Adventure Magazine Cover — page 21: what you’re looking at

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

he held a match under the shelter of the dodger. i Have 5 you a match?” 3 “TI beg your pardon,” he murmured as “Thank you. Ah,” she cried as the ship courtesied to ‘the swell outside the gates, “how glorious is that!” “That’s another rough fact,” he replied, grimacing. Vi laughed maliciously. At that moment came the commotion as the Channel pilot came to relieve the dock-pilot and the ship slowed down to drop the latter. With the former came the second mate, Carnell, to begin his dog watch. » “T say, you!” exclaimed Selwyn as soon as he saw Carnell. “Where the ——’s my bag?” Carnell eyed the owner’s son from head to foot slowly. “I beg your pardon, sir,” he said dis- -tinctly. “‘Where’s my bag, confound it! I left it with you aft there.”’ “id haven’t the remotest idea of what you’re talking abeut,” Carnell replied casually. He glanced at the captain’s niece and on to the pilot, to whom he repeated— “Stop it is, sir!” Vi had caught the glance, the accent and the expression. She turned aside to smile. In response to a summons from her uncle Vi followed him from the bridge. When _ they were in the saloon Vi remarked— seas and stinging rainstorms. Vi, “Who’s that second mate of yours?” “Good Heavens, Vi, I don’t know,” responded her uncle, and added as if in explanation: “He only signed on this last trip. Seems a decent chap, capable, and that’s all I care. Don’t like this other bumptious young man though.” “Don’t you? I think I rather like him. I love a scrap; and he’s so funny!” With which feminine remarked Vi dived into her cabin. CHAPTER II FoR nearly a week the squat tramp swabbed off the marks of her trade, wallowed and plunged through cold green who after one day of uneasy emotions regarding food had proved to be a good sailor, spent = seeet of her time on ae upper bridge wrapped i in skies a inhaling a akaies ab t ozone into her injured lungs. amid the creak and groan and swish Mr. cursing his father for having sent him; cursing, too, the ship, the sea, the sky and the pussyfooted Chinese steward who waited upon him with numerous bottles of cham-. pagne which the owner’s son had provided for hisplutocratic pleasure. “You cussee too muchee,” Chi Loo told him softly many times. “You savvee man cussee too muchee s’ip go fer die one time.”’ “Be glad if the moaned Selwyn. ‘Get out, you chink, and don’t talk somuch! Here, come back, you! Oh, Lord—aurrgh 2 Once indeed Selwyn sent for the captain and irritably ordered him to put inte the nearest port. Captain Kelvett regretted that he was unable to do so and advised him to go up on deck. Whereupon the owner’s son wanted to know with many adjectives whether the ship didn’t belong to him, and threatened to have the master sacked if he didn’t obey. Captain Kelvett smiled indulgently, urged him not to drink so much champagne and left him. When the Hesperus was wallowing off the coast of Portugal with a half-gale frem the sou’west on her squat quarter Selwyn did struggle to the saloon table with the fiddles on, looking very white and wan. But the sight of Vi eating with the gusto of a sea- whipped appetite sent him scuttling back to his bunk peevishly protesting that they were leaving him to die. | The morning Vi spent as usual on the upper bridge, her dark, bobbed hair matted with rain upon her glowing cheeks framed in a yellow oilskin. “When d’you think we shall be out of this dirty weather, Mr. Masters?” she in- quired of the mate, whose grizzled mus- taches stuck over a woolen wrapper which always he persisted in using as if he were subject to asthma or some other sedentary complaint. “Morrow probably, miss. Soon as we aM through the Straits. Feel all right to- a pt “AN right!”’ echoed Vi indignantly. “I’ve been all right right along. Happen to be a good sailor, you know, Mr. Masters.” “Mr. Selwyn there can’t say as much, ae Down below _ Claude Selwyn lay wedged in his bunk, __ thing did anyway,”’’ Open another bottle, savvee? . cn eal