The Argosy, Vol. XXIV, No. 3

A Secret of the South Pacific *The Argosy*, Vol. XXIV, June 1897, No. 3 This complete adventure serial follows young Howard Thorne's quest to find his father in the South Pacific. Howard learns from his guardian Charles Undercliff that his father, Edgar Thorne, did not die twenty years earlier as believed. Edgar had been falsely accused of stealing five thousand dollars from the family shipping firm after his wife's death drove him to drink and gambling. Years later, the money is found hidden in the vault, and a draft arrives from New Zealand—written by Edgar himself—repaying the firm with interest from an island in the South Pacific Marquesas. Howard resolves to travel on the ship *Naida* to find his father. The narrative introduces rival figures including the sharp-featured partner Monckton and his fashionable son Carter, whose antagonism toward Thorne hints at future conflict aboard ship.