The Argosy, Vol. XVI

About this issue

This serial installment, attributed to the author of East Lynne, continues Chapter XXXIV, "The Last Cargo." Mary Ursula Castlemaine, observing from the Grey Nunnery a two-masted smuggling vessel offshore, ventures through secret passages to investigate illicit cargo operations. She witnesses a major smuggling run involving lace and other goods, with Commodore Teague, Tom Dance, and others unloading contraband from boats. A Preventive Service raid, led by Superintendent Nettleby, surprises the smugglers in a brief violent confrontation; the gang escapes to their ship. Mary discovers Jane Hallet—previously believed dead—hiding in the ruins, then stumbles upon the apparently mortally wounded body of Harry Castlemaine concealed in the vaults. The superintendent arrives to examine him, concluding he is severely rather than fatally wounded, the cause of his injury remaining mysterious.