If Lars Marlin had three wishes, two have already been granted: he has escaped from Devils Island . . . and he has come face to face with the man who put him therePaco Corvino. But the third wishputting a bullet in Corvinowill have to wait. Theyre off to sea, and not since Fletcher Christian and Captain Bligh set sail on the Bounty have two more heated enemies been in the same boat.
Corvino is a convict, con-man and killer who has schemed his way into a position as chief steward on a luxury yacht sailing out of Rio de Janeiro. And, in a twist as devious as it is diabolical, hes managed to install Larshis hated rivalas captain of the very same vessel. And there are even darker twists to come. . . .
Lars is determined to find out what Corvino has up his sleeve . . . and what killer cargo hes hiding on board. But the yacht owners daughter proves to be a beautifuland dangerousdistraction. Will Lars be safe in her arms . . . or is she part of Corvinos plota deadly trap set with honey?
Like several leading writers of the day, L. Ron Hubbard was invited to Hollywood to write scripts, where his superior talent and productivity attracted numerous lucrative offers from the studios. But, as he wrote in a letter to the editor of Argosy magazine in August 1937: I love to tie a yarn and try to make it blaze in print. The mags will never lose me to the movies. Never, at any salary! And as Argosy gleefully responded in its pages: Next to exorcise the Hollywood virus from his veins was L. Ron Hubbard. . . . he has set to work to give Argosy some more of his rousing yarns. The first, Cargo of Coffins, is due to appear in the November 13th issue, and a serial is likely to follow.
From Publishers Weekly Two escaped convicts, Paco Corvino and Lars Marlin, face off in Hubbard's fast-paced high seas action yarn, first published in the November 1937 issue of Argosy . Some years after Corvino and Marlin independently broke out of French Guiana's Devil's Island, the men meet by chance in Rio de Janeiro, where the debonair Corvino works as the steward of the Valiant , a luxury yacht due to set sail. Corvino persuades the Valiant 's captain to hire Marlin, who's an experienced skipper, as part of the crew, unaware that Marlin blames his hellish stint on Devil's Island on his fellow escapee. Itching to take Corvino out with his trusty .38, Marlin must bide his time as the equally dangerous Corvino fingers his knife. Contraband cargo (heroin) and the yacht owner's beautiful daughter add spice to this taut pulp melodrama. (July)
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Review Cargo of Coffins L. Ron Hubbard. Galaxy, $9.95 paper (136p) ISBN 978-1-59212-352-0 Two escaped convicts, Paco Corvino and Lars Marlin, face off in Hubbard's fast-paced high seas action yarn, first published in the November 1937 issue of Argosy. Some years after Corvino and Marlin independently broke out of French Guiana's Devil's Island, the men meet by chance in Rio de Janeiro, where the debonair Corvino works as the steward of the Valiant, a luxury yacht due to set sail. Corvino persuades the Valiant's captain to hire Marlin, who's an experienced skipper, as part of the crew, unaware that Marlin blames his hellish stint on Devil's Island on his fellow escapee. Itching to take Corvino out with his trusty .38, Marlin must bide his time as the equally dangerous Corvino fingers his knife. Contraband cargo (heroin) and the yacht owner's beautiful daughter add spice to this taut pulp melodrama. (July) -Publishers Weekly
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