'People who disappear, either from choice or compulsion, usually leave behind some trace, some thread or other, which an astute detective can seize on and follow to a logical conclusion. No such convenient clue was to be found in the case of the disappearance of four villagers from the little hamlets on the Suffolk coast of England. When Gilbert Larose, the Australian detective, was put on the case, not only was the trail cold, but there was not a shred of evidence to show that there had ever been a trail at all. The men had simply vanished into thin air. But in his usually entertaining and unassuming manner, Larose scents a major mystery, and. with the unswerving assurance of the black tracker, is soon just a step or two behind the criminals.'
Source:
'The Hidden Door', The Advertiser, 9 August 1934, p.156.
A sailor seeking a berth takes on the job of second mate on the Urania, not realising that the owners have nefarious plans for the vessel.