Argosy All-Story Weekly — "Sea Marauders" — page 23: what you’re looking at

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

SEA MARAUDERS. A445 a boat for South America. Life in Rio de Janeiro 1s very pleasant, and Buenos Aires 1s sublime. We are rich. We shall not be troubled. “ By and by you, Watson, may go home from Buenos Aires to London as a rich Englishman who owns vast cattle plantations in Argentina. Bill can go back to New York in time. I prefer to live in Rio myself. “And after all they do not know but. that the Mamie Murther—what a wicked name!—was lost at sea. We must expect:to take some slight chance for a great reward.” “Sure,” said Bill Gibbons. ‘“ It’s worth it. Do you suppose they keep any watch on Gascon Island?” “It’s possible, but I shall be sur- prised if we do not find them all wrapped in slumber. People do not be- lieve in pirates any more.” .: HAT do you want, Jake?” demanded Gibbons. A burly Yankee clad in B.V.D. and ragged white breeches had come around the cabin house. The man had a long nose which had been knocked crooked. He had thin lips and long yellow and black teeth, which were bared in a propitiating grin. “Where in hell are we goin’ and what we goin’ to do?” he demanded. “The boys want to know.” ‘Might as well tell them,” said the Spaniard. Bill considered. ‘“ Might as well. Round ’em up, Jake.” He followed the man forward, and Pedro and Wattie moved in his wake. The group on the forward deck stirred with interest. Gibbons’s speech was rather worth while, everything considered. “ Boys,” he began, “ bootlegging is on the bum. ‘There never was enough in it for the risk we run, was there?” “You're right,” agreed somebody. “Sure I’m right. Now listen to somethin’ worth while. We’re goin’ to Gascon Island—see? On this island is one of them multimillionaires that got ene ee E: gape ¥ ~~~ Ss f ser =) a sae ee _ Seq = < Bike aes Se ee ee ee ee ee ee er eee ee ee rich by grinding the poor man into the dust. He’s got with him a gang of society people, just a lot of la-de-da boys and some women. ‘“T got information that, in good money and jewels, there is two or three hundred thousand dollars down there, and we’re going to get it. It’s a cinch. We've got machine guns and plenty of revolvers. “They haven’t got any guards, and I bet there isn’t a man on the island could hit the side of a barn door with a cannon six feet away. We're all goin’ to be rich men, and we don’t take a chance at all. Now what I want to know is this: Are you with me?” There was a murmur. Bill thought it was approval, but Jake faced him. ‘““And when we get the swag, what? We're pirates, that’s what we are, and we'll get hanged. I’ll go to jail if I have to, but I don’t want to do nothing to get hanged—see? These people will get a look at us, and then we're cooked.” ‘Listen, Jake,’’ Gibbons persuaded. “They ain’t going to know who robbed them, because there ain’t going to be anybody alive on that island after we leave there. We’re going to run ashore in a safe place in Cuba and divide the stuff. It’s a cinch, I tell you. Come on, boys, are you with me?” ‘““Say, boss,” demanded the one- eyed negro, “how yo’ goin’ to divide this money? Dat’s what I wants to know.” “Twelve even shares,” replied Gib- bons persuasively. “I figger it’s, any- way, twenty thousand dollars to a man.” There was an interval of stunned silence. Twenty thousand dollars took a moment to digest. Then came a whoop of general satisfaction. “Wait a minute,” said the recalci- trant Jake. “You going to murder these people, women and all?” “We got to. It’s to be safe.” “ Not on your life,” he shouted. “TI don’t want to be hanged.” - €om : fs. ae eS = os cbooks.com — f, ! {ib Sele ct ALS ABAD At Dab L