Argosy, September 1955 — page 109: what you’re looking at

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

A a Mn , hd 4 Oe Tere BOTH WATCHES OF THE HANDS 107 fire-extinguisher, the boy with the Verey pistol, and his mother with the cotton waste, all peering anxiously at the Mary Lou, by now a mere three hundred yards away, on the port bow. The rest of the passengers, and Leo the bowman were grouped farther aft, equally prepared; ready to take over in the event of casualties. For the first time since leaving the jetty, they all appeared to be enjoying themselves. ‘The thin man, having separated himself from his wife, was openly excited. Knocker aimed the Sziver Streak relentlessly at the Mary Lou, and Michael knew there was now nothing he could do except stand imperiously by, and await developments. The distance between the two boats closed rapidly. The Silver Streak, throbbing and vibrating under full power, surged towards the enemy. From the Mary Lou, all heads were now turned towards the aggressor, wondering, with interest at first, what could be bringing her in at this impressive speed; and then, as she held her course, wondering anxiously whether she was going to avoid a collision. , The owner of the Mary Lou, a large, surly fisherman named Thwaites, was standing up in the stern gesticulating wildly, In the circumstances, Michael considered, it was not unreason- able of him. The gap continued to close, until Michael felt the sweat seeping into the palms of his hands. At their present speed, it seemed improbable, if not impossible, that they could now avoid the most terrifying accident, and he wondered whether Knocker was waiting for some further order from him. Desperately he grabbed at the wheelhouse door and screamed, ‘“ Hard a-starboard! ”’ even as he saw the terrified passengers in the Mary Lou scrambling to the far side of the boat to avoid the awful impact of the inevitable collision. ‘Thwaites, he noticed, as the Silver Streak began to swing, was already snatching at the lashing that held the lifebelts. With a great thundering roar of water, as it was forced against her sloping topsides, Szlver Streak surged round a few feet from the Mary Lou, and as she came abreast, with a mere six or seven feet separating them, Michael heard himseif shouting above the noise of the engines, and the screams of the Mary Lou passengers, “Open fire! ” The reaction was immediate. A long white jet of extinguishing foam curled upwards into the air, and fell in an accurate cascade onto the target area. The bombshell of oily cotton waste soared out over the rail and landed creditably near to the panic-stricken comiclbooks.conny