In the third chapter, "The Madness from the Sea", Thurston reads an article dated April 18, 1925, from the "Sydney Bulletin", an Australian newspaper. The article reports the discovery of a derelict ship in the Pacific Ocean with only one survivor—a Norwegian sailor named Gustaf Johansen, second mate on board the "Emma", a schooner which originally sailed from Auckland, New Zealand. On March 22, the "Emma" encountered a heavily armed yacht, the "Alert", crewed by "a queer and evil-looking crew of Kanakas and half-castes" from Dunedin. After being attacked by the "Alert" without provocation, the crew of the "Emma" killed everyone aboard, but lost their own ship in the battle. Commandeering their opponent's vessel, the surviving crewmembers travel on and arrive at an uncharted island in the vicinity of . With the exception of Johansen and a fellow sailor (who then died as they made their way back to Auckland, New Zealand due to madness from seeing whatever was on that uncharted island), the remaining crewmembers perish on the island. Johansen never reveals the cause of their death.