Pulp Fiction, 1928 · page 7 of 68
10-Story Book, February 1928 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Analysis This page from *The South Sea Island Number* contains narrative prose from a pulp fiction story alongside a photograph. The text describes a ship's officer recounting an encounter with an indigenous woman who dives for a coin thrown by the second mate. The accompanying image shows a woman identified as "A Lady Robinson Crusoe"—Catherine Connings, an English actress from a Hollywood film crew who was stranded on a South Pacific atoll. The caption explains she survived by hunting goats and was photographed in her makeshift island clothing for this special *Tropical Number* edition of the magazine.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE SOUTH SEA ISLAND NUMBER 9 piece—hey, Jones—throw the dame a franc or a quarter, if you have it.’ Jones was second-mate and was on deck to see what could be seen. I was the Chief Off- cer and it was my watch. I had a right to be on deck. “The second mate felt in his pockets and finally brought out a six-pence. He held it up in the air in his fingers for them to see, then tossed it into the water. In- stantly the lady dropped her dress and stood for an instant clothed in glory— nothing but—and then slid gracefully over the side of the canoe and caught the scintillating bit of metal before it sank out of sight. When she arrived at the surface; all work had stopped on that ship. I raved a bit, but what would you? The Captain grinning at the sheerpole, the second officer young and blushing, with his adolescent face full of pimples, the third mate ashore in the water boat, the bos’n staring goggle-eyed at the beauty and utterly deaf to threats and en- treaties. . aw well, there was no use. I threw down the belaying pin I held in my hand and sat easily upon the rail and tried to entice the beauty aboard. My efforts were useless. She refused to leave the canoe. It was probably just as well, for had she come on deck there would most likely have been murder—you can’t trust hardy and tough seamen who have been out a year without seeing a female. Someone would most likely have insulted me, the Mate, and I was accredited with holding down a mighty rough crew. I might have become a bit rough with those smart squirts. Of course what they might have said to the girl would have made no difference. She could not under- stand a word. ““How old is that beauty, how old is she?’ I howled at the big pagan. The men had crowded about near the rail and grinned. There was Spanish Carlo, Dutch (Continued on page 7) A Lady Robinson Crusoe was Catherine Connings, this beautiful English girl here shown. She was a member of a Holly- wood moving picture outfit that went down to the South Seas to take a picture: Catherine got left on a small atoll or island, and was not picked up for three weeks, as it was supposed she had gone on to New Zealand. There were some goats there, and Catherine had to stop up her ears and kill one of the poor bleating things. A lady’s got to eat; anyway—the female of the species hath a deadly aim with a rock.. Anyway, she lived, and when she was picked up, the editor of 10 Story Book asked her if she wouldn’t pose for his Tropical Number just as she lived tn her goat skins on Wimsey Island. Catherine has — Wonder if she got her tummy sunburned any Special for The Tropeal Number 10 Story Book COMICcoooks.com