Adventure Magazine Cover — page 52: what you’re looking at

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

42 sailing-ship fogies for directors. But I’m here to see that none of the come-day- go-day-God-send-pay-day, go-as-you-please methods of ship-running take root out this side of the world. There’s enough of that in London. What I’m telling you goes, too, in your own case, captain. You spent too much time altogether ashore in Adelaide. It'll pass this time, but——” | He stopped, permitting the old man to tack his own conclusion on, and I noticed the skipper gave him just one short, sharp look and muttered something in reply. I couldn’t catch the words, nor did I wish to eavesdrop once I had passed them; but I did see Rat-face start, snarl like a mean dog, and leave the place where he was standing in rather a hurry. He came over to me, but I started first and crossed over as he came, keeping my duty-face fixed ahead. There was something about the man that made me shiver, like rubbing the hide of a shark from aft to for’ard with the bare hand. A covert glance showed me the old man’s face grim and hard, but his eyes seemed to twinkle. It may have been glitter, though, which is different. I crossed over again, keeping a steady stride, and Rat-face looked as if he had lost his peeve, for he passed me and rejoined the skipper. Then, next breath, I got a shock. Rat- face said something I failed to catch again, but I caught the skipper’s reply all right. “Get off the bridge, sir!’’ he roared, and shook his fist in the other’s face. ‘‘D’ye hear me? Owner or no owner, I’m master here, and by the living Kafoozelum if you're not off the bridge in thirty seconds I'll heave you off myself!” Rat-face stared in stupefaction; then, backing before the menacing figure of the angry old chap, I saw his mean little face snarl up like a monkey-face knot with each strand spun of sheer malice. “All right, Captain Basil,” he grinned, backihg down the ladder faster; “make the most of your chance while you are master. But don’t count too much on that pension, my friend. You haven’t completed this voyage without fault yet!” He ‘slipped around the social-hall door- way and vanished just as three or four of the more pleasant directors walked up from aft, and for my part I saw no more of him until we picked up Cape Otway some forty hours later. Then he came on deck again, and from that moment until the steamer tiently. Adventure was in the Rip inside Port Philip, he re- mained like a figurehead at the rail imme- diately beneath the bridge. And from there he kept up a running fire of evil mut- terings which went to the old man’s ears, as. they were intended to. Before the pilot took charge I could hear Captain Basil trying to pump him regarding some hints he had let fall. And I had a bit of curiosity myself about what the ratty one had meant by telling the old man not to make too sure of his pensien. The pilot seemed suddenly struck with discretion, but he said with a hesitating laugh: “‘There’s a yarn geing areund that Rat- face, as you call him, had to come out here to escape the consequences of lesing a steamer in a.shady way. His skipper did the job all right, it seems, but some nosey flying-machine spotted the business and blabbed.”’ “Yes, yes,” exclaimed the skipper impa- “T heard all that at home. But what about the other matter you hinted at? I want to get that without any mistake. If it’s true——” I glanced over the rail at the rat-faced one standing below; he had his head on one side, listening with his lugs, wide open, but the pilot lowered his voice and foeeled him. “That’s true, too, so far as anybody knows. I don’t know what the young chap’s name is, but I hear he’s the same skipper who lost that steamer back home, and this was the only job he could get. She’s a wild steamer, is the Flamingo, and has a name for such. She manages to pass inspection, somehow, God knows how; but she’s a shocking old brute, and she’ll lese her mas- ter his ticket before long. That seems to be the idea. The owner bought her, know- ing her record; gave this youngster the mate’s berth until his suspension was up, then let him have her. He’ll lose her sooner or later; can’t help it; then, with his past recor ~ “The lad’ll be condemned without a hearing!’ the old man vehemently broke in. ‘Perhaps they won’t take his ticket from him, but owners won’t look at him except cross-eyed!”’ ““You’ve hit it,’’ rejoined the pilot, earn- estly. “And what’s more, by keeping the Flamingo on this Melbourne run where she must make this bad entrance twice a voy- age, she’s as surely fixed for trouble as if dynamite had been laid under her boilers.” Eomicbooks (E@)