Adventure Magazine Cover — page 126: what you’re looking at

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

124 “Crutches should be beautiful,’ said Heddon. “Hold still, you!” said Tom to Raeburn, who hadn’t moved. “And you, Jack, loafing here,’”’ Heddon told him. ‘‘Won’t little Plum Blossom be lonesome. The hop-head’s sucking the pipe. She’s no one to talk to!’ “Hnnhe Oh I get tired,” Raeburn an- swered lazily, ‘tired o’ answering her ques- tions about you. Nice boy like Iam, yet she’s always talking about you. Lookin’ at you, when you’re not watching her. Little Chinee girl hab got big heart, Will.” Raeburn grinned maliciously, then: “Tom, I told you didn’t I, that she says that out of her share of treasure, she’s going to give Will money enough to buy her from T’eeay Layeen.”’ “Hold still!’ said Tom. ‘Treasure!’ Heddon told him. “Nobody here will ever see treasure, unless there happens to be jewels on the ax that cuts our heads off!’ Tom raised the knife, gesturing with it, said— “He’s our pris’ner, an’—” “You’ve been talking with Pelew!”’ “T talked with Pelew, an—” ‘And you like being a pirate, eh!” “Me, I’m willin’ to be pirate if I get what pirates get. In forty years to sea, Will Heddon, I done the work of an honest man, an’ where’s the good of it? I’ve been drove myself like a nigger slave to save cargo f’r men as never dared put foot on water, or said thankee to sailormen. I seen men cast away rotten ships to get Insurance, an’ had shipmates get drowned gettin’ off! Pelew an’ them with him won’t stop at nothin’; an’ me, I won’t lose what they get— I’ll do it too, like them, like any man! We’ve got a chanct now, an’ I want riches too!” “Tom, when you get sober, think this over. A yellow pirate that’s cut off men’s heads to get their earrings—won’t he be likely to cut off other men’s heads to keep the earrings?” “But he’s our pris’ner an’—”’ “Yes, and he’s a yellow man, and we are white. Which means that if he wants he can outguess us ten timesa day. Look how he came on board the Dragon when she lay Gordon Young a wreck and in half a minute made us all madmen enought to seize this bark. I tell you this, and believe it. I don’t think you could tie that Chink up where he couldn’t get the best of us, or any man, if he wanted. And don’t forget there are four Chinamen on this ship—five with that toy girl, whose hand will fit a knife as well as yours or mine!”’ : Heddon glowered down at them to see how hard his words hit; and Old Tom looked up, staring, a little disturbed, trying to think; but the young rascal Raeburn took a long draw, blew up the smoke slowly, said: “But she’s never hurt you, Will. She says you big fline man, need little Chinee girl make you velly happy, long time life!’’ “For the good of your soul,” said Heddon, feeling very much like doing what he said, “T ought to break every bone in your —— body!” s He walked away and went below deck to a brandy bottle. “And what’s more, Tom,” Raeburn said when Heddon was out of sight, “for once in my life I didn’t lie very much.” That afternoon, just before sundown, when Tom was at Old Bill’s bedside, showing the crutch he was carving, Heddon came in, stood for a moment silent, then picked up a sherry bottle. A third remained. He eyed it, paused, turned toward the shell- backs: “Stand by for trouble. The snake- woman’s broke water. She’s out on deck now, looking neat as ever, with some dead woman’s hair coifed on her bald skull. But there’s a new look in her eyes—”’ Then he drank the sherry from the bot- tle’s mouth, and tossed aside the bottle. ‘‘What need to be feared of her, Will?” asked Old Tom. “No need, no need at all for a brave man like you! But I—the minute I saw her on deck, I went and tried her door, meaning to step in, drag out the box, yell for help, and heave it overboard. The door, thank God, was locked. I peered through a port. That snake is loose and crawling about. Little babee Baal-Phelgor is hungry. She’s out on deck now looking for somebody to feed to him! Tom, go get another bottle of brandy. This stuff here is only sugared water!” TO BE CONTINUED NOOK (C@