Argosy and Railroad Man's Magazine — page 81: what you’re looking at

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

GREEN SPIDERS. 423 discuss ways and means of reaching Letch- er. When he had eaten dinner he felt so much better he was for swimming back with a load of provisions and attempting to bring Letcher’ in by easy stages. But from this plan Dorothy anf@l I dissuaded him. “Tf we only had some bamboo,” said Falkens, “the problem would quickly be solved.” “How so?” I asked. “ Outriggers.” “ Outriggers—what’s them?” asked Man- kus with his: most incredulous grin. ‘ Outrigging canoes like those the Malays use to shoot rapids and in_interisland trade,” explained Falkens patiently. “ By working all night I believe the three of us might be able to knock together a narrow tub of a boat from loose lumber—”’ ‘“Gan’t be did—that’s the answer to that question,” grunted Mankus, polishing his mouth with the back of his hand to remove the remains of a large boiled potato with which he had just supplemented his own dinner. ‘‘ How about calkin’ seams? How about oars an’ locks? How about ridin’ the breakers without turnin’ tuttle? Any boat we could makg would keep us workin’ double shifts fer a month. An’ then ye wouldn’t git very far. Them breakers is the worst I ever see. The fact of the mat- ter is, ladies and gents, we’re prisoners aboard the old Irene, an’ here we're a goin’ to stick a while. That’s the answer to that question.” Dorothy evidently took him at his word, for presently she rose and left the saloon without offering any comment, Personally 1 was inclined to be a trifle skeptical. I looked for the ulterior motive and found it. I felt convinced Mankus had multiplied objections to the plan because he was not only willing, but eager, to leave Letcher to his fate. Since Captain Jessup’s , death Mankus had felt that Letcher was his only rival worth fearing, and Dorothy’s re- cently~expressed solicitude over Letcher’s fate had confirmed him in this belief and increased his dislike. When I glanced at -Falkens I saw that he, too, had read Man- kus’s motives. “Who is this Letcher, I’d like to know?” Mankus continued venomously. “ A lemon- rind, dung-heel. He’s got a mug on him like a bulldog, an ugly bulldog, an’ when he ain’t groomin’ his manners to make an impression, he ain’t no different to one, too. How he kin fool anybody is more— With his swelled head always braggin’ an’ blow- in’, an’-a first-class nut at that. But be- hind all that there’s something uglier to take into account. Yes, sirree—”’ Dorothy had returned, and had heard the last part of this tirade against Letcher. * Mr, Letcher hasn’t done anything to forfeit our assistance,” said Falkens. “ He’s a wonderfully well-read man, and has had some amazing experiences of his own. But this isn’t figuring how to rescue him.” I could not but observe how quietly and magnanimously Falkens had championed the man who was not present to defend himself. The contrast between Mankus and Falkens—the one with his slanderous, sledge-hammer blows, the other with his praise where praise was due, marked the depth of the gulf which must ever inter- vene between the classes from which these two men were drawn. As for the traits in Letcher’s make-up which deserved condem- nation, Falkens had ignored them. ““T, too, feel that Mr. Letcher is a won- derful man,” murmured Dorothy; “ won- derful in a good many ways, and deserving of any sacrifice we can now make to help him.” “Ts he, though?” growled Mankus. - “ That’s jist thep’int I’m a makin’—not to be disputin’ ye, Miss Dor’thy, an’ all that sort of think; but is it up to us to save a murderer?” “A mourderer!”’ I exclaimed. “Now ye’ve said sotnethink. Letcher, he’s been too deep fer us. He’s been a foolin’ of us all along with his talk of drownded spiders an’ his innocence. Oh, he’s played his keerds careful an’ crafty right from the start of the hull think. It’s only while I was a monkeyin’ round the *tween-decks and superstructure to-day sort o’ thinkin’ thinks over an’ calculatin’— it’s only while I was, a-settin’ here at the table here to-night before dinner inthe dark a lookin’ toward the skipper’s cabin so silent: an’ solemn, an’ puttin? two an’ two together, that I tumbled.” ) comichbooks.com