Adventure Magazine Cover — page 106: what you’re looking at

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

104 get your boats in the water an’ come. Hurry up! I can’t stand by all day!” “Then on your way!’ Heddon shouted from between his hands, knowing very well that Walscher would have missed his chance of Heaven rather than miss putting back into Lianfo with the Dragon’s crew. “More such talk,” Walscher bawled wrathfully, “an’ I’ll let you sink!” “Sink? We'll be jury-rigged an’ pumped dry in half a day!” Walscher knew that wasn’t so, but he hardly knew what to make of a man that would say it. “You that want to be took off—” he was shouting at the other men, not at Heddon— “get in your boats!” ‘“‘Ain’t got no boats!”’ two or three yelled at once. Pelew, loudest of all, shouted, oe smashed! We got women! Take us off!” From the Jack-Girl they looked the Dragon’s boats over carefully with glasses and came to the conclusion that if these people were to be taken off, the bark would have to do it in her own boats. So the whale boat was lowered away and came under the schooner’s lee with four kanakas at the oars and an officer at the helm. The water was rough, but they were seamen. The officer was a young fellow, brusk, business-like, and did not like this business. “Women an’ children first,’’ said Heddon, holding Raeburn’s shoulder as he shoved him forward. Raeburn turned in protest. But Heddon told him, ‘“‘Shut up, Jack. This is planned: And in a minute I[’ll give you the word of what you’re to do over there when the fight starts. I want to see if she can make him let her take that snake.” Po-Shu, as if in a way symbolizing that her life was nothing but being passed from one man’s hand to another, had again been handed down and with the sad patience of a woman trained to obey men, sat humbly where told in the whale boat. Madame was refusing to leave the deck until her green box had been lowered. Abdul and Old Tom had brought it up and put it down at the bulwark. “We take no baggage!” said the young officer. “Zen don’t!” said Madame, who knew how to handle men, at least young men. “T stay! I seenk! I drown! I do not care! What good is life wizout what makes life good? You brute-man! I seenk!”’ Gordon Young She turned away indignantly. “‘What’s in the box?” asked the young officer; but his tone implied that he would not take it, no matter what it held. ‘“‘All my sings!”’ she said, not daring to say ‘“‘snake.” “Can’t take baggage! You fellows,” he called, ‘‘put that fool woman over the side here!”’ “We can’t go until the woman does,”’ said Heddon. “Since when did you turn so blank- blasted gallant!’ the young officer cried. “An’ I do not go wizout my sings!” said Madame. No one made protest from the deck against boat space being used to carry the snake, for they had been told to keep their mouths shut. Even Pelew had threatened them. He liked to threaten. But he had said to Heddon: “If she wants to do it, let ’er if she can. But you'll see, mister, there’ll be no need for what you plan, so don’t you try it—’less we’re licked, which’ll mean I’m dead; then I won’t care.” “Well,”’ the young officer called impa- tiently, ‘‘nobody else wants off?” ‘Ah, monsieur, I will go now with you,”’ said Vioux, but many hands reached out, some caught him, jerked and hustled him back. “He’d try to buy himself off by telling, first thing, that we mean to seize the ship,” said Raeburn. “No more comin’? said the officer. “Shove an’ be —— to yet” said Old Tom. “Wimen go first!” ‘Then make her come!”’ “T am weeling, monsieur, if you permeet.”’ “Oh ——, then lower away that —— box!” he called. Some of the men fell to and lashed the box with ropes. There were small air-holes at either end; a small window of wire grat- ing in the lid, and a wooden shutter that slipped over this. Madame closed the shut- ter before the box was lowered away. “Plees, monsieur, careful!” The young officer—his name was Blake— was swearing at the sight of the box, at its size and weight; and in the boat they were put to some trouble to stow it. Mr. Blake reached up his hand to Ma- dame. She was still enveloped in the man’s We'll shove off!” Go JOO AMG SS (C@