Excerpt from The Island of Surprise My Dear Commodore: Doubtless you have not forgot the many conversations we had over this story, and especially that last one when we sat dis cussing it until two o'clock in the morning one winter night before the big log fire in your library, when we finally worked out the climax together, I being at the receiving end. We two are the only ones who know how much the story owes to you. I do not propose to communicate to the world any details of that debt, but I cannot refrain from acknowledging it, and as the handsomest way of doing it I take advantage of the opportunity to dedicate to you my book in which there is so much of your own suggestion. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.