El Cajón Oblongo del Barco Independence: Misterio, Amor y Secretos en Dos Relatos

Primera parte: El viaje del Independence

The narrator bought a ticket for the ship Independence. The ship travelled from Charleston to New York. We sailed on 15th June but, because of certain circumstances, the ship didn't sail until almost a week later.

On the ship travelled a narrator's friend with his family, Mr. Cornelius Wyatt. He had reserved three cabins, but he travelled with his wife and his two sisters. The narrator thought that the third cabin must be for a servant, but there wasn't a servant, so he thought that they had extra baggage: an oblong, wooden box. He thought that Mr. Wyatt had bought the famous painting The Last Supper.

Un comportamiento extraño

Mr. Wyatt and his two sisters spent all their time in their cabins, but Mr. Wyatt, on the contrary, was very friendly, talked to everyone and was very coquettish with the men.

One day, the narrator spoke with Mr. Wyatt on the deck of the ship. He was in a very unfriendly mood and didn't speak much. The narrator decided to talk to him about the oblong box, but Mr. Wyatt fell down on the deck and seemed to be unconscious. After this incident, the captain advised the narrator not to talk to Wyatt for the rest of the voyage, because the captain, like the narrator, thought that Wyatt was insane.

Sonidos en la noche

The narrator's cabin was near the dining room. Wyatt's cabins were on the other side of the dining room and were separated from it by a sliding door. There was a strong wind and the sliding door opened. The narrator saw Mrs. Wyatt leave the cabin and enter the extra cabin. Then the narrator heard strange noises and crying from Wyatt's cabin.

La tormenta

The ship had been sailing for seven days when a very strong wind began to blow. The wind became a hurricane, and the ship wasn't strong enough for it. The ship filled with water, so they lowered the lifeboats into the sea. The narrator stayed on the ship with the captain, Mr. Wyatt and his family, and other passengers.

They put the last lifeboat into the water and they all got into it. When they had just started to move away from the ship, Mr. Wyatt wanted to get his oblong box. Wyatt jumped into the sea. Then they saw Wyatt appear on the deck pulling the oblong box; he jumped into the sea and disappeared with the oblong box into the water.

El secreto del cajón

About a month later, the narrator saw the captain, who told him that on 14th June Mrs. Wyatt had become ill and died. Wyatt had to take the body of his beloved wife to her mother in New York. The body was packed in a box. That was the secret of the oblong box.

Segunda parte: El amor de Mr. Simpson

The narrator changed his family name in order to receive a large inheritance which had been left to him by a distant relative. Now his family name is Simpson. The narrator was handsome, but he couldn't see very well, and he refused to wear spectacles.

One night, Mr. Simpson went to the opera with his friend Mr. Talbot. In the theatre, Mr. Simpson saw a woman. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. It was love at first sight. Talbot knew this woman: she was the celebrated widow Madame Lalande. Mr. Simpson looked at Madame Lalande during the opera, and she looked at him and smiled.

Un amor difícil

When the opera finished, Mr. Simpson left Talbot and tried to get closer to Madame Lalande, but the many people around her made this impossible. He consoled himself with the thought that the next day Talbot was going to introduce him to the woman he loved. But Talbot left the city because he had important business.

Then Mr. Simpson saw Madame Lalande in the same theatre and they exchanged looks. He followed her home and wrote down her address. He wrote her a letter and she answered. Mr. Simpson wrote to Talbot, but Talbot still had some important business, so he decided to wait for her in the park near her house. Finally they talked. He implored her to marry him immediately, but she told him to have a little patience. She was older than him, and that was a problem. She invited him to her house because she was hosting a musical evening.