The Golden Harpoon — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

BS =z 10 THE GOLDEN HARPOON. — mix up my deeds with those of them infarnal , as they led me to the run,” said Marline, “and scoundrels |” you thought you'd take a cruise in this direc- __ “Forgive me!” exclaimed the young man, | tion to see who the prisoner was. Isn't that joyfully grasping the hand of his friend as | so?” tightly as his irons would admit. “I was alto- “Exactly,” repeated Stump, “but I didn’t gether too hasty, and I'm sorry for it. But, | dream who it was until I had crept close to tell me how you came here.” that big opening in the partition that divides “Ay, ay,” said Stump. “Til explain | the run from the steerage. ‘Then, as I'd got matters willingly enough, especially as it will | familiar-like with the dark, I was surprised give me a chance to curse those rascally blue- | enough to see you, and I couldn’t imagine how skins again, and to show you as I always was | you came here, which is the same even now.” for maintaining, that them creatur’s ain’t to be| Marline at once proceeded to enlighten hia trusted.” companion, and as soon as he had concluded, He proceeded to tell his story, commencing | the ship-keeper seized both the hands of his - with those incidents with which the reader is | friend and gave them a hearty squeeze. already acquainted. ‘‘ Misfortunes attend the best of us,”’ he said, ~ Yes,” continued the exasperated seaman, | philosophically, “but we'll hope for the best — as soon as he had described the manner in| ay, ay, we'll hope for the best, and work for it, which he had been thrust into the hole, ‘ they | t0°. The gal—Miss Alice—is the great ‘con- fastened the hatches above me, and then I heard | sideration,’ and if we can only get her safe, ’em go aft, and presently the voice of Tom | Why, if we can do that, it’s all right.” Lark ordering ’em to cut the cable, and loosen “You do not think they'll attempt to harm the topsails, broke upon my ears, so that I her?” cried Marline, interrogatively. knowed they had set that big hang-dog rascal “YT don’t know about Tom Lark,” replied , at liberty. Scarcely was the ship under way, | Stump, “but, as to them pow-wows, I wouldn't when 1 also heard that wild fiend Driko pro- | trust ‘em—not one of ’em. ‘The flesh of that posing to Lark to knock me in the head, and | gal is tender, and them fellows are cannibals thus get rid of me. But Tom, you know, | and like good grub.” although he is a perfect savage when he holds “Can you not contrive some way for me to a grudge against anybody, doesn’t care to shed | get an interview with Alice?” said Harry. blood when he can get along without it, and Stump gave his pigtail a jerk. that was the reason, as I take it, that he re- “I don’t see how it could be done,” he said, fused to comply with the polite request of that | thoughtfully. “The hatches are all fastened infarnal pow-wow.” above us—the door of her room is locked be- “Did you overhear anything that gave you | sides, and—and—ay! ay! I have it!” he sud- an idea of what Lark intended to do with the | denly interrupted, “ which is that that rascally ship?” steward must open the hatch before long to “Not a bit of it, but I haven’t a doubt that | pass you some food, and p’r’haps [ll get a he intends to take the craft into some out o’ | chance to pounce on him, gag him, and tie him the way port, and sell her, cargo and all.” up. The rest will be as easy as the greasing ‘“ 'That’s very probable,” replied. his friend. of a marlinspike. Ill get—if he has ’em about “Ti’s a pity,” he added, “it’s a pity that the | him, which I think is likely—the key of her eaptain and his boat’s crew didn’t stay aboard | room and the one which unlocks your hand- as they are in the habit of doing. Then this cuffs.” misfortune might have been prevented.” “Hush!” whispered Marline. The sound of “Ay, ay, but we’ll be even with ’em yet,” | footsteps approaching the hatch was heard. replied the narrator, “and now I'll tell you “It's him—it’s that rascally Portuguese,” how I came here, which was done by a little of muttered the ship-keeper. “Td know that walk that ‘injunyewity’ for which the Stump natur’ of his from a thousand, lad.” has always been famous. As soon as I per-| _ The noise of the crowbar by means of which ceived that the craft was under way, says I to | the hatch had been secured, was heard, as the myself, ‘Why,’ says I, ‘I’m only fastened with implement was removed, and the next moment, repes, and p’r’aps if I can find the old saw | just as Stump drew back, the trap was pulled which is somewhere in the hold, I can make | aside from the opening, into which a face— short work of ’em. And so I crept about as | the owner of which had stooped upon his knees well as I was able, looking for the instrument, |——was thrust. Without waiting to take a which I soon came afoul of. It was along time | Survey of it, the ship-keeper seized the intruder hows’ ever before I could get it in the right by the hair of the head and pulled him head- position, for I could only use my teeth to do foremost into the run. But, before he had that, and they ain’t quite as parfect as the quite accomplished this feat, and yet when it teeth of a shark. Well, I tugged and pulled | was too late to draw back, he had seen the face with my teeth for a long time, and at last got clearly enough to recognise the harsh and de- the saw ship-shape. Then I turned my back | cided lineaments of Tom Lark, which were to it, and by running the ropes that was about different in every respect from those of the my wrists, up and down the edge, I soon had | steward. “em apart. The rest was easy, and I was glad “Ay, ay, that was a mistake, sure enough!” enough, lad—mightily glad to find myself freed cried Stump, scrambling quickly through the from the cords.” opening, as soon as the uplifted legs of the “And afterwards you heard the mutineers | prostrate man beneath had been removed from Comicbooks-com