous expedition, including whether he knew a man named Pym. The name means nothing to me though." He pauses for a moment, in thought.
"So it sounds like you suspect that Starkweather has been right all along? That Lexington has been stirring all this nonsense up just to sabotage our expedition and get down there first? I was inclined to believe the man was just being paranoid. If it's truly the case, however, then I'd suspect Sothcott would most likely have slipped away with Lexington aboard the Tallahassee. In as much as the mysteries were building upon themselves that would almost feel like an anticlimactic resolution." He pauses a second time.
"I am nonetheless curious to hear more about Pym and this theft, and what the two might have to do with the recent spate of ill fortune directed at our enterprise."
Politely declining the offered drink though it is tempting all things considered. Nodding along with the others comments, "Please tell us more about the Pym Book and the theft. "
September 15th, 1933 - Morning -
Roerich continues, "Once I and Acacia’s father were friends. That friendship ended with a falling-out in the early 1920s, but I retained an interest in the family that is how close we once were.
P. W. Lexington’s death in 1921 was called a suicide by the press. His name was linked to a number of shady deals and financial scandals, but nothing ever connected him to criminal acts, and no indictments were ever made. P.W.’s remaining friends told me another story.
They said that P. W. did not kill himself. On the day of the suicide, P. W. had announced a private auction at which he intended to sell a few personal possessions of value. He died before the auction could take place. One of the items to be sold, a unique manuscript, could not be found after his death, and has not been seen since.
The item was Edgar Allan Poe’s The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, serialized in 1837 in twenty-five chapters. Its conclusion was never published. I recalled hearing of the rarity from P.W., who was quite proud of it.
His version differed strikingly from all published editions: it contained four extra chapters, making a complete work. These concluding chapters have never been printed,and were thought never to have been written.
I never saw the book but P. W. was proud of owning it; he believed it to be a true account of travels in the Antarctic, not fiction at all. It seemed to matter so little then. But now someone stole the book then; and someone stole my friend’s work, too.
I must hope it was merely greed in both cases. But . . . .” He shrugs and takes another drink!
[b]“I do not mean to imply that these events are related, dear friends. They prey upon my thoughts as if they were so I elucidate them to clear mine own thoughts. If those who questioned me wanted information about the Pym story, then it must be of concern to them, but I cannot imagine why.”
He puts down his glass, "Despite the fall out and now the lack of response from her, I am worried for Acacia. I feel that she is involved, in some way with those who kidnapped me and stole Dyer’s manuscript. I do not believe that she is responsible, but I fear that she has somehow
joined bad company—Germans, surely, possibly National Socialists. Her flirtation with the movement is well known to me.
It is my belief that Miss Lexington will team up with the Barsmeier-Falken Expedition, a large group of scientists and surveyors which reportedly leaves Germany for Antarctica in a few days. I do not know what her interest in them is, nor what their goals are. I do know that Professor Dyer, man of science and discovery that he is, never speaks of what he found in the Antarctic, and turns anxious and pale when the topic is raised. Whatever he saw must have been terrible indeed.
I do not want to go to the police or the courts. He have no proof that Acacia Lexington has done anything illegal".
He takes a deep breath and pauses, "Forgive me, my thoughts are scattered. Let me attempt to refocus.
Professor Dyer also impressed upon me that the contents of the manuscript must not to be made public. But what am I to do? The manuscripts is gone.
With Miss Lexington now beyond my powers of persuasion, and evidently an enemy to me. Starkweather and Moore are unwilling to see or hear me out.
Now I find myself in the unenviable position of asking a favor of those who I already owe more than I can repay but I must. After all, who else do I know who appears to be heading to the same location as she?
Will you undertake to find out what Acacia Lexington and her German friends are planning in the far south? Will you do what you can to see that she comes home again safely? Please, my friends. Be my hands and eyes. I may not go with you, except perhaps in spirit; but I cannot sit idly by. You are my best chance. Dare I place my hopes in your hands?”
we have no means of transportation to get us quickly enough to that place and I doubt my connections at Goldman and Sachs want to finance anything more. They will ne lucky to recoup anything on this in insurance. I myself do not at this time see how if at all we can help you.
Stanley raises an eyebrow at Alphonso's blunt dismissal. "Just because you don't see how doesn't mean it will certainly be impossible," he points out. "I, for one, am willing to do what I can to keep an eye and ear out as best I can." He takes a moment to adjust his glasses.
"But Alphonso does partially raise a good point. Lexington's head start on us gets bigger as we speak. As far as I can tell, the southern continent is simply massive, so even if we were to make up the time in transit we might still never encounter their expedition. As we often say in research and development, 'wishing will not make it so.' I don't mean to imply, of course, that the help you want is impossible, or rather so difficult as to be beyond even trying, I just don't want to make any promises for which I have no control over the outcome."
"We certainly can try but like these two have said there is no promise of success. But if given the opportunity we can try. You are not the only one interested in what they are doing."
September 15th, 1933 - Morning - Netherlands Hotel
Roerich responds, "Thank you my friends. I for one certainly know there are no guarantees in life. I wish you success on your journey". After some further small talk the Investigators take a cab back to their own hotel.
Mid-Day - Amherst Hotel
When you all enter the hotel you find Starkweather speaking to a few reporters positively beaming, "Indeed the damage is not nearly as extensive as previously reported. We shall set sail in two days time!"
He notices your group and motions to you, "This group, is among he finest assembled for the trip, were it not for them many would have died and perhaps the ship lost!"
Reporters crowd you all for several minutes. Luckily Meeley shows up and manages to extricate you from the crowd relatively quickly. "Seems you are the toast of the town now, heroes for what you all did. At least according to Starkweather anyway".
You all head to the dinig room where lunch is being served. Thankfully reporters are being barred from the room.
Arnault looks very embarrassed as Starkweather praises the group, feeling that he failed to do much of any good the night before and certainly didn't deserve the title of "hero" as Meeley put it.
As Arnault sits down at the dining table with a loaded plate he looks to the others.
" Two days! Zee damage must not hafe been as bad as it looked... Vhat should vee do? I tell you I really only feel like putting my feet up, but maybe vee should look into zis manuscript or Lexington's past? "
Shifting on her feet and fidgeting with the ring on her necklace. "We will not have the resources to look into the manuscript once we are on that boat. Relaxation will have to wait."
September 15th, 1933 - Mid-Day
Stanley tries his best to keep from being the center of attention as much as possible. The anxiety that goes along with all these reporters trying to fish his version of events out of him is almost enough to make him regret having leaped into helping those people. Almost. He is, however, immensely grateful to Meeley for helping to extricate them from the morass. She's a good egg, for a reporter.
"I concur," Stanley agrees. "There will be entirely too much time to relax on the voyage, so it's definitely best to make use of the time we have while we're still here. My previous work involved a great deal of research, so I'm quite adept at doing it on my own. I think that I'd enjoy having company for it this time, though. It seems dangerous to go off by myself these days."
September 15th, 1933 - Mid-Day
" I quite agree Stanley, efen viz the chance zat it vas all Lexington or at least people vorkink viz or for her causing all zee drama, beink by oneself seems fery dangerous zese days. "
"Company would be preferable this time. It is much less safe then when I was last in the library. Besides more eyes looking the better."
Day 1
Help a:
Help b:
Day 2:
Help a:
Help b:
September 15th, 1933
(A) Acacia Lexington - Stanley Roll 1 - Fail
(B) PW Lexington - Stanley Roll 2 - Success! Alphonso Roll 1 - Fail
(C) The Feud Between Acacia and James - Phoebe Roll 1 @ +20 Success! Alphonso Roll 2 - Success!
(D) The Narrative of Arthur Gorden Pym by Edgar Allen Poe - Arnault Roll 1 - Fail Phoebe Roll 2 - Success!
(E) The Barsmeier-Falken Expedition - Arnault Roll 1 - Success!
September 16th, 1933
(A) Acacia Lexington - Arnault Roll 3 - Fail Alphonso Roll 4 - Fail
(B) PW Lexington - Phoebe Roll 4 - Success!
(C) The Feud Between Acacia and James - Arnault Roll 4 - Fail
(D) The Narrative of Arthur Gorden Pym by Edgar Allen Poe - Stanley Roll 3 - Success! Alphonso Roll 3 - Fail
(E) The Barsmeier-Falken Expedition - Stanley Roll 4 - Success! Phoebe Roll 3 - Success!
Research Results
(A) Acacia Lexington - Despite all of your diligent research none of you manage to find anything specific about the past of one Ms. Acacia Lexiington.
Married at 35 in 1901 to Colleen Lexington, the connections through her family—the Hamptons of New York—opened circles to P. W. that otherwise would have been closed to him. Her high social standing and the sizable fortune that accompanied her into the marriage were the basis for the eventual Lexington family wealth.
In 1902 Acacia was born.
In 1913, Colleen Lexington was a victim of meningitis and died of the disease.
P. W., his daughter in tow, toured Europe to create business contacts across the Continent from 1913 through 1915.
From 1915 through 1921 his fortunes increased due to the contacts he made during the Great War.
From 1901 through 1921 he is listed on the Who's Who of important businessmen and politicians.
On August 8, 1921, a member of the house staff discovered Percival Woodrow Lexington dead in his study. The official ruling was death by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
His daughter insisted to the papers that he was murdered over a manuscript. Within a few days she retracted the claims.
The Lexington fortune passes on to Acacia.
DARING RESCUE OF HEIRESS
Nairobi (INS)—The dark continent where the wonders of nature can turn on man and prove deadly has shown once again that wherever European man goes, so goes chivalry. Wireless reports out of the Belgian colonies in Africa tell of the daring rescue of our own socialite scamp Acacia Lexington by that gallant Englishman, Captain James Starkweather.
Lovely Lexington has been touring the regions of darkest Africa dominated by the mighty Lake Tanganyika. Savages fight daily with alligators longer than a Deusenberg to ensure the passage of commerce in this wild region. Against the advice of her elders, Lady Lexington insisted upon seeing the fabled giraffe mating grounds of Eyasi.
Under the expert leadership of Captain Starkweather the band braved the wilderness and arrived at the plains of tall swaying grasses the giraffes find so compelling for their very survival. The wild beasts, gentled by our own lovely Lady Lexington, came within a few feet of the party without making threatening gestures. Lady Lexington’s presence was so compelling that when she came upon a baby giraffe in the grasses, she immediately tamed it and was able to even embrace it briefly before it returned to its herd, earning her the nickname among the savages as ‘“The Woman Whom the Giraffes Love.”
On the return trip to Nairobi, sudden rains caught the party crossing a branch of the mighty Nakuru river. The party was nearly lost as savages panicked under the onslaught of the rain and river. Brave Captain Starkweather rallied the natives and had them chop trees and fashion rafts to carry the supplies to safety.
A personal trip by Captain Starkweather to a nearby village procured enough canoes to carry the party across the river. The crossing was treacherous but under the skilled hand of Captain Starkweather the entire party made it to port in time for Lady Lexington’s return trip
to America.
We’ll all be thanking Captain Starkweather for the safe return of one of the brightest lights of our social season. Hurrah for him and hurrah for chivalry!
The serialized tale stops abruptly at the end of Chapter XXV, with Pym and his companion about to plunge into an unknown abyss somewhere in a seemingly- impossible warm and steaming ocean near the South Pole.
Pym is rumored to have returned from this trip and settled back once again in the US in Richmond Virginia. A few years after his return he perished in a spectacular fashion aboard a burning ferryboat.
A call to the auction house which was to have sold the manuscript knew nothing about the mysterious pages that P.W. was rumored to have as they never saw the book. They mention that Acacia Lexington sold the book to another auction house! Though you have no time to travel to that location before you must board the vessel...
They have over one hundred men and several aircraft, and intend to spend much of the season mapping and surveying Western Antarctica, especially the Filchner Ice Shelf and the Weddell Sea region. The expedition’s published mission is to identify and assay natural resources on the Antarctic continent.
Phoebe, your prior research related to Starkweather and Lexington
P.W. Articles
Percival Woodrow Lexington was discovered in his study dead from a gunshot wound to the head. Police initially suspected foul play from the disheveled nature of the study. “But there are obvious powder burns on his head and right hand,” said Police Detective Ronald O’Meira. “That coupled with the position of the body and gun lead us more toward a self-inflicted wound than foul play.”
But his daughter Acacia does not agree. “Daddy wouldn’t kill himself. These buffoons are looking for an easy answer to keep from doing any real work,” the distraught young woman said. “I vow I’ll find my father’s killers and make them pay.”
Meanwhile an anonymous Wall Street source has hinted that the Lexington fortunes were severely over-extended. The sky in New York society has grown dimmer this evening and the murky surroundings of this death surely spur further inquiry.
An extremely valuable and rare galley proof of the Edgar Allen Poe book The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym has been reported missing from Lexington’s study where his body was found yesterday. “Robbery would be a motive for murder,” said police detective Ronald O’Meira. “But the physical evidence points to a different conclusion. The book may show up in a few days. It’s very difficult for most families to accept the loss of a loved one in this way.” Issuing the notice was daughter Acacia Lexington who previously raised suspicions of foul play and a lax attitude by police in investigating this case.
“This manuscript is unique. I believe it is involved in my father’s death,” she said. “This manuscript differs greatly from the published version. I fear some collector has killed for it.” The manuscript was to have been sold in public auction today, along with other rare and valuable items from Percival Lexington’s collection.
A coroner’s report is expected tomorrow. A public service and private family funeral will be held Friday. The public service will be held at St. John the Divine Cathedral at 11 a.m.
“With the coroner’s report and the physical evidence I have no choice but to face the facts about my father’s death,” Miss Lexington said. Earlier this week Lexington claimed that her father’s death was linked to the disappearance of a rare manuscript he kept in the study where his body was found.
“I believe that book is still in my father’s library,” Miss Lexington said when asked about her earlier claim. “I haven’t finished cataloging the contents of the house to see if anything is missing. When it is done I’m sure we’ll find the book.”
“We know this is a hard time for Miss Lexington,” said police detective Ronald O’Meira who investigated the Lexington suicide. “Any suggestions she made earlier were obviously the result of the strain of the situation,” O’Meira said.
Percival Lexington was eulogized by several business leaders including fellow industrialist John D. Rockefeller and esteemed banker John Pierpont Morgan. He was laid to rest in a private ceremony at the family’s estate in Suffolk County. Lexington’s last will and testament will be read at his attorney’s next Wednesday. It is expected that his daughter Acacia will be his sole beneficiary. Questions still remain as to who will run the Lexington enterprises for this young woman.
September 16th, 1933 -
You all take your last meal together with Meeley, Seamus, Mick, Father Garrity, and Gretchen.
"I've got to admit, I don't get it with this manuscript," Stanley says over their last meal in the normal world. "Poe writes fiction, right? I mean, nobody would read The Telltale Heart or The Fall of the House of Usher and come to the conclusion that these were real, concrete events, right?" He takes another bite, then carefully wipes his mouth.
"So is the only reason it's getting brought up because it's missing? Or was Lexington looking to use it as a guide for her real-world expedition? And what's up with her sudden change of story, too? I think she must have found it after all. Heck, maybe they'll waste their time trying to follow it like a map and we'll make up all the time they gained on us." He chuckles. "Did anyone find anything about the beef between her and Starkweather, by the way?"
perhaps we should use our friends who are staying behind to continue to research these matters and secondary I think someone believes that Poes writing was not fiction but a guide and was willing to kill for it and steal it as that is what has happened.
" It certainly reads like fiction, Ghost ships, humongous Polar bears and zee varm, steamink ocean near zee pole... Zee only zink I can zink of is zat Lexington said her fazers copy vas unique. Maybe it is a much less embellished version? "
" All I've managed to dig up vas some newspaper clippings from overseas, anozer expedition left for Antarctica yesterday from Deutschland! Makes me vonder if Sothcott is really vorking for zese people, trying to discourage competition? It makes sense maybe? Him being German as well? "
The two of them traveled to the Belgian colonies in Africa. That article is ridiculous. They claim Lexington was able to tame a baby baby giraffe. She supposedly got to hug it and then have the infant beast return to its herd. Animals do not work like that. While Starkweather apparently was able to rally the locals into making them a raft to cross a river during a bad storm. He was also able to get them the supplies needed to make it that far. He alone was responsible for them making back in time."
Tapping her chin, "I remember reading a little about it and that Lexington was not pleased with his choice to cross the river. She never spoke with him again after that. Despite the press."
"Lexington thinks she lost her father over that manuscript so it makes sense that she would do what she did. We should definitely have those staying here look into the auction house."
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September 16th, 1933 -
Christopher and Meeley agree to stay behind to follow up on the Auction lead as well as any other leads. Meeley states, "We can wire to Melbourne Australia any evidence we find. Reginald is also back at Miskatonic University by now so if he sends anything down we will forward that along too. Good luck, I am sorry I can't make it. At least my plane will be along for the ride! Bring it back safe ok".
Seamus, Mick, Gretchen, and Father Garrity board with the rest of you.
As the four of you are investigating the leads provided by Roerich, because of everyone’s continuing nervous vigilance, no further incidents interfere with the expedition’s preparations for departure.
All the crew and you intrepid investigators all gather together on board ship for the first time the night of September 16th, 1933, and the Gabrielle sets sail at last. The dark skies are covered with high thin
clouds; the sea is choppy; a number of small boats turn out to watch as the ship salutes the Statue of Liberty, and continues alone south into the Atlantic.
The first days at sea are idyllic as is the weather, while the crew is busy your roles are ones that will be utilized heavily once the ice is reached. For now, this is a pleasure cruise, you hope the troubles of New York will be left behind.
Team Leaders
James Starkweather UK Explorer, guide, lecturer
William Moore USA Geologist and organizer
Guides
Peter Sykes CAN Arctic guide
Nils Sorensen NOR Arctic guide, mountaineer
Gunnar Sorensen NOR Arctic guide, mountaineer
Science Crew
Willard Griffith USA Geologist, Cornell University
Charlie Porter USA Assistant to Griffith
Morehouse Bryce USA Paleontologist, Univ. of California
Timothy Cartier USA Assistant to Bryce
Charles Myers USA Archaeologist, Univ. of Chicago
Avery Giles USA Assistant to Myers
Pierce Albemarle USA Meteorologist, Oberlin College
Douglas Orgelfinger USA Assistant to Albemarle
Samuel Winslow USA General aide, studying glaciology
Camp Crew
Tomás Lopez USA Worker
Hidalgo Cruz ARG Worker
Maurice Cole CAN Worker
Seamus MacHale USA Worker
Mickey Gallagher Ireland Worker
David Packard USA Team boss, camp security
Richard Greene USA Physician
Phoebe Barrett USA Nurse
Clergy
Father Fergus Garrity USA
Technicians
Louis Laroche CAN Radio tech/operator/electrician
Albert Gilmore USA Drill tech
Michael O’Doul USA Drill tech
Sled Teams
Gregor Pulasky POL Sled team chief
Enke Fiskarson NOR Dog wrangler
Olav Snåbjorn NOR Dog wrangler
34 Dogs – 3 Teams
Pilots/Mechanics
Douglas Halperin USA Pilot
Ralph DeWitt USA Pilot
Lawrence Longfellow USA Engineer/mechanic
Alan “Colt” Huston USA Engineer/mechanic
Stanley Chastain USA Engineer
Patrick Miles USA Technician/mechanic