Adventure Magazine Cover — page 67: what you’re looking at

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

Assignats “That is settled,”’ said Ivan Alexandrov- ski. ‘You may come with me.’ . Micky McMasters gathered the tattered collar of his dungaree coat around his un- shaven neck. “One more question before it becomes a contract,’”’ he said suspiciously. “Are you loyal Russian or are you Bolshevik?” Ivan with the long surname smiled blandly. He stroked his straggling beard. He stared down at the little castaway. “Loyal Russian,” he said. “I have a home in Vladivostok—where Allied troops are guarding.”’ Micky turned, jerked his head toward his mates who stood shivering in their rags, and shouted: “The contract’s signed! A fair thing for all of us. We work the Shongpong across the western Pacific.” “Ye arranged about terms?’’ asked Mike Monkey, siding up to the skipper and | glanc- ing at the Russian. “Terms?” “Bonuses and wages?”’ ‘We'll leave that to our noble friend.” Mike gulped and spat to the mud flat. “Last time Ah left that,” he said, ‘‘Ah had nothing coming to me when Ah went ashore.” The Russian drew himself erect. “The scale of wages,” he declared, ‘‘shall be, for you three officers, one thousand rubles a week—paid at Victoria.”’ ‘““Afow much is a ruble?”’ asked Mike. “Two shillin’,” hissed the cockney skipper. “Twa shillin’? That make a hundred pun a week! Ah hae noo, doot it’ll be well earned before the end of the passage.” “Where’s the ship?” asked Red Land- yard. ‘Show me the Shongpong!”’ The Russian led the way up the beach. Two hours stiff walking brought the cast- aways to a cove in which lay a rusty tramp flying the Chinese flag and swarming with coolies—like ants on a cockroach. Mike Monkey stared at the boxes which the coolies were carrying aboard the ship. “Tay!” he spat. “Aya, it may be tay and it may be something else. Them ain’t Chinese marks on the sides.” “Russian!” explained Ivan. ‘‘Come with me aboard my ship. You can see the boxes are marked with Russian letters.”’ Micky McMasters jabbed the engineer over the engines. 93 in the ribs as they trailed up a shaky gang- plank and sprang from the Shongpong’s un- polished rail at the waist. “Be careful!” he warned. ‘Don’t ask no bloomin’ questions. “Wait till we cross the Sea o’ Japan!’ — Mike gulped. He eyed the decrepit back-stays and standing rigging of the tramp. He ranged a fluttering glance along the dirty planks of the freighter. He shifted his tongue in his mouth as he stared at the drunken-looking funnel, which bore evidences of poorly patched shot holes. ‘“A rum hooker,” he told Red Landyard. ‘“‘She’s had her name painted out about five times. She’s no more’n eight hundred tons, if she’s that. She’s a broodin’ menace ov some kind. Ah wash my hands of this voyage.” “You’re ’ands need washin’!’’ snapped Micky McMasters. ‘Drop below and look See hif there’s any coal or supplies aboard. Report to me on the bridge.” “D’ye call that a bridge?”’ Mike pointed forward of the tipsy funnel, which was painted light blue. “Hit’s a better bridge than the mud flats of Novgorod!” Micky said. “Get below and report. I’m skipper ’ere!”’ MIKE’S report, delivered between =m clamps upon a chew of Chinese to- ss bacco borrowed from a coolie, was tense and bitter. “Ve hae no conception of the state of things below,” he told Micky McMasters. ‘“‘There’s only one double-door boiler. It was made in Canton—China. The engines are cross-compound of the vintage of Isaac Watt and Robert Fulton. The coal is Jap- anese—twa bunkers of it. The stoke-hold leaks and the shaft-alley is full of bilge muck. Ah saw the stuffin’-boxes jettin’ water myself. The last engineer of this packet wrote wot he thought of it on the ditty-box door. He said enough. His name was MacFarland.” “What’s that got to do with hus?” Mike walked from starboard to port oi the tramp. He stared down at the line of coolies who were staggering aboard under the last of the boxes. He watched the yel- low hands of the gang in the fore-hold reach for the cargo. He came back to Micky McMasters. mn Comicbooks:.co