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Walter E. Traprock - The Cruise of the Kawa
No island is sacred among explorers.
"Gentlemen," I said, rather neatly, "I cannot give you the Filberts' latitude or longitude. But I will say
that their pulchritude is 100!"
The place was in an uproar. They plied me with questions, and Dr. Funk's! It was a night of rejoicing and
triumph which I shall never forget, and which only Fred O'Brien can describe.
The later results are too well known to need recital, Swank's success, Whinney's position in the Academy
of Sciences, my own recognition by the Royal Geographic Society.
The tight little Kawa still rides the seas, Triplett in command. She is kept fully stocked, ready to sail at a
moment's notice. Soon, perhaps, the wanderlust will seize us again and, throwing down our lightly won
honors, we will once more head for the trackless trail.
But we will not make for the Filberts. Too tender are the memories which wreathe those opal isles, too
irrevocable the changes which must have taken place. Rather let us preserve their undimmed beauty in
our hearts.
On our next trip we have agreed, all of us, that by far the best plan will be to leave the choice of our
route, destination and return (if any) to the Kawa herself.
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