5) “The Double Admiral” by John Metcalfe
Plot:
Bishop John Charles receives a letter from an old friend, a retired admiral named Hood, inviting him up to spend a weekend at his seaside bungalow in Hampshire. John Charles hasn’t seen Hood for a while, but he’s heard rumors about him. He also knows he is in failing health and thinks he detected some hints of something more urgent than a simple request for company.
The bishop accepts the invitation. When Hood meets him, he appears none too well. John Charles hides his disappointment at finding that a man called Beverly, whom he despises as an “ineffective psychologist,” is also visiting.
Hood has asked the two men to come because an amorphous something, like the brownish island glimpsed on the horizon, is slowly draining the life from him.
Thoughts:
The island that is sometimes there and sometimes not got me thinking of the Fata Morgana phenomena, a product of the refraction of light. It has to do with distant objects—ships, islands, other items—appearing inverted and above water or flat land.
One school of thought is that this may be the origin of the legend of the Flying Dutchman—a ship doomed to sail forever and kidnap the unwary, like those skipping church. I don’t know if this is what author Metcalfe had in mind, but it rang a few bells. Aside wandering down that rabbit hole, this is a creepy story.
The bishop pooh-poohs the admiral’s fears but can’t deny his friend is doing poorly. He and (that quack!) psychologist try to do their best for him.
The surprise at the end is dreadful, but not without its cuteness. I might have had a little trouble buying into the premise, but I liked the ending.
YouTube (with obnoxious introduction): here
Bio: William John Metcalfe (1891-1965) was born in the UK. He is best known for horror and weird stories. He earned a degree in philosophy from the University of London and taught in Paris until the outbreak of WWI, then served in the British Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Corps. After the war, he taught in the UK and began writing. After publishing his first short story collection, The Smoking Leg and Other Stories, he wrote full-time. He taught in the UK and the US after WWII. He married American novelist Evelyn Scott.
Title: “The Double Admiral”
Author: John Metcalfe (1891-1965)
First published: The Smoking Leg and Other Stories 1925
Reviews of Old and New Stories. Mostly Old 