Adventure Magazine Cover — page 102: what you’re looking at

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

The Makings of a Sailorman dead yet. The skipper of the other craft must have put her about, seeing that who- ever was at the wheel here meant to run him down, rules or no rules. Give me that wheel now, you bone-headed pumpkin peeler, and quit this monkey business. Come on, Bert. We’ve got to manhandle this guy.” The two made another determined but unsuccessful attempt to wrest the wheel from Saltsman. The fight was interrupted in its first stages by the voice of the captain, coming up from below, seeing first the light on the bow, and then the struggling men at the wheel. “‘What’s going on here? Where is the officer of the watch? What’s that light on the bow?” Quickly he swung his night glasses into position and gave a sharp, quick order— “Left wheel!” Micky and Bert fell back at once, and Saltsman obeyed the order promptly. The red light came on the beam, on the quarter, and then showed up astern. “Ease your helm,” ordered the captain. “Steady at eighty for the present. Now tell me what happened.” “Things were all right, sir,” answered the quartermaster, “running along as smooth as could be until this fellow came running up here saying we were off the course, and taking the wheel away from me. He said Mr. Hoskins was sick in the chart- room and we ought to be steering one hun- dred and seventy instead of two hundred and seventy.” ‘‘The course is one hundred and seventy,” the captain broke in sharply. “It’s in the night order book. That red light is on a gas buoy at the end of Barrier Shoals. It’s a good thing somebody changed the course. What’s the reason I wasn’t called sooner?” “T did call you, sir, as soon as I could get to the tube, but Mr. Hoskins told me plainly that it was two hundred and seventy. ‘Then he went to the chart-room and didn’t come back.” ‘Never mind about that. It’s easy to confuse one and two with no one here to check up. Get aft on the run and take a sounding. And you, signal-boy, jump be- low and break out the doctor. Where is Mr. Hoskins?” 89 “‘He’s in the chart-room, sir,”’ said Salts- man, “lying on the table.” Then, still holding the wheel, Saltsman told his part of the story in halting, em- barrassed sentences. “You thought the red light was a ship, did you?” “Yes sir,” said Saltsman. “The quar- termaster said it was a sailing vessel of some kind because she didn’t carry a mast- head light. And I made a big mistake, sir, being worried and upset with so many things on my mind. I was thinking our red light was next to that red light, and kept her going straight. If it had been a ship we would have run together. But captain, the boys was pestering me a lot, and pulling at me. I just naturally forgot.” “Tt’s a blessing you did,” said the skipper, ‘“‘and I hardly believe you will ever forget that little point again. This time, if you had read the lights correctly, we should have run straight in across Barrier Shoals instead of outside in deep water. Taking charge as you did saved the ship. Tm going to see that you get a better chance to study navigation. You’ve got the makings of a real sailorman in you.” This from the captain meant a great deal, and Saltsman knew it. He had been anxious about the outcome of what he had done, and here was praise heaped upon him. He stood seeking words to express his gratitude, but before he could speak the captain went on: “Flere come the others,” he said. “Get on below now and see if you can help with Mr. Hoskins.” Ben Hoskins was revived with a whiff of ammonia and carried to his room. The moderate dose of aspirin, given for the head- ache, had been sufficient to slow up his heart and make him faint, but left no bad after effects. With the usual few days of fever, he began to get well. During his convalescence he laid out a course of study for Saltsman which had the captain’s approval. He was quite as grateful as the captain for what the boy had done, for had the Alia gone on the reef, he would have been responsible, as it was his watch. “T’ll have you ready to take out a license as soon as you get your discharge,” he promised Saltsman and kept his word. EComicboo (@) (ECO)