Adventure Magazine Cover — page 121: what you’re looking at

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

Treasure “But how about the piracy of it, Pelew?”’ “Pir’cy be ——! I don’t care what I am if it getsme money. I went to sea when I was a kid an’ a drunk cap’n beat me over the head ever’ day. I swore when I growed up I’d make life , or try to, f’r ever’ cap’n I sailed with. I done it too. But now on this here ship nobody’s goin’ make trouble. Iwon’t haveit. This here is part my ship, an’ if you sail ’er hard, I’ll treat you perlite.” Pelew also stirred up the uneasy crew to eagerness. They wouldn’t, he said in over- riding some of the fears expressed, get hung no higher because this Chink was Say Lean hisself than if he was just a Chinaman who happened to know where a wreck was. Here was a chance to get good an’ rich. Hadn’t he, and other fellows among ’em as well, done what was bad as pir’cy without getting more out of the risk than could be looted in the cabin of some stinkin’ trader? Aye! Hadn’t they, if it come to what was what, done pir’cy on the Dragon? Wasn’t it pir’cy too when they agreed to sail the bark? An’ now because they found a real pirate was on board, was they goin’ get scared! Now they could be rich men. The Chinaman had promised. Wasn’t he their prisoner? Didn’t he have to show ’em where the stuff was hid? Couldn’t they then take as much as they wanted an’ sail off again? The men were influenced; and one fellow, with that odd casuistry which rascals who ‘are timid about looking themselves straight in the face use, said: ‘Aye, we'll be doin’ right to take all that stole stuff from a yeller pirate! He stole it from white men in the firs’ place. It’s as much ourn as his.” HE rain held on, now little more ; than a drizzle, now flooding the scuppers; but the crew, touched up a bit from time to time with a bottle, seemed not to mind. Men were nervous, 119 excited, very weary and a little afraid of their prisoners. After the jibs had been set, the bark’s crew, together with Walscher and his plant- er friend, were roped off in the bows. They were given a sail and permitted to stretch it for an awning; blankets were tossed in, and a bottle of whisky was poured into a kettle of hot coffee. Mess-kits were shoved in under the rope. Lanterns were tied to the dead-line rope, and word was passed that whoever attempted to sneak through or rush would be shot. There was no trouble. Heddon, being made of iron, took no more than an hour’s sleep to make up for two sleepless nights, and T’eeay Layeen took no sleep, but moved about in shadow-like silence, appearing suddenly and vanishing. Every time the guards were changed forward they were found to be dozing; but as they were sta- tioned some distance back from the dead- line, and in the darkness, their sleepiness was not noticed by those in the bows, where, although there were very few who slept, none tried to rush the deck. Walscher cursed and groaned, his planter friend blubbered; Captain Scott broke long periods of silence to swear at both of them; and from time to time some men kicked into wakefulness others who moaned in their sleep. An anxious two nights passed before a schooner was sighted about noon the second day, and the bark flung up a distress signal. The schooner was the Rosa Meade, a labor recruiter, outward bound from the Fijis to the Solomons. The schooner cap- tain made a big row when he found what was wanted. He thought that Heddon was a mutineer, and in addition to being in- dignant at such a sea crime was afraid that if he took off Walscher and his men that he would have to lose time by putting back with them to Lianfo. Pelew jumped to the rail and bawled: “Mutineersbe——! We’repirates, you ol’ nigger-catcher! See him there—”’ pointing to the Chinese on the quarter deck—“‘that’s Say Lean, the Chink pirate! Ask them up there in the bows if you don’t b’lieve me!” The captain stared, spoke with a man or two near by, then yelled for the bark to send over the men. “Come and get ’em! We’ve no men to spare in the boats!” Heddon answered. ‘““Won’t do it!”’ said the schooner. MICLOOOK (C@