The Argosy, Vol. XXV, No. 3 — page 102: what you’re looking at

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

486 THE ARGOSY. « joined him in his room, where I found him washing his face and generally attending to his bruises, which, fortunately, were not of a very serious nature. But he did not hide from me the fact that his mind was extremely ill at ease, and that he believed his life would now be doubly insecure. Gupp was sure to seek some method of revenge, and as he was not likely to fancy another personal encounter at fisticuffs, he would assuredly discover some way which produced but a minimum of danger to himself. Well, there was nothing for it but extreme caution, and I pleaded earn- estly on behalf of that most admirable of all qualities. He laughed, and promised all sorts of things, but there was a recklessness about him which betrayed an utter indifference to the way things went—a mood with which I could easily have quarreled. I saw no more of him nor of Gupp that day, though I learned that the latter, with the exception of some personal disfigurement, was not much the worse for the encounter. For this I was heartily sorry. A forced stay of a few days on his back might have put him in a more Christian frame of mind. Of Miss Waltham I saw nothing. She, like a wise girl, had kept to her room, and very early that night I sought the seclusion of my own. ‘There were too many people aboard the Pulo Way, too many queer things done, for the dark decks to offer any particular attraction. I thought the long night would never pass. At every sudden sound I started, and whenever I heard a voice outside in the saloon I waited anxiously for the expected knock at my door. But the morning came at last, and I jumped from my bunk wondering what the new day would bring forth. I learned from the steward, who served me with my breakfast, that Miss Waltham had not yet arisen, so to make sure that she was all right I went to her room and knocked. Yes, she was well enough, with the excep- tion of a bad headache. ‘To her knowledge no one had molested her. She did not think she would get up for an hour or so. Above deck the day was brilliantly fine, though the heat became in-. tensely oppressive as we drew near the equator. I lounged about as usual, wishing I had something more conventional to occupy my mind than imaginary attacks from sundry 1ll conditioned rovers of the deep. Imagination, and the constant state of alertness to which my invidious position subjected me, were not conducive to that unemotional, if somewhat enervating, existence which I had hitherto enjoyed. Some might welcome the change ; I didn’t. Prompted by pressing instinct, I then went forward to call on my friend Hayling ; but to my repeated assaults upon his door I received no reply. I turned the handle, but the door was locked. ‘Then I went still further for- ward, hoping he might be about the deck ; but the only persons I saw were the mate, who was apparently keeping somebody else’s watch, and the man at the wheel. I waved my hand to Murrell, who looked as ugly and surly as only a man can look who has. gone to bed drunk, and who has been somewhat uncere- moniously awakened out of his drunken sleep. He came tothe rail of the bridge, and, looking over, leered at me. ‘“ This is a nice mess !’’ he began. Eomicbooks.co