The Return of the Prospero

Sea Ghosts sequel.

These are the opening pages to the sequel to my ghost story, Sea Ghosts.

The young couple stood on the quay viewing the sea, with a smile, the young lady asked the sailor, "Would it be possible to take a boat out for the afternoon, please?"
The sailor glanced out to sea, and replied, "As you are asking, I presume the young man has sailed before."
The young man replied, "I crewed with my late father many times, captain before cancer struck, and he got forced to sell his boat."

"That be fine, young man, but have you been to sea? These waters are treacherous and full of riptides and mysterious happenings that have baffled any investigation. Mind you keep an eye on the weather, sea mists rise quicker here than any shore I have come across, and if you see the water boiling and a green mist rising head to shore at full speed, and pray you to make landfall before Mad Jack's crew catch up with you."

The young lady looked scared as she asked, "Who is Mad Jack, and what have we to be scared of?"
The sailor was about to reply when the young man said, "Don't worry, love, it's only a tale told to scare the visitors into buying the sailor's a beer. There is nothing to concern yourself over."
The old sailor shook his head, then replied, "You are much mistaken young man, there is a lot to fear, and it's not only a tale told. John "Mad Jack" Adam was alive as you and I, sir, His story can be read in the book Sea Ghosts. The crew swore they would get their revenge for his betrayal one day, and folk around these shores believe the story. Are you from this area, sir?"

The man smiled and replied, "Yes, I grew up not far from here. My family fished these seas for several generations; I am the first not to be a sailor."
"In that case, would I be correct in thinking you have heard of "The Curse of the White Lady?"
"You are correct, I have heard of the curse. It stated that if three captains see the lady in white on the same evening, one of them will die before the next day is over."
"Have you read the story of "The Rocking Lantern?"

"Yes, I have, it is the story of how one Captain's greed doomed his ship, Sally Grey, to a watery death during the great gale of 1871."
"Well, that story is the official story told to the papers, but the people living here know another story that was not allowed to come to the notice of the press in case it panicked the people."