Adventure Magazine Cover, April 1916 — page 51: what you’re looking at

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

Days of Morgan This set the men nodding and bobbing their heads again. ‘And would you be content with such poor spoils, men,” the girl went on, “when another year, ay, another six months, or even a month, and you might return like gentlemen indeed, with ten times the treas- ure we have here?”’ “The maid is right! wisdom,” bellowed Jim Rimble. times the treasure, men!”’ There was another outburst of cheering. ‘‘Nor will we go until all may go in safety —until we have riches enough to make the venture worth the risk! What, men?”’ cried the girl. “Ay, ay!’ shouted the men. Nancy glanced up, and there stood Cap- tain Stillingfleet by the cabin door, a look in his eyes that was half anger, half amusement. “‘And how will you navigate the ship, my hearties?’? he demanded. The noisy dem- onstration ceased, and the men fell to shuffling their feet and looking at one an- other in deep perplexity. ‘For know ye withal, men, I will have no part in this pi- racy, nor will I aid you in any way. To this decision will I adhere whatever betides. Go on with thy madness as thou wilt. I wash my hands of ye.” The men’s faces fell prodigiously at this, but Nancy said, looking the Devon man very frankly in the face: “We have a pilot among us, sir, and can do without you.” ‘““Ay,” he replied, “‘the Spaniard. But hark ye, men, an ye put one of these Dons at your helm and he will assuredly take ye into some Spanish city, nor will ye know better until it is too late and the guns of the fort are on you.” “Nay,” interrupted Nancy, “I had no thought of the Spaniard.” “Who, then?” ““Myself!”’ “VouP’’ “I know the use of charts and globes, the application of Gunter’s scale and _loga- rithms,” she answered him, smiling. ‘I can take an observation as well as you. Nor am I the only one, for there is Pierre, the Frenchman, who hath sailed twice to the Eastern Indies by the Portuguese route, and hath made many voyages in these very seas. He will be our pilot. So, which is it to be, men—England and Newgate, or the Spanish Main and riches?” 4 The maid speaks “Ten 49 Such a volley of roars and shouts and yells of delight ascended at this brave speech, which fired their imaginations while it set at rest their doubts, that the whole ship throbbed with it, and Barney, aflame with excitement, his face one great expanse of joyous mouth, leaped upon the cabin table, and tearing off his cap, proposed three cheers. will. “‘Now, men!” cried Nancy. “TI set you free from d’Ogeron’s castle——”’ “Ay, that you did,” they chorused back with a great British: bellow. “Follow me, and we will seek purchase. But know ye, withal, I am the Captain here and my orders will be obeyed in all things. What say you, men? If there be among you one who will not abide by this, now is his time to speak and step forward that we may know just how we stand.” Not aman budged, as she looked each in turn full in the eye. “It is agreed? Then I will draw the papers up, and all shall set their names down upon it, with the shares each shall have according to his rank and just deserts.” She seized a quill and a sheet, and wrote the agreement, according as she had seen them made upon the papers of some ship setting forth from Plymouth on a voyage of adventure, while all the men, save those on watch, and the sick, groaning from their indiscretions, in the scuppers, stood around and watched her eagerly, and when it was finished she read it off: “The captain (that is to say, myself) hath 10 shares. The lieutenant (that is to say, Bras-de-Mort) hath 8 shares. The master (that is to say, Jim Rimble) hath 7 shares, The mate hath 6 shares, The gunner hath 6 shares. The boatswain hath 6 shares. The carpenter hath 6 shares. The gunner’s mate hath 5 shares. They were given with a lusty The quartermaster hath 4 shares. The cooper hath 4 shares. The cook hath 4 shares. The steward hath 4 shares. The coxswain hath 2 shares. The corporal hath 2 shares. The foremast man hath 1 share, to each.” She paused. ‘Shall I put you down for a share, Cap- tain Stillingfleet?” she asked, turning upon him suddenly. “Nay,’’ said he, shaking his head. “I will have naught of it.” Comicbooks.com