Then one fine morning in July there was great excitement at the Old Dock pierhead when the familiar green sides and elliptical stern of the Usk were recognised on an approaching ship, it being impossible for the Usk to have been out to the West Coast
and back in the time. And the ship had scarcely passed her lines before the story of the captain's vision was spreading along the waterside.
The interview that took place between Captain Mathias and his owner was chiefly remarkable - not for any visions of the captain, but for the wonderful gift of tongues which descended upon Thomas Beynon. The captain was dismissed with many lurid references to the state of his eyesight. He then retired to his home in Pembrokeshire, as he considered his vision to have been a warning to give up the sea.
Meanwhile Mr. Beynon, thinking that the coal might have become heated after its long sojourn in the hold of the Usk, had it discharged on to the quay at the Old Dock, and allowed it to lie in the open for 14 days before being reshipped. Then the Usk once more left for Valparaiso, and it is probable that Thomas Beynon had chosen a very godless man to be her new captain, though history is silent on this point.
Now comes the odd part of this yarn. Soon after the Usk had rounded the Horn it was discovered that the cargo was heated, and it was found necessary to keep wetting down the decks in order to prevent them from opening up. The ship managed to make Valparaiso Bay, but as soon as the hatches were taken off in order that the fire could be tackled, flames burst forth in every direction and in a very short while the Usk was totally destroyed.
