Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 4 — page 86: what you’re looking at

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

562 | At the entrance to the creek Teach gave a word to Llewelyn Jones, rested on his oar, pert and screwed his neck round seaward. “ Ah,” he said. “T was gomg to tell you,” Dr. Cray. commented. ‘ But how did you find out? As we are going to work together, I may as well know the.range of your attain- ments.” “T gave the strictest orders that nobody was to be admitted om board. If anybody came in over Petronella’s gangway, he broke a circuit and switched on a small mast-head lamp above her ridmg light. There it is.” ; | “ Jolly cute,” said Dr. Cray. ‘I don’t mind telling you now that I put the United States on your track. That bullet-clipped ear of yours gave you away, you know, as well as your general coloring and contour. Otherwise, Furstenburg was good. “Im sorry I did it now, because a run m your forty-knot Petronella would have amused me. But a dozen hours ago; a dozen, I say”—Dr. Cray’s sigh had a choking throaty quiver in #—‘“ ahum! T’m afraid I sha’n’t be mruch use to you on the lugger without the tools and pills of my trade. Of course, with the carpenter’s saw and the cook’s knife, and some hot pitch one could do a bit of old-time surgery, but that sort of medieval work goes against the Harvard brain.” “It goes agamst the board-schoo! nerves as well. That’s why I came for you doctor. As regards tools and physic, well, Mr. Fur- stenburg sent a firm in New York ten one thousand dollar notes for them to express to him a complete outfit of surgical instru- ments and the balance in drugs for a favo- rite nephew who had recently set up his shingle ashore, after four years’ experience 2s a war surgeon. This boat’s cluttered up with the cases.” “Oh, I saw the cases. But I thought you’d been going through the strong boxes of my neighbors in Conistone, and con- cluded those were the contents.” The pirate turned round, scowling biack- “YT am not a pilferer, Dr. Cray. Further, you are one of my officers now, and though I allow every freedom that hofds in an ordi- ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. nary officers’ mess, I draw the Ime at im- inence.”” “Qh, sorry,” said Peter Cray. “ Can you give me 2 fill of reasonable tobacco for my pipe? I’ve come away without my pouch. Mind your oar, there, bo, or youTl be foul of that oyster sloop.” The oyster sloop, however, was part of | Teach’s latest scheme. He jesmped from the boat, painter in hand, and passed the end of it round a shroud. He clapped on the forehatch, and snapped the hasp. Then he ran aft and dived, very quietly for a heavy man, through the narrow com- Teach seated himself on the table and awoke them with a cough. Llewetyn Jones, pisto} in hand, stood to attention at the foot of the ladder. Four pairs of eyes unghoed themselves, and stared. “And who the blazes might you be?” drawled one personage 2t last. “You the skipper?” 66 Yep.” “Tm Captain Teach. ©] charter your sloop for one hundred dollars 2 day for so long as I want her. If you and your crew turn-to and obey orders youll earn another one hundred dollars. If not, youl be shot and thrown overboard and the one hundred dollars charter money will be paed to your executors. ‘“Come, now. What’s your choke?” “ There’s a lot in what you say,” drawled the oyster sloop’s skipper. ‘But a long trip you'll find mconvenient. We've no grub aboard, unless you count m a Cargo of oysters, and I wouldn’t like to touch an oyster myself. I guess I know too much how they feed to fancy them as food.” “ Oysters will do. Now turn out, heave up, and get under weigh. I’m in a hurry.” Three of the four fishermen took little enough pains with the toilet. A pair of boots and a coat apiece attired them for the day. Number four, a lank-haired youth, was a bit of a dandy. He must needs pour ‘unguents on his head before he considered himself equipped for labor. This adornment was proceeding when Cray came down into‘ the frowzy little cabin. The big doctor had been stolid enough so far. But the scent of the hair 5 A iMiclbooks.com