The Wasp, 1918 · page 158 of 330
The Wasp — 1918 — page 158: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains no visible cartoon or illustration—it is purely text, appearing to be from a serialized fiction story featured in the satirical magazine *The Wasp*. The passage describes a white schooner and its crew under Captain Trimmer, detailing the casual work atmosphere aboard ship and the captain's profit-sharing system. The narrative mentions characters including James Burnham, Kitty, Wells, and Slim Sam. The text suggests this is likely a pirate or privateer story (references to "captures" and "spoils"), though *The Wasp* primarily published satire and humor rather than adventure fiction. Without additional context or visible illustrations, the specific satirical intent—if any—remains unclear from this page alone.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WASP 149 raised his voice in argument, laughter, or anger. He impressed James Burnham as being a person worthy of particular study. Burnham did not mention Kitty’s presence in Nevis to her brother. He thought it wiser not to mix family and business affairs. The white schooner left Bottle Harbour at dawn, sailed south and east until noon, and then headed due south. She was a clever sailor and could make the most of light and uncertain airs. Wells handled her with skill. : James Burnham was in Slim Sam’s watch. He worked willingly, but the tasks that day were as light as the currents of air. When there was no work to be done aloft or alow, the men of the watch sat down in whatever patch of shade took their fancy and smoked and yarned or even played at cards or dice. Most of them had coin, and those who had no coin had trinkets or silks. It seems that Captain _ Trimmer’s method of doing business was to de- clare dividends after every capture and pass every man’s share of the spoils over to him. The schooner counted as five men, and so took five shares, the resultant fund being devoted to her upkeep. The captain took three shares to _ himself; all other officers, no matter of what comlicooks.com