II 



THE ISLAND OP THE DEAD 



STRANGE wild adventures fall to the lot of a 

 fisherman as well as to that of a hunter. On 

 board the Monterey, from Havana to Progreso, 

 Yucatan, I happened to fall into conversation with 

 an English globe-trotter who had just come from 

 the Mont Pel6e eruption. Like all those wandering 

 Englishmen, this one was exceedingly interesting. 

 We exchanged experiences, and I felt that I had in- 

 deed much to see and learn of the romantic Old 

 World. 



In Merida, that wonderful tropic city of white 

 towers and white streets and white-gowned women, 

 I ran into this Englishman again. I wanted to 

 see the magnificent ruins of Uxmal and Ake and 

 Labna. So did he. I knew it would be a hard trip 

 from Muna to the ruins, and so I explained. He 

 smiled in a way to make me half ashamed of my 

 doubts. We went together, and I found him to be 

 a splendid fellow. We parted without knowing each 

 other's names. I had no idea what he thought of 

 me, but I thought he must have been somebody. 



While traveling around the coast of Yucatan I 



had heard of the wild and lonely Alacranes Reef 



8 



