Abaft The Funnel Chapter 4 - A Smoke Of Manila

Abaft The Funnel Chapter 5 - The Red Lamp

In which a kindly husband named Lot endures the relentless, if curiously affectionate, assaults of his formidable father-in-law, whose zeal for combat seems boundless and unwearied despite advancing years. Meanwhile, out on the western ranges, the rugged lives of cowboys and cattle unfold under a harsh sun, painting a vivid picture of endurance and unspoken camaraderie amid the drought-stricken plains.

Abaft The Funnel Chapter 4 - A Smoke Of Manila

In which a seaman contemplates the mysterious and perilous nature of the sea by night, marked by an ominous encounter with a brightly lit passenger steamer and the silent terror of impending disaster. Later, a conversation with a fellow sailor unfolds the tale of a determined lover’s fraught struggle against an Irish father-in-law’s disapproval in California’s rugged west.

Abaft The Funnel Chapter 3 - A Menagerie Aboard

In which a keen-eyed man from Manila recounts the capture of a gang of bale thieves, whose careless smoking betrays them amid the shadows of the godown, leading to their prompt capture by the diligent Guarda Civile. Later, the calm and humidness of a ship’s fo’c’sle at two in the morning is observed, with silent engines and restless cats amid the restless pitching of the deck under a ghostly awning.

Abaft The Funnel Chapter 2 - Her Little Responsibility

In which a man laments a lost love whose sudden remarriage shatters his world and leads him down a spiral of misfortune, all told with a weary candour tempered by whisky and regret. Later, aboard the Madura, the subtle hilarity of a menagerie in transit unfolds under the stars, bringing to life the curious antics of a wayward giraffe and the crew’s bemused nocturnal adventures.

Abaft The Funnel Chapter 1 - Erastasius Of The Whanghoa

In which a grizzled ship's cat named Erastasius—part philosopher, part guardian—reveals his audacious role in preserving the steamship Whanghoa amidst treacherous waters and a mutinous steerage. Meanwhile, the sombre confession of a fallen English gentleman in a sordid San Francisco dive casts a shadow upon the ravages of lost love and self-destruction far from home.