The two smartly dressed men sat in front of Hamilton's desk. The museum curator was skeptical of them, but allowed them to explain their intrusion.
"So what can the museum do for you, Mr. Ferriman?" Hamilton asked, removing his round spectacles to wipe them with his handkerchief.
"Well," Jack started, "I own a large sightseeing boat company based in Sault Ste. Marie. About two weeks ago, one of my Mackinac Island lines ran into an unexpected storm. The boat was pushed way off course to the north. When the storm had subsided, Captain Drake spotted a ship floating several hundred feet away from them. He tried radio contact but received no response. Drake identified it as being a cruise ship and steered his boat toward it. As they got closer, he noticed there was something odd about it."
"I've never heard of cruise ships on the Great Lakes." Hamilton interrupted.
Irritated, Jack replied, "Not many people have. In the early 50's there was a single ship called the Corona, which ran as a small cruise line. The Corona had a crew of forty two and had a scheduled one hundred and fifty passengers. She set sail on July 19th, 1954 from Chicago heading to Mackinac Island. The trip was expected to take twelve hours. Three hours after the Corona was supposed to dock on Mackinac, emergency search crews were sent out."
"Couldn't they radio the ship?" Hamilton asked, caught up in the story.
"The last radio contact was when the ship was approximately one hour away from the island. The search crews never found the Corona and no wreckage was ever found." Jack continued.
"Is that the ship Captain Drake spotted?" Hamilton asked, enthralled.
Jack resumed his story, "Like I said, as they grew closer, Drake realized there was something odd about it. The ship was very old and weather-beaten. The gleaming steel had turned to rust and there was no living soul onboard. Drake called the coast guard and awaited their arrival. While waiting, he received information on the ship sitting before them and discovered its identity. When the coast guard arrived, Drake took his passengers back to Mackinac Island."
At Jack's pause in the story, Michael chimed in, "Two days later, Jack and I were contacted by the coast guard and informed that the Corona had no surviving owners and we are the possessors of it."
Jack shot a glare at Michael and said, "Yes, and that's where you and the museum come in."
Hamilton quickly sat up in his chair.
"I had the Corona fixed up- in a way. She's restored to her original splendor on the outside, but still needs inside work to be done. What I want, Mr. Hamilton, is for the museum to restore the inside of the Corona so it can finally complete the trip it never finished. I plan to set sail with one hundred and fifty of America's elite on June 22, which is exactly two months from now."
Hamilton, surprised and elated, asked, "Two months...that's hardly enough time! It takes two months to set up a small exhibit let alone an entire ship!"
Smiling, Jack replied, "Mr. Hamilton, I am more than confident you will be able to complete this job in time. The ship is only 245 feet long. The only sleeping quarters are for the crew and all the engine and technical inner-workings have already been taken care of. Money is of no object to me. The Corona is on her way to Chicago this very moment."
Hamilton's eyes grew hungry and his jaw dropped slightly at Jack's 'money is of no object' sentence.
"H-How many curators are you planning on hiring?"
"Well, I thought I would leave that up to you. I want you to be the director of this entire project. What do you say?" Jack asked, eyes flashing.
"I say, 'When do I start'!" Hamilton stood behind his desk, shaking Jack and Michael's hands.
"Excellent! Mr. Oversé will send all the papers you'll need for restoring the ship tomorrow morning." Jack walked to the doorway and turned to smile at Hamilton, "I would be very pleased to hear a proposal presentation from you, say, Saturday at 7:30pm?"
"Oh, uh, yes. Yes. I would be very pleased to show you my proposal." Hamilton said straightening his tweed jacket.
"Good. The Great Hall here should serve well the size of the crowd that will be attending."
"Crowd?" Hamilton questioned, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes. I want to spread the word about this excursion and reach my..." Jack glanced over at Michael, "quota of one hundred and fifty passengers. I expect a thorough presentation Mr. Hamilton. I trust you will not disappoint me." Flashing another one of his brilliant smiles, Jack and his associate left the office.
"So what can the museum do for you, Mr. Ferriman?" Hamilton asked, removing his round spectacles to wipe them with his handkerchief.
"Well," Jack started, "I own a large sightseeing boat company based in Sault Ste. Marie. About two weeks ago, one of my Mackinac Island lines ran into an unexpected storm. The boat was pushed way off course to the north. When the storm had subsided, Captain Drake spotted a ship floating several hundred feet away from them. He tried radio contact but received no response. Drake identified it as being a cruise ship and steered his boat toward it. As they got closer, he noticed there was something odd about it."
"I've never heard of cruise ships on the Great Lakes." Hamilton interrupted.
Irritated, Jack replied, "Not many people have. In the early 50's there was a single ship called the Corona, which ran as a small cruise line. The Corona had a crew of forty two and had a scheduled one hundred and fifty passengers. She set sail on July 19th, 1954 from Chicago heading to Mackinac Island. The trip was expected to take twelve hours. Three hours after the Corona was supposed to dock on Mackinac, emergency search crews were sent out."
"Couldn't they radio the ship?" Hamilton asked, caught up in the story.
"The last radio contact was when the ship was approximately one hour away from the island. The search crews never found the Corona and no wreckage was ever found." Jack continued.
"Is that the ship Captain Drake spotted?" Hamilton asked, enthralled.
Jack resumed his story, "Like I said, as they grew closer, Drake realized there was something odd about it. The ship was very old and weather-beaten. The gleaming steel had turned to rust and there was no living soul onboard. Drake called the coast guard and awaited their arrival. While waiting, he received information on the ship sitting before them and discovered its identity. When the coast guard arrived, Drake took his passengers back to Mackinac Island."
At Jack's pause in the story, Michael chimed in, "Two days later, Jack and I were contacted by the coast guard and informed that the Corona had no surviving owners and we are the possessors of it."
Jack shot a glare at Michael and said, "Yes, and that's where you and the museum come in."
Hamilton quickly sat up in his chair.
"I had the Corona fixed up- in a way. She's restored to her original splendor on the outside, but still needs inside work to be done. What I want, Mr. Hamilton, is for the museum to restore the inside of the Corona so it can finally complete the trip it never finished. I plan to set sail with one hundred and fifty of America's elite on June 22, which is exactly two months from now."
Hamilton, surprised and elated, asked, "Two months...that's hardly enough time! It takes two months to set up a small exhibit let alone an entire ship!"
Smiling, Jack replied, "Mr. Hamilton, I am more than confident you will be able to complete this job in time. The ship is only 245 feet long. The only sleeping quarters are for the crew and all the engine and technical inner-workings have already been taken care of. Money is of no object to me. The Corona is on her way to Chicago this very moment."
Hamilton's eyes grew hungry and his jaw dropped slightly at Jack's 'money is of no object' sentence.
"H-How many curators are you planning on hiring?"
"Well, I thought I would leave that up to you. I want you to be the director of this entire project. What do you say?" Jack asked, eyes flashing.
"I say, 'When do I start'!" Hamilton stood behind his desk, shaking Jack and Michael's hands.
"Excellent! Mr. Oversé will send all the papers you'll need for restoring the ship tomorrow morning." Jack walked to the doorway and turned to smile at Hamilton, "I would be very pleased to hear a proposal presentation from you, say, Saturday at 7:30pm?"
"Oh, uh, yes. Yes. I would be very pleased to show you my proposal." Hamilton said straightening his tweed jacket.
"Good. The Great Hall here should serve well the size of the crowd that will be attending."
"Crowd?" Hamilton questioned, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes. I want to spread the word about this excursion and reach my..." Jack glanced over at Michael, "quota of one hundred and fifty passengers. I expect a thorough presentation Mr. Hamilton. I trust you will not disappoint me." Flashing another one of his brilliant smiles, Jack and his associate left the office.