Adventure Magazine Cover — page 106: what you’re looking at

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

670 The newspapers viewed Miss Grool as a precious utility. They used her impar- tially as a subject for attack and cartoon, or asa valued contributor, according to the fitful fever of their circulation. Her offer of a series of articles about the wrongs of sailors was seized eagerly by a newspaper that had the largest circulation on earth, but was hard beset by others that had it also. When Henry saw the first article, illus- trated with intrepid fancy and crowned with volcanic ranges of head-line type, his artis- tic soul responded to the call. He thrilled Miss Grool with tales of cruelty and crime. Vengeance inspired him where imagination faltered; and though he invented ever new characters and ships, he impressed on each of his sea-villains some noteworthy and treasured characteristic of Captain Julius Moses or Mr. William Bowsun. il THOSE two, ignorant of treachery, | y had spent harrowing days seeking the =” lost. They searched public institu- tions, not neglecting even an old ladies*home and the colored orphan asylum, while Mr. Bowsun showed especial enthusiasm about madhouses. Finally, in an_ ill-starred moment, they had offered rewards in all the papers, and thereafter their lives were blighted, day and night, by the clamorous arrival of small boys, dragged to the Flying Squid by hopeful captors, who insisted indignantly on being paid for their trouble, while the furious youths expressed them- selves in terse, pointed words. After five long days full of trouble they rested on the Flying Squid during a blessed interval that was unbroken, temporarily, by the arrival of new boys. Captain Moses, idly scanning a newspaper, spoke patheti- cally of Henry, calling to mind many shi- ning qualities that he had overlooked in the days of the past. Even Mr. Bowsun stifled within himself the still, small voice of can- dor, and ventured on the cautious state- ment that Henry probably meant well. Suddenly Captain Moses stared hard at a headline. His mouth opened. “Bill!” said he, and gulped. “Bill! Listen to this! Here’s something about ships. It’s written by a chap, no—I guess it’s a she—named Grool, and he—she says that the facts are from a young sailor. It’s about cruelty at sea.” Adventure “Rubbish!” growled Mr. Bowsun. “‘ What does people as write and print know about the sea?” “Ves, but,” said Captain Moses, ‘hear this!”’ His voice rose passionately as he read a few paragraphs that had a strange effect on Mr. Bowsun. “It’s a lie!” roared he. ‘Let me see that there paper!”’ “Tt don’t mention your name,” answered Captain Moses. “You let me see!”’ bellowed Mr. Bowsun. Captain Moses had been reading some succeeding lines, and seemed suddenly reluctant. Mr. Bowsun snatched the paper and plodded slowly down the column. “Why, here’s something about you, too!” he remarked. Ignoring his superior’s out- stretched hand, he read with careful clear- ness: ‘‘The cap-tain of the schoo-ner was a lit-tle man with a small brown beard and he spent most of his time—keep-ing his hair combed and his—beard nice—and—trim. He talked soft—and low, but he was a crim- in-al at heart. His—mate——” Mr. Bowsun stopped reading aloud and tried to peruse the rest in modest silence. Captain Moses seized the paper and con- tinued with something faintly like satisfac- tion: “‘—was just the opposite in all except wickedness. He used to pull sailors’ ears out by the roots. He was very ignorant, and very big and dirty!” Captain Moses looked up and _ said lightly: “That’s you, Bill!” “What makes ye think that?”’ demanded Mr. Bowsun. Captain Moses coughed. He leaped has- tily to the next paragraph, reading a des- cription of the vessel that fitted the Flying Squid too well to be denied. The two looked at each other and said with one voice: Half an hour later they were in the office of the newspaper, striving to express them- selves in fitting terms. A smiling editor listened with kindly toleration. “I don’t know who you are,” he comforted them, when they had exhausted themselves tem- porarily, “but I don’t see what grievance you have. We didn’t mention any names, you know. Now, for instance, did you ever pull a sailor’s ear out?”’ “No!” roared Mr. Bowsun. ‘‘It’s a lie!” “Or did you knock a man overboard with a punch from a binnacle or a hawse-pipe or whatever it was?” continued the affable editor. GomicdooksEeo