Argosy, Vol. 118, No. 2 — page 125: what you’re looking at

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

A MAN TO feeling of suspense in the tiny valley, backed by the frowning cone, ribbed by the two icy promontories. Lund surveyed them sharply. “What in hell’s the matter with you?” he barked. ‘‘ Hansen, send up a man for _ the drills an’ shovels. Yore work’s laid out; hop te it!” ‘We ain’t goin’ to work no more,” said the Finn aggressively. ‘“‘ Not fo’ no sich wage like you give.” ‘Oh, you ain’t, ain’t you?” mocked Lund. He was standing with Rainey in the middle of “the : € space they had cleared of « gravel, the seamen lower down the beach, the: a, their ranks compacted. yy you booze-bitten, lousy hunky, what in hell do you want? You never saw twenty dollars in a lump you c’u’d call yore own for more ’n ten minnits. You boardin’- house loafer an’ the rest of you scum 0’ the seven seas, git yore shovels an’ git to dig- gin’, or [ll put you ashore in San Francisco flat “broke, an’ glad to leave the ship, at that. Jump!” The Finn snarled, and the rest stood firm. Not one of them knew the real value of their promised share. Money represented only counters exchanged for lodging, food and drink enough to make them sodden be- fore they had spent even their usual wages. Then they would wake tto find the rest gone, and throw themselves upon the selfish bounty of a boarding-house keeper. But they had seen the gold, they had handled it, and they were inflamed by a sense of what it ought to do for them. Per- haps half of them could not add a simple sum, could not grasp figures beyond a thou- sand, at most. And the sight of so much | gold had made it, in a manner, cheap. It ° was there, a heap of i+, and they wanted more of that shining heap than had been promised them. ay “You talk big,” said the Finn. ‘“ Look my hands.” He showed palms calloused, split, swollen lumps of chilblained flesh worn down and stiffened. ‘I bin seaman, not goddam navvy.”’ , Lund turned to the hunters. “You in on this?” he asked. Deming and Beale moved off. Two of the others joined them. ‘‘ Neutral?” sneered Lund. HIS MATE. 275 ‘“‘ I'll remember that.’’ Hansen and the two remaining came over beside Lund and Rainey. “ Five of us,’ said Lund. “ Five men against twelve f’o’c’sle rats. ll give you two minnits to start work.” “You talk big with yore gun in pocket,” said the Finn. ‘‘ Me good man as you enny day.” Lund’s face turned dark with a burst of — rage that exploded in voice and action. ‘You think I need my gun, do ye, you pack of rats? Then try it on without it.” His hand slid to his holster inside his heavy coat. His arm swung, there was a streak of gleaming metal in the lifting sun- rays, flying over the’heads of the seamen. It plunked in the free water beyond the ice. “Come on,” roared Lund, “or I’ll rush you to the first bath you’ve had in five years. The Finn lowered his head, and charged; the rest followed their leader. The hot food had steadied their motive control to a certain extent, they were firmer ‘on their feet, less vague of eye, but the crude alcohol still fumed in their brains. Without it they would never have answered the Finn’s call to rebellion. He had promised, and their drunken minds believed, that refusing in a mass to work would automatically halt things until they got their “ rights.” They had not ex- pected an open fight. The spur of alcohol had thrust them over the edge, given them a swifter flow of their impoverished blood, a temporary confidence in their own prowess, a mock valor that answered Lund’s con- temptuous challenge. Lund, thought Rainey, had done a fool- hardly thine in tossing away his gun. It was magnificent, but it was not war. Pure bravado! But he had scant time for think- ing. Lund tossed him a scrap of advice. ‘“ Keep movin’! Don’t let ’em.crowd you!” Then the fight was joined. The girl leaned out from the promontory to watch the tourney. Tamada, impassive as ever, tended his fires. Sandy crept down to the beach, drawn despite his will, and shuffled in and out, irresolute, too weak to attempt to mix in, but excited, eager to help. Deming, Beale, and the two neutral d) COMIC <S) .OO Gon