Jack and His Seven Foes — page 64: what you’re looking at

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JACK AND HIS SEVEN FOES. him awake for hours, and it may be imagined that those thoughts were none of the liveliest. The Panther was not devoid of a certain sort of courage, but events had cowed him. ; By degrees the courage he once possessed ‘had been sapped and under- mined, and the dark future before Jum made him quake with fear. “Tf I only knew when it was to be,” he thought, “I might bear it.” And in that lay the sting. He did not know when he might be called upon. He was as helpless and im as hopeless a state as a prisoner under sentence of death, with no day or hour named for his execution. So he brooded on through the hours of rest, and when the eall was heard for him and his companions to turn out and begin the work of the day, he was stall darkly brooding. 55 — Slocum Kerry had charge of the deck with three of his men. They were all armed, as the remainder of the band of murderers kmew, and kept a watch upon their every movement. “They are too strong for us,” thought the Swage¢erer, as he began to serub the deck. ‘There is no hope save in the merey of Jack Boldheart. Wilfhe go on to the end, and w wl he leave me to the last?” Ife almost wished he had been chosen first, and put out of his misery; but life 1s very sweet, and he, like the majority of us, was in no hurry to lose it. And hope, that never deserts us until the end has come, faintly shone before hun. ; H{e might succeed in escaping; Jaclc might die or relent. In short, he need not yet despair. But even while he thought this, he eround his teeth in agony, and groaned aloud. tran ‘FAL 2OA"*AA 2OD PIED OOD LOD + CD49 DREAD * DUA UILTUA Lin -- *. CHAPTER XX. ABRAHAM SPANKER DOES HIS BEST TO MAKE THINGS PLEASANT—WHERE IS JACK 9 Tas “Rattlesnake” kept upon her course for days, nothing of any great moment occurred, and neither Jack, nor Jacob Sturmby, nor old Ben appeared on deck. Their absence, however, gave no relief to the Swaggerer or the other three. ’ The constant fear of his coming kept A a eee oe them on the rack, and the way they | persistently kept their eyes upon the companion that led to the captain’s cabin, sinterfered somewhat with their work. t was a terrible life to live. A erinding, wearing life, that sapped | their courage, and re sduced them, and all, to the level of complete poltroons. Abraham Spanker, without any kindly intentions, did his best to distract their | minds from distressing thoughts. He kept them going all day, sometimes halt through the night. ‘ihe ‘ Rattlesnake, sae Ye said, ‘61s 4 eraft that must be looked to. If you* shirk your work she shows her rattle and bites. and Go ahead with that cleaning ! one | ' i | | | there, you limp-hmbed food for the hangman.” His fertility in finding new names for them was really very surprising. He - vas never ata loss, and occasionally he vould be quite as handy with a bit of rope which he called his ‘‘ Reminder.” “It wakes a man’s memory up,” he said. “If he’s forgotten to do a job, sive him the least taste, and he gets to work at once.” Neither the Pantaloon nor the Sneezer really required much ‘‘ reminding,” but they had a dose of it every diy, and once, when the former ventured to re- monstrate, he met with very prompt treatment. | “Slocum Kerry!’ roared the cap- tain. “ Here,’ answered Slocum, showing | his head up from below. “Put this old stick of mutiny into irons, and give him ty vo days in the hoid on biscuit and water.’ In five minutes it was done, and the Pantaloon passed two days in the hold, with no other company but the rats, (C©@) _ COMICDOOKS