The Wasp, 1918 · page 163 of 330
The Wasp — 1918 — page 163: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains prose fiction rather than a cartoon—specifically, what appears to be a serialized adventure story about naval conflict. The narrative describes Captain Trimmer and James Burnham aboard a white schooner engaged in what seems to be maritime warfare or privateering. The text emphasizes naval combat terminology ("grappled," "big guns," "forecastle deck") and depicts the men anticipating a confrontation. Burnham expresses eagerness to fight, offering his "last of my few guineas" for combat. Without additional context about *The Wasp* magazine's publication date or the story's title, I cannot identify the specific historical naval incident or conflict being referenced. The romantic adventure-story tone and gentlemen characters suggest this may be period fiction popular in late 19th-century American satirical magazines, but the exact satirical target—if any—remains unclear from this excerpt alone.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
154 THE WASP own kidney had fastened upon a trader. Ships of war, with their heavy metal, would have kept up a discharge of big guns even after they had grappled. _. The course of the white schooner was alee She moved through the gloom with steerageway — and no more, rolling lazily. She showed no lights. Men gathered in groups in the waist, on the forecastle deck, on the poop. An hour passed with only one more whisper of the muffled sounds to leeward ; and then night’s — lid lifted a hair’s breadth in the east. The wind freshened. Captain Trimmer came to James Burnham’s elbow and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Something was going on, Tim, ” he said. “Tf our luck holds, we’ll find pickings of some kind, and maybe a fight. How d’ye feel for a fight 2” “Td give the last of my few guineas for a chance to draw and have at something ! Use replied Burnham. Trimmer’s hand lifted from the other’s shoulder and pointed into the grey ahead. He uttered a volley of oaths which, though they fairly blistered the air, were intended to express satisfaction and astonishment. Burnham .peered in the : eomichooks.com REP ER Ee ee AN PE RT OR Te RT ON