The Wasp, 1913 · page 52 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 52: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains fiction rather than satire or political commentary. It's an excerpt from a serialized narrative titled "The Wasp," depicting a prisoner named Burnham confined below deck in a ship's brig (jail). The passage describes Burnham regaining consciousness after being struck by an officer, discovering he's shackled at the ankles, and attempting escape when a young crew member—Henry Todd, the ship's boy—descends the ladder. The text emphasizes Burnham's thirst, confinement, and growing awareness of his situation. Without additional context about the larger story or *The Wasp* magazine's specific satirical aims, we cannot determine if this narrative itself carries political or social commentary. The scene appears to be straightforward adventure fiction focused on suspense and character development rather than satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ee a NSN ERE re AE UN THE WASP 51 plied by one small hatch. Now the sunshine flooded straight down the open hatch. Burnham stared fixedly at the bolt of sunshine and remembered everything that had happened to him up to the time of the blow on the head. He surmised, correctly enough, that the blow had been delivered by one of the brig’s officers. He looked around for some means of quenching his thirst, but could see nothing in the forecastle that promised relief. He turned his attention to his irons. He was shackled at the ankles only, and was not chained to the deck or frame of the brig. He crawled to the foot of the ladder which led up to the open hatch and was about to ascend it when a shadow fell upon the rounds above him. He looked up, at the same time shrinking aside from the foot of the ladder, and saw a small, ragged figure slip over the coaming of the hatch and com- meénce a slow and halting descent. The visitor was Henry Todd, the ship’s boy. Burnham had noticed him about the deck the day before—a skulking, frightened lad of fifteen or six- comichooks.com