Argosy All-Story Weekly, May 5, 1928 — page 92: what you’re looking at

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

658 “A sailor’s life is the life for you,” quoted Lester. *‘ You’re welcome to it, Chipmunk.” “This is a lot better than being down in that jail,’ asserted Colter. “We may find a way of getting out of this. Observe, Les; one of our fel- low mariners is approaching.” A man came around the corner of the deckhouse with a bucket in his right hand. His mien was disconsolate, his ha- biliments were badly torn and incredi- bly dirty, and he glanced at the pair soddenly until their good clothes im- pressed themselves upon him, then a gleam of hope entered his bleary eyes. “Say, gents,” he whined, “can ye do somethin’ about it? I been shang- haied.” Chipmunk emitted a whoop of amusement, Les grinned, and then he uttered an ejaculation of astonishment. The woebegone mmariner was the per- son whose hot-dog business he had ‘purchased the day before. At the same instant the fellow recognized Lester and dropped his bucket. ' “Tt was a game,” he said furiously. “That’s why you bought me out.” “ Don’t be a fool,” admonished Les. “How did you get on board this barge? My friend and I are here en- tirely by chance—on our part.” “Tt was the money you give me,” complained the hot-dog man. “I went out to celebrate. I went down to Third ‘Avenue to a joint I knew where they sell hard stuff, and I got plastered. I woke up this morning on this ship without a nickel in my clothes.” He would have said more, but he was interrupted by the right boot of the skipper, who had come up behind. Im- pelled by the kick, the man dove for- ward and landed on his face. ~ “You get to work,” snarled the skipper. “ And you fellers ain’t al- lowed to talk to the crew. I’d as leave lock you up again as not.” Lester and his friend exchanged glances and walked to the stern, where ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. they looked with feigned interest at the deep blue sea. “ Queer,” whispered Colter. “ They nabbed the man from our other stand. Maybe our platinum theory is all wet.” Lester looked thoughtful. “ Per- haps, but I don’t think so. This was probably a coincidence. I gave the fel- low fifty dollars, and he went on a spree with it in some Third Avenue dive. The captain told us that his whole crew was picked up by crimps, and our employee got caught in the dragnet.” “Tt’s funny, though.” “Yes. Pl tell you, Chip, it convinces me that our trust plan, our string of frankfurter stands, was an unsound idea. When all is said and done, we would have to employ men like that— just derelicts, drunkards, stupid and incompetent when not dishonest. For- tunately your money is intact, and when we get ashore we'll invest it in some more practical enterprise.” “Yep. It ought to accumulate a lot of interest while we’re in jail.” “We're not going to be in jail. In some way we'll get out of this. We'll get ashore if we have to swim.” ‘Just a lot of words. We’re thirty miles from land.” “ Something will happen to help us,” Lester assured him with a confidence he did not really feel. They breakfasted on oatmeal, they lunched on canned corned beef, and they spent the afternoon on the deck of the barge in a condition of mingled boredom and distress. Late in the af- ternoon banks of clouds hid the sun, and the sea, which had been perturbed, grew more calm. “Tog coming up,” the skipper in- formed them. “I’d sooner have a storm than fog in these waters.” “TI prefer the fog,” stated Chip- munk. “It’s easier on the stomach.” The captain grinned. “That’s all you know about it,” he said ominously. The fog came in from the east, wisps COMEGE DOOKS (E@)