Argosy, Vol. 118, No. 4 — page 93: what you’re looking at

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

CLAIMED, ous exertion. They arrived at last, how- ever, and Captain Jessamy was first to set foot on the strange bit of vapor-steaming rock extruded by the convulsive forces at work below. _ Blair was the only one to follow him, and for an excellent reason. The other four seamen were all barefooted; but Blair, “‘ tipped off,’”’ as he phrased it, by the mate, had brought along a pair of shore-boots. The rock was still hot enough to preclude any comfort in walking about, even for a man shod in heavy Jeather, and with naked feet the adventure became one of downright torture. ‘‘And me,” said Blair, “ bringin’ them boots along just to walk myself straight through the gates of hell! I wisht the old man had died before he ever seen that is- land! I wisht Mr. Kersarge had died be- fore he ever tipped me off to take them boots along! I wisht—” “ That will do, my man,” Porter cut in coldly. ‘“ Cursing your officers will net fin- ish this long-winded yarn you’re spinning. Anyway, I fail to see how a volcanic island near the Azores can bear on the kidnaping of a bloomin’ millionaire down the Dela- ware.” “Yer will see, sir. But if yer don’t want to hear it, I'll lay off—” “Let him finish, Captain Porter— please?” intervened the doctor. “ Get ahead, Blair, and make it as short as you can to save time.” “1 will, sir, though it seems funny to talk of savin’ time when yer tellin’ of His doings. What’s time to him? Why a mat- ter of twenty thousand years or so ain’t no more to him than five minutes is to you and me. Time! All right, sir; I'll get under Way again.” A Powerful Tale Well Told 563 Near the center of the island, from which Captain Jessamy kept a safe distance, fear- ing poisonous vapors, were some masses of brilliantly scarlet rock, in form and juxta- position vaguely suggesting the shapes of ruined buildings. “Scarlet?” repeated the doctor. “Red,” said the sailor. ‘ Red as new blood that’s just been shed; red as the writin’ that lays across what he’s took again for his own; red as the ten red cities—ah, yer has seen a thing or two fer yer own- self, doctor, ain’t yer?” “Never mind what I may have seen. Get on with your story.” “Oh, I’m tellin’ yer fast enough. It was while the old man—beg pardon, Cap- tain Porter, sir; I mean Captain Jessamy— it was while he was peerin’ at them old red walls through his binoculars that I first seen it. There was chunks and roundish balls of Java layin’ all about,in the wet ash. Black they was mostly, with dull red specks. This here was different. It was green— bright green, like grass almost; grass that blood has been sprinkled over in pretty little shiny red drops. And it were shaped real regular, almost like a box. “* Captain Jessamy, sir,’ says I, ‘can I carry this here along when we goes? I could hollow it out to a box like, and maybe sell it ashore.’ And the old man, he laughs ‘and says: ‘Sure. Help yerself to anything you find on this land, Blair. I reckon no- body won’t come around claimin’ no prop- erty yer removes from here.’ “ Just like that. He reckoned nobody would be wanting or claiming it from me. So I wraps it up in my shirt, because it’s too hot to hold, and just like that I walks through the gates of hell, sirs. plumb through the gates of hell!” (To be concluded NEXT WEEK.) Straight, “THE BUTT OF NEPTUNE’S JEST” BY GEORGE MARIANO Beginning April 3 JOO (C(O) S (CO)