CHAPTER XXVI 



THE TOLL OF THE BRAVE 



IN the last autumn of the eighteenth century H.M.S. 

 Lutine, 32 guns, with a crew of 240, was wrecked on 

 Vlieland, one of the islands off the coast of Holland. 

 One man alone escaped, and he died before reaching 

 England. To-day the Lutine is the best-remembered 

 ship that has added to the toll of the brave in the 

 North Sea, because she carried an immense amount 

 of treasure, and strenuous efforts are being made 

 to recover what is left of it. Considerable capital has 

 been raised to carry on the work, and a wonderfully 

 equipped salvage steamer goes when she can get to 

 the place of wreck and pumps up huge quantities of 

 sand; at other times she lies restfully in the harbour 

 at Harlingen or Terschelling. The workers say that 

 they will succeed; several Dutchmen with whom I 

 spoke this summer, near the place where the Lutine is 

 embedded in the shifting sands, declare that success is 

 impossible, and that neither skill nor pluck will win the 



treasure. 



The Lutine was a French ship which had been 

 captured by Admiral Duncan. She carried a great 

 quantity of money and bullion, and, being heavily in- 

 sured at Lloyd's, she proved a serious loss to that 



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