Chance

"The mystery."

"They generally are that," I said.

Marlow eyed me for a moment in a peculiar manner.

"Well, I have discovered the mystery of Powell's disappearances. The

fellow used to run into one of these narrow tidal creeks on the Essex

shore. These creeks are so inconspicuous that till I had studied the

chart pretty carefully I did not know of their existence. One afternoon,

I made Powell's boat out, heading into the shore. By the time I got

close to the mud-flat his craft had disappeared inland. But I could see

the mouth of the creek by then. The tide being on the turn I took the

risk of getting stuck in the mud suddenly and headed in. All I had to

guide me was the top of the roof of some sort of small building. I got

in more by good luck than by good management. The sun had set some time

before; my boat glided in a sort of winding ditch between two low grassy

banks; on both sides of me was the flatness of the Essex marsh, perfectly

still. All I saw moving was a heron; he was flying low, and disappeared

in the murk. Before I had gone half a mile, I was up with the building

the roof of which I had seen from the river. It looked like a small

barn. A row of piles driven into the soft bank in front of it and

supporting a few planks made a sort of wharf. All this was black in the

falling dusk, and I could just distinguish the whitish ruts of a cart-

track stretching over the marsh towards the higher land, far away. Not a

sound was to be heard. Against the low streak of light in the sky I

could see the mast of Powell's cutter moored to the bank some twenty

yards, no more, beyond that black barn or whatever it was. I hailed him

with a loud shout. Got no answer. After making fast my boat just

astern, I walked along the bank to have a look at Powell's. Being so

much bigger than mine she was aground already. Her sails were furled;

the slide of her scuttle hatch was closed and padlocked. Powell was

gone. He had walked off into that dark, still marsh somewhere. I had

not seen a single house anywhere near; there did not seem to be any human

habitation for miles; and now as darkness fell denser over the land I

couldn't see the glimmer of a single light. However, I supposed that

there must be some village or hamlet not very far away; or only one of

these mysterious little inns one comes upon sometimes in most unexpected

and lonely places.