The Log of the Endurance
- Matt retreats to his bunk to read the old, beat-up journal of Benjamin Malloy. The first pages are pretty straightforward: coordinates, weather readings, and other observations he made in the beginning legs of his journey.
- Matt can tell by noting the coordinates that over Australia Benjamin Malloy had started to veer off course to the northeast, not too far off of the Aurora's normal path.
- Mr. Malloy mentioned Kate quite a bit; its obvious that he was very fond of her and that they had a shared love of exploring.
- Then things in the journal start to get interesting. Kate's grandfather has spotted an island in the distance, veiled in mist with a crescent-shaped beach behind a green lagoon, and densely forested. He starts to see huge flocks of albatross in the distance, but their coloration is a bit off, and it's unusual to see such large numbers in one place. Then he writes: It's not birds.
- He goes on to describe the creatures, which have bat-like wings and sharp talons on their rear legs. Their wingspan is almost nine feet across, and their body furred and six feet in length. They are extremely agile in the air even though to look at them, it seems like they'd be too heavy.
- In a drawing, Matt observes that the creatures are like half-bird, half-panther.
- On another page Benjamin Malloy has drawn in detail the skeletons of a human, a bat, and this creature for comparison.
- Kate's grandfather spends several days hovering over the island and observing the creatures. He needs to get close; when they see his spyglass they scatter as if they're afraid.
- The creatures never land. They hunt, sleep, eat, and even give birth aloft. When they're born they plummet until the newborn spreads its wings and tentatively flaps them—and then they're flying within seconds of their birth. Pretty darn cool, right?
- After watching several births, the sixth one he witnesses is different. Only the animal's right wing unfurls properly, and the left one seems crimped or stuck, so it falls to its presumed death.
- A few days later the creatures are feeding with a sense of urgency, and then later that night they all leave; Benjamin Malloy notes that the weather is changing, and they're too fast for him to follow in the balloon.
- After this entry, it becomes obvious that Malloy gets caught in a fierce tropical storm—the writing is smeared and the entries are less organized. Then he starts drawing creepy sketches of other strange creatures, and Matt wonders if this marks the moment that he fell ill, and was maybe delusional.
- The last entry in the logbook simply says that he can see an airship in the distance, and he will signal it for help.
- Matt closes the journal and isn't sure what to think. Malloy's sketches are very realistic, and start out so scientific and reasonable, but toward the end it becomes obvious that he was probably very ill. Was he ill the whole time and the creatures are just figments of his imagination?
- The journal gives him bizarre nightmares, and Matt wakes up feeling hung-over. The rest of the day he keeps trying to find a chance to give the journal back to Kate, but he can't seem to find an opportunity.
- As the ship passes over Hawaii the captain enters the lounge to draw attention to Mount Mataurus, which is about to erupt. While everyone is watching the spectacle Kate sidles up to Matt and says, "Amazing, isn't it," but he knows she's referring to what's in the journal.
- Matt confesses that he's not sure what to think about her grandfather's discovery as he passes the journal back to her, and Kate is hurt. She accuses him of thinking like everyone else, and she's obviously really disappointed.
- Matt tries to explain that her grandfather wouldn't be the first person to see strange things in the air. Airshipmen call such things "sky kelpies," and it's the same phenomenon as when sailors used to mistake dolphins and narwhales for mermaids and other mythical creatures.
- Matt asks if she's shown the journal to anyone else, and Kate angrily shares that when she showed her parents they acted like it was just confirmation that Benjamin Malloy had been crazy all along. So she sent a letter about the creatures to the Zoological Society herself.
- The Zoological Society sent Kate an insultingly patronizing letter back, saying that she should think about pursuing activities more appropriate for young women.
- Kate starts arguing that there have to be parts of the world that haven't been explored yet, and Matt finds himself agreeing with her—especially the part of the world that they happen to be flying over as they speak.
- Kate asks if the Aurora will pass over the coordinates that her grandfather specified; Matt doesn't think so, but agrees to notify her when they are at the closest point.
- Kate is hoping that she will be able to photograph the creatures if they are going to cross their migratory path.
- Matt wishes her luck.