The Wasp, 1913 · page 70 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 70: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page appears to be from a serialized fiction story rather than a political cartoon or satire. It's narrative prose describing a character named Burnham's dilemma after escaping from a New England ship called the *Virtue*. The plot concerns Burnham's predicament: he's fled violently from Captain Smith (who planned to sell him into piracy or slavery), but now finds himself stranded near the very island where Smith operates. Contacting authorities to prove his story of robbery and misfortune is risky because his violent escape—he brained one man with a bottle and shot another—will work against him legally. The passage shows Burnham contemplating whether to take this risk, "glancing down at the girl with a calculating eye," suggesting he may involve her in his scheme. Without seeing additional context or illustrations on this page, I cannot identify specific satirical targets or political commentary typical of *The Wasp* magazine. This reads as adventure fiction rather than satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WASP 69 Her voice faded into silence,as if from utter weariness. At the mention of Nevis Burnham felt despair for a moment, and showed something of it in his face. In the darkness he had sailed toward the wrong island, and now it might be that he was no more than a few miles distant from Smith and Winch and the detested New England brig from which he had made such a violent escape. To bring himself in touch with the governor would mean to come in touch with the chief port of the island, and this would mean, past a doubt, the risk of an encounter with Captain Smith. It was in this island that Smith had planned to sell him, either as a pirate or a slave. How was the truth of his story of robbery and misfortune to be proved to the authorities? The violence of his escape from the brig Virtue would tell against him, he supposed. He had brained one man with a bottle and shot another. “But it has to be risked,” he murmured, glanc- ing down at the girl with a calculating eye. “The comichooks.com