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

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

92 “Been diving for pearls of wisdom and brought ’em up!” With his free hand Captain Swift bran- dished the little book. Its covers were weighted with lead and lettered: SECRET AND CONFIDENTIAL To be thrown overboard in case of capture ALL Falport turned out to greet the victorious Snapping Turtle’s crew when they brought the Bruiser into Deacon Terwilliger was the first port. man to grasp Swift’s hand when he came ashore. “T’ve been thinking over what you said about Vigo, cap’n, and I’m here to help you 99 get your cargo up to Boston: “Glad to hear it, deacon. I’m taking the Nabob out on tonight’s tide, and need twenty new hands to fill the places-of our killed and wounded. Want to ship?” “Deuteronomy!”?, gasped the deacon. ‘Wave you gone plumb crazy? What other port could you take her to?” “Boston or New York—whichever comes handiest.”’ : “Just because you’ve captured a little brig by a trick, don’t think you’re a match for the hull British Navy!” shrilled Ter- williger warningly. ‘“There’s four—five— king’s frigates off Sandy Hook and as many more off Boston. crawling with English cruisers, and the Nabob’s too big to squeeze through Hell Gate anyway. How in creation are you ever goin’ to get her through the blockade?” “You and Sukey have fixed it all up for me between you,” answered Swift mysteri- ously. “By the way, deacon, Colonel Dusenbury came aboard when we passed the fort and agreed to send the English prisoners up to Boston under a militia escort. He wants wagons for the wounded and I heard him say something about com- mandeering them if the price wasn’t right. Guess you’d better go see id But the deacon had already gone. “A THE WNabob cleared from Falport 4 that night and raised Block Island -" at sunrise. With the first flush of dawn, Captain Asa Swift came forth from his cabin looking, from shoe-buckles to cocked hat, the image of a martinet R. N. captain of the period. Acknowledging the salute of a scarlet-coated sentry, he said Long Island Sound is. Adventure some rather severe things about brass buttons and pipe-clay. The captured white ensign and an ad- miral’s broad pennant were hoisted with due and proper ceremony. Paint-brushes, pumice, and holystones were plied till noon in a relentless orgy of “spit and polish,” followed by an inspection of the soaped and shaven crew in their captured British uni- forms. The five letters cut into the bows and counter were chiseled out and neatly replaced by five others, completing the transformation of the Nabod into H. M. S. Hawke. “I s’pose there’s a real seventy-four. of that name in the British Navy,’’ surmised Noah Bloggs. “I was pressed aboard her ten years ago last month,” said Asa Swift, ‘when I was a foremast hand on the ship Increase Mather of Boston. The boarding-officer said I was English. I showed him my Fal- port birth certificate which I had taken to sea with me for that very purpose. He tore it up for a forgery, cursed me fore and aft for a canting sea-lawyer, and had his men throw me into his boat alongside. A nice pleasant officer to serve under was Lieu- tenant Carteret-Carstairs, R. N. “He was our second luff and the rest were all of a piece. The Hawke was what the quarter-deck call a smart ship and the lower deck a floating I put in three, years aboard her, helped serve a gun at Trafalgar, and was a full-fledged bunting- tosser when I jumped her at Naples.” ‘‘Just what did you say you were, cap’n?” *“‘Bunting-tosser—signalman. That’s how I knew enough to chase the brig’s captain below and dive over after his cipher code- book. With that and the Bruiser’s set of Popham’s signals, Noah, I’m going to take command of the British blockading squadron off Sandy Hook.”’ “Great rolling hoop-snakes!” faltered Noah. “I thought we were just going to sail right on through!’’ “If we tried anything so foolish they’d suspect and blow us out of the water! We’ve got to act natural, Noah; that’s the only way to fool anybody. Now what’s the natural thing for any admiral to do when he takes over a new command? To hoist the code signal for ‘Captains to report aboard the flagship!’ “Aboard the — You don’t mean to say you’re going to invite those gimlet-eyed COMICOOOKS (©