Argosy All-Story Weekly — "Sea Marauders" — page 32: what you’re looking at

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

ADA “Come on,’’ commanded Bill. ‘ The boy is starting. Bend low and take cover. Don’t let him get one of us.” ‘They began to circle cautiously around the house. The shots woke up the poor victims in the cellar, and Mildred embraced her father hysterically. “It’s Steve!’ she cried. ‘‘ Steve will fix them.” Steve had left the wood and, dodging from tree to bush and from bush to tree, had worked his way up the hill. The moon came out from behind a cloud unexpectedly and showed him to a man lying on his stomach who fired at him. Steve dropped, untouched, and sent two bullets at the flash, then wriggled swiftly away from that vicinity as half a dozen shots came from different parts of the grounds directed toward his gun- flashes. He continued his snakelike progress for a few minutes, stopped to replace the cartridges, and then the moon re- vealed to him a man running toward the spot from which the first shot had come. Steve took careful aim, fired, and saw the fellow pitch forward. He knew this was a hit. Again he changed eround in time to avoid the volley from the hidden marksmen. He crawled un- der a bush just as the moon’s light was cut off by a cloud. “ He’s running down the hill,” cried the foghorn voice already familiar to him. ‘ Move down, but don’t show yourselves. Drop when the moon comes out.” The moon reappeared, and Steve saw three figures thirty yards away who immediately dropped, but he fired once and heard a cry of pain from the man at whom he had aimed. Immediately, four or five bullets whistled overhead, and a leaf whose twig had been sev- ered fell upon his neck. He had to lie there, for it would have been suicide to run in the moonlight, and many bullets passed close to him. It was dark again and, assuming they ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. would suppose him retreating down the hill, he ran toward the house and made fifty yards before the betraying light appeared. He lay now on the open lawn, but all eyes must have been fixed toward the woods, for no shot came his way. They had searched the house and would not expect him to take refuge there, he thought. He would try to reach it. He continued to crawl up- ward during the intervals of darkness. The men below were firing now and then at shadows. The back porch at last was only fifty feet away, one rush would bring him to it; and then a match flared, and he saw a black face illumi- nated as a negro lighted a cigarette. The fellow was standing with his back against the wall of the porch and supposed he was quite safe, since the quarry was being driven to the woods. Steve raised his gun and lowered it. He could hit the man, but the shot would notify the others that he was near the house. He began to circle the house slowly and with infinite pains, and presently worked around to the front of it. He heard voices not far away. Evidently some of the pirates had been left on guard here. He changed his plan then and moved cautiously toward the wireless house. In the battle to come he would need more cartridges, and there were plenty in his trunk if they had not been re- moved. He came in sight of the rear of his quarters and saw that the lights had been extinguished. Careful approach convinced him that the bungalow was untenanted, and he slipped up on the porch. E, reached the door when the moon shone again, and he saw a bulky object at one corner of the porch against the house wall. This he proceeded to investigate, and he dis- covered to his astonishment the Maxim gun. comicbooks.com , ~.*. oe ‘r-