The Adventure of the Luckless Mariner

Randolph Meacham, former First mate of the freighter Penguin, was found yesterday afternoon floating face down in the shallow waters at the Docks.

The seaman had been hit on the side of the head with a large, blunt object. Police constables recovered the victim near a dingy for the yacht Southern Star, and believe the sailor was attempting to reach the vessel.

It was common knowledge about the Docks that Captain Clive Lightfoot had been courting Meacham's girlfriend, Raphaela Dorian, during the mariner's absence. The pair had been aboard the Southern Star on the day of the murder attending a party hosted by insurance broker Norton Quimby.

Persons routinely questioned by Scotland Yard include John Strickland, owner of the Penguin; and Angus Burkhardt and John Kinney, former shipmates of Meacham's who with the first officer had survived the tragic sinking of the Penguin at sea.

While Burkhardt and Kinney considered the first officer a harsh disciplinarian, both men credited Meacham for their survival during the gruelling fifteen days the trio spent adrift in an open lifeboat at sea.

Scotland Yard has put the facts before the master detective.