Adventure Magazine Cover, November 10, 1924 — page 30: what you’re looking at

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

28 THEY went up to watch the sun- set. The scenic beauty was not very great. The sky was lowering, and the transports were beginning to wal- low in a slowly rising sea. The horizon was dark, and only overhead was there any clear sky, and this was criss-crossed with mare’s tails and a light haze, pink with the sunset’s rays. The destroyers rolled up the slopes of the seas and tumbled down the other side, making occasional wild rushes to nowhere, and then waiting a while, rolling in the trough, and then rushing back to the convoy again. Behind and above them the greasy smoke rolled from the funnels and went streaking off over the sea, drifting down toward the next ship in line, whose passengers doubtless re- ceived that black fog with profanity and disgust. Eadie was discouraged. The slum had been greasy, he had burned himself on a steam pipe while washing his messkit and the apple he had drawn as his dessert had contained a worm, the half of which he had discovered after his first bite. And then to have his hump crawled by the first sergeant! “I tell you,” he declared to Jake sud- denly, “that this army is a madhouse. It gets dizzier and dizzier.” ‘How long was you findin’ that out?” inquired Jake, speaking with difficulty, for what with tobacco, snuff and cigaret, his mouth was rather full. “I hope that my guardian angel will bring me safely back to my outfit,”’ continued the sergeant. “The army is a lonely place away from it. Guard houses and fool officers, and non-coms you don’t know. And fights. All they do here is fight. In the mess line to- night: ‘Hey, there’s a line here!’ says one to another. ‘Well I can see it, I ain’t blind.’ ‘Well, get at th’ end of it, you ain’t no big- ger louse than no one else.’ Crash! Mess- kits on the deck. Fight. Next guy: ‘Git in line, you.’ Answer. ‘You got a hat youdon’t want?’ Fight. Look at that riot we had with the coast artillery. About what? Nothing.” “Nothing?” interrupted Jake. “Boy, if a mule ever kicks that guy I hit, he’ll think some one has kissed him. Man, I just waited till he thought J was no account and wouldn’t hit him if I got the chance, and busto! Why, kid, he curled up under that engine like he was going to sleep. Nothing! Nothing! Say, all the time he was bruisin’ his knuckles on my head I was waitin’——”’ Adventure “Yes, yes,” said Eadie, “I know. But listen to me a minute. Now this top kick of mine that I’d forgotten all about, he claims I’m under arrest and he’s going to have me tried. If I’d been with my outfit that would never have happened. I would have known when my turn for guard was coming and been on hand to watch the de- tail. And anyway, my top kick wouldn’t hunt for a man all that time without find- ing him. He’d dig you out, by golly, if you were following the transport by walk- ing on the sea bottom.” ‘Let’s go to bed,” said Jake. gettin’ cold and it looks like rain.” They went below. “T’m gettin’ sick of sleepin’ in m clothes,” said Jake, “I.think I’ll take ’em off. This is our last night an’ I want to get one good night’s sleep. I can’t sleep in them breeches. They near cut me in two.” “T wouldn’t take ’em off, Jake,” said the sergeant. “It will be pretty cold swim- ming around with no clothes.” “Swim ! said Jake. ‘There’s lots “Tt’s 0’ guys down in the decks been takin’ off their clothes every night since it got warm and they ain’t none of ’em swum yet. An’ if a submarine gets us, I ain’t gonna do no swimmin.’ It’s too far to land. An’ anyways, who wants to swim with their clothes on?” “That’s a good argument,” said Eadie, “but I’m going to leave mine on. It’s easier to get up in the morning when all you have to do is to roll out of bed and you’re ready for breakfast.” Eadie rested his face on the rough cloth of his blouse and called for slumber. A button crushed against his ear, but that was easily remedied. Thank heaven this was the last night at sea. Tomorrow would find them in the land of adventure. After all, that mattress was lumpy, and bits of excelsior stuck out and scratched a man. It is not so pleasant to sleep on an excelsior mattress that has no sheet. Then, lulled by the humming of the screw and the many little trembling noises of the ship, Eadie fell asleep. Suddenly, upon the tick of a second, the sergeant was all awake, his heart pounding. He raised his head. There was nothing to awaken him. He was safely in bed and Jake snored softly in the other bunk. Perhaps the sergeant had been sleeping on his back. CoMmicboolk A) © 5}