From the Four Winds

On a tropical verandah, colonial ease gives way to unease as Synge Sahib, restless and lonely beneath a heavy night sky, sits among expatriates whose joking talk of paradise cannot hide the tension in the air. Jack Hay and his frightened wife seem entangled in some private crisis, and the whispered phrase "Synge Sahib run amok" lingers like a warning. From that shadowed beginning, the book moves into a series of vivid, unsettling tales of ships, islands, and desperate human conduct. In "Dick Denver's Idea," a charming rogue is unexpectedly stirred by the sight of an abused woman and quietly sets himself to protect her, even as he plays a cool card game with the blustering Major Massinger. Elsewhere, a ship's doctor is found dead in his bunk, opium at his lips, while the mate's grim practicality and young Raymond's terror deepen the mystery into something almost ghostly. The final story introduces Jean Jacques, a brilliant political convict whose daring escape leads him to the Governor's house, where he seizes a child and turns a stolen moment into a bold, dangerous plan for freedom. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.