The Wasp, 1913 · page 269 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 269: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page continues a serialized story about rival sea captains. Captain Trimmer, described as an "ex-highwayman," hired James Burnham as first mate aboard the ship *Le Diable*. When Burnham's superior seamanship wins over Trimmer's crew, Trimmer becomes enraged and confronts him. Burnham responds by punching Trimmer in the face, breaking his nose. The conflict escalates into a brawl. Burnham then sails away with his supporters—including some of Trimmer's own men—aboard *Le Diable*, leaving Trimmer's scheme in ruins. The moral is captured in the final line: Trimmer reflects that he "nursed a viper in his bosom"—meaning his own hiring decision has created an enemy determined to destroy him. The satire likely mocks themes of misplaced trust, wounded vanity, and criminal ambition.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
264 THE WASP ing aboard her but fifty guineas and a cargo of sugar. As he was not in the sugar trade, the cargo was not worth a shilling to him, so his men began to grumble. Both schooners ran into a quiet cove and their companies went ashore. James Burnham made his report to Captain Trimmer; and, upon hearing it, Trimmer’s men all voiced their desire to ship with Captain Burnham. Here was a blow to the ex-highwayman’s vanity. Trimmer was furious. He accused James Burn- ham of treacherous intentions, and demanded his resignation of the command of Le Diable. James’s retort laid Captain Trimmer on the flat of his back with a broken nose. A half-hearted mix-up followed, in which half a dozen men were slightly wounded. Then James -and his devoted admirers, and a dozen of Trimmer’s hearties, went aboard Le Diable and sailed away. Thus Trimmer’s great scheme fell to the sand. Trimmer’s ambition now was to break James Burnham. He told himself that he had nursed a viper in his bosom. Commichooks.com