The Wasp, 1913 · page 48 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 48: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This appears to be a **serialized fiction excerpt** rather than a political cartoon. The text is narrative prose from what seems to be an adventure or maritime story featuring characters named James Burnham and Smith aboard a ship (a "brig"). The plot concerns **proof of identity and trust**: Burnham claims to know someone named Angus McLatchy and possesses a "mark on his shoulder" as evidence, but Smith—apparently a ship's officer—doubts this will convince strangers. Burnham is treated as an outsider: he's isolated on deck, denied cabin meals, and eats with the crew in the galley. **The satirical context is unclear from this page alone.** Without knowing *The Wasp's* publication date, who the author is, or what real-world figures or events these characters reference, I cannot determine if this is political satire, social commentary, or simply adventure fiction used to fill magazine space. The page number (47) suggests this is mid-serialization, requiring earlier context to understand any intended meaning.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WASP 47 Smith fingered his beard and treated the castaway to a sharp but fleeting glance. “Like enough,” he said. “Like enough; but what proof can ye show that same agent or correspondent that ye’re a friend o’ Mr. Angus McLatchy? I’m thinkin’, young man, he’ll want more than yer word for it.” = “T have the proof,’ replied James Burnham easily; but in his heart he knew that the mark on his shoulder would count for nothing among strang- ers. During the remaining hours of that day Burn- ham was permitted to idle about the brig’s main- deck and sit or lie in such patches of shade as hap- pened to take his fancy. When he was thirsty he went to the open water-butt which lay lashed to the bulwarks, amidships on the starboard side, and drank his fill. At meal-times, receiving no invita- tion to the cabin, he went to the galley and ate whatever coarse fare was passed out to him by the cook. At such times he exchanged a few words with Comichooks.com