Question

three skeleton key
watching her sailing dead for us, a white wave boiling
under her bows, le gleo cried out:
\whats wrong with her crew? are they all drunk or
insane? cant they see us?\
itchoua nodded soberly and looked at us sharply as he
remarked: \see us? no doubt—if there is a crew aboard!\
\what do you mean, chief?\ le gleo had started,
turned to the basque. \are you saying that shes the
flying dutchman?\
his sudden fright had been so evident that the older man
laughed:

o, old man, thats not what i meant. if i say that no
ones aboard, i mean shes a derelict (abandoned ship).\
then we understood her queer behavior. itchoua was
right. for some reason, believing her doomed, her crew
had abandoned her. then she had righted herself and
sailed on, wandering with the wind.
the three of us grew tense as the ship seemed about
to crash on one of our numerous reefs, but she suddenly
lurched with some change of the wind, the yards (in
nautical terms, rods fastened across the masts to support
the sails) swung around, and the derelict came clumsily
about and sailed dead away from us.
in the light of our lantern she seemed so sound, so

1. what might have happened to the ships crew?
2. what effect does this reference of the flying

dutchman have on the reader? what do you think is
going to happen next?

Explanation:

1. Question 1: The text mentions that the crew was "abandoned her. Then she had righted herself and sailed on, wandering with the wind." This implies that the crew may have abandoned the ship.
2. Question 2: The reference to the Flying Dutchman, a fabled ghost ship, is likely to create a sense of mystery and foreboding. It may also suggest that the ship is cursed or doomed.

Answer:

1. The ship's crew may have abandoned the ship.
2. The reference to the Flying Dutchman creates a sense of mystery and foreboding, suggesting that the ship is cursed or doomed.