Adventure Magazine Cover, March 20, 1925 — page 43: what you’re looking at

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

The Snow Driver nature, beled by the hard gleam of blue eyes that were always restless. He took Thorne under his wing from the first, after the armiger had lain ill—what with fever from his wound and the tossing of the high-pooped merchant craft—for the first few days. The ruddy boatswain brought him the half of a fresh-cooked cod as soon as he was able to eat, and plumped himself down in the berth across from his victim, chewing his thumb in silence until Thorne had finished the cod and the nuggin of wine that came with it. ““Captain’s orders—fresh fish and wine for the hands that be taken sick. And why? Because the salt pork is cor-rupt, and the beer is vinegarish. Aye, as ever was. Likewise, the wine casks are not stanch, so the half of it hath leaked out.” “Hm. a9 : Thorne passed a hand ruefully over the bristle of beard on his chin and throat. “Some of the marchants are all for turn- ing back,” added Peter, “but Sir Hugh’s not the man for that. Hark ’e, my master. What game might ye be a playing-of? Thou’rt no more a lout than I be.” What, then?” “Why, by token of that white shirt, thou’rt gen’leman born. Come now, what’s the lay, a gen’leman born passing hisself off for a yeoman? Ah, that were .a good song.” Grinning, even while his shrewd eyes dwelt on Thorne, the boatswzin began ina very hearty voice: “I saw three ships come sailing in, On Christmas day, .on Christmas day. 1 saw three ships come sailing in, On Christmas day in the marning.” Chuckling he slapped his thigh, and cocked his great head to one side. “Ralph, lad, that were well sung!” And added in his stentorian whisper: “In the dark ye fooled me. But now, ye talks like a gen’leman, drinks like a lord and eats dainty as a prince. Why come off to the ships, Ralph, lad?” “Have you forgotten,” asked Thorne, - “that I was fuddled—seas-over?” Peter scratched his head over the black hood that ihe wore ever about his massive shoulders and sconce. “Why, no, Ralph, mo. But ye sniggled me as to being a yokel. Y’are a gen’leman 25 born. I say and so it is. Now mightn’t ye be a sniggling of me as to being fuddled. Supposing, now, ye was sober? Eh? We had sore need of mariners, so I took off the first likely lad that showed in the offing. But supposing ye was sober; why ever did ye go for to be took off?” He glanced around the narrow forecastle, lighted after a fashion by two small ports and reeking of the bilge. Smoke from the galley—the wind being over the stern— clouded it, and the odor of grease and burned meat vied with the stench of soiled garments. ‘This fo’csle a’nt suited to a gen’leman’s dis-position now. But y’ are content to lie abed here. Most ’mazing content ye be, Ralph. “So I says to myself, ‘Peter, this young un’s lying alow for a good and sufficient reason.’ And what might that reason be? ‘Peter,’ says I, ‘in all likelihood he does not wish to show his mug on deck for a while.’ Until when? ‘Why, Peter,’ says I, ‘until the coast of England lies well astern.’ ” The blue eyed boatswain was not far wrong in his surmise, though Thorne’s lean face told him little. “Y’m not a chap to ax questions,” he went on, ‘‘and it’s all one to me whether ye put a knife to the innards of another gen’leman, or summat else. Let bygones be bygones.” He held out a hairy fist and Ralph took it. Peter Palmer was the only man on the Edward who knew the manner of his taking off, and so long as the boatswain kept his counsel, no talk would arise to come to the ears of Master Chancellor. Ralph himself determined to keep both his identity and his mission secret for a while, until he could look around and get his bearings At first he had been disappointed to dis- cover that he was not on Durforth’s ship. Now he was glad of it. On Durforth’s vessel, the Conjfdentia, which was much smaller than the Edward, he did not think he could have escaped notice. And, if Durforth had knowledge of him in his present situation, the easiest fate he could expect would be to be cast into the bilboes. Peter saw to it that he was provided with a heavy robe from the merchants’ stores to fend off the cold, and a small slop chest, with needle and thread, a knife and a wrap- ping of frieze to sleep in, proceedings that aroused the curiosity of the shipmen who Gioo S ©