Ensign Merrill — page 70: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

4 , rae Lew ae . vy eae f Pid Ns iF pe! “ F ad a." . > r,t ‘ lee age ae, : is s . . A tel - 4 # af i ‘ ‘AF io ae: . tee. ; - - : ey ‘Ss Lom ipo . 7 F. G “as dt ‘ ) . : oe Nh art. Y ’ 7 ) s . J . tbe Peter but stronger than before. An occasional ie ‘swash of water against the side caused Mark to glance ‘ Roring with white caps. To : an Bening person e this would have meant nothing, but the ensign’s prac? _ ticed eye read signs not to be disregarded. _ Placing a small whistle to his lips, he sounded a call { which was instantly obeyed. Lumbering aft came the _ boatswain, peering about in the darkness for the com- | MARK HOLDS A COUNCIL. —s6b -mander. Beckoning him over, Merrill ordered the ; old sailor to see everything secured about decks, the smokestack guys tautened, and all stays examined ~ at once. ; While giving these instructions, Ned, accompanied 4 by the-surgeon and Watson, came up, and the party _ adjourned to Merrill’s room. ‘Taking seats around the center table, they proceeded to business. Mark briefly _ explained the object of the council, and asked their ' opinion, addressing himself to Watson first. “To tell the truth,’’ began the second officer, ‘‘I think the situation rather grave; in fact, serious. There is no judging how many of the crew are under pay of the pirates, or ‘looters,’ as we call them in the mer- _ ehant service. There may beonly one more beside this man Blood, and then again, there may be a dozen, or _ even twenty. Didn’t he ship with others after bee discharged from a bark, Mr. Merrill?”’ ‘““Yes; and had good papers, too,’’ replied the en- sign, glancing at a muster-roll on hisdesk. ‘‘He came with six seamen, all of whom are still on board.”’ ‘*They will bear watching,’’ remarked Gage.. ‘‘ Who knows, maybe they have been tampered with also.”’ ‘‘Very probable,’’ coincided Merrill. His face took on an anxious expression, and he walked up and down the center of the cabin for a mo- | & © comicbooks.co