The Wasp, 1913 · page 270 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 270: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is narrative text rather than a political cartoon. It appears to be from a serialized adventure story featured in the satirical magazine *The Wasp*. The passage describes a naval plot: Captain Robinson of the ship *Thunderous* receives mysterious intelligence about a pirate vessel called the *Wasp* operating in the Caribbean. The text suggests romantic intrigue—a beautiful woman named Hélène is somehow connected to the pirate ship's hidden location, which the anonymous tip deliberately omits. The satire likely involves the pirate ship bearing the magazine's own name, creating a playful self-referential joke. The melodramatic elements (anonymous messages, naval pursuits, hidden romance) parody adventure fiction popular in the era. Without seeing the surrounding pages or knowing the magazine's date, the specific historical or political context remains unclear.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WASP 265 While the Thunderous lay off Bridgetown, Bar- _ bados, two weeks before her arrival in Nevis, Cap- tain Robinson received a packet one morning from the hand of a ragged negro boatman. The boatman * paddled quickly away from the ship’s side immedi- ately after delivering the packet. Captain Robinson tore off the soiled sail-cloth wrapper and found a small, roughly drawn chart of three widely separated islands, and a page of written instructions concerning the habits and hid- ing-places of “that notorious pyrate in ye white schooner commonly known as the Wasp.” In the charts or instructions there was no mention of that particular retreat in which the beautiful Héléne lived, and in the harbor of which the origi- nal Wasp now lay at anchor, her slender hull newly painted as black as night. Captain Robinson notified the governor of Bar- bados of this important communication from the unknown. Two ten-gun brigs which happened to — be in the bay were sent to investigate the two nearer -yetreats, and the Thunderous sailed northward. The Thunderous spent only four days in Nevis, Comichooks.com