The Wasp, 1918 · page 217 of 330
The Wasp — 1918 — page 217: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page appears to be from a serialized fictional narrative rather than a political cartoon. It depicts a privateering or piracy scenario set during what seems to be the colonial era (references to French king, Canadian schooner "Le Diable"). **The Plot:** Captain John Trimmer, apparently a privateer, has a Canadian rival killed. Trimmer inspects the captured ship and its treasure, then contemplates expanding his operation by commanding two vessels instead of one, eliminating competition from rivals named Deck, Duval, and "Hellfire Hicks." **The Satire's Point:** The passage mocks Trimmer's opportunistic ambition and moral flexibility—he rationalizes betraying fellow privateers and potentially enslaving twenty prisoners to increase his wealth and power. The irony is that Trimmer believes his dead rival has done him a "good turn," when he's actually becoming the ruthless predator. This appears to be adventure fiction satirizing 19th-century commercial greed and maritime lawlessness, though the specific historical context remains unclear without additional pages.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
208 aS THE WASP ond now he lay dead on ae deck. He nee = accomplished very little for the glory of We king of France and even less for himself. : A sudden death is apt to upset even the subtlest calculations and nullify the most amaz- ing successes. But it would seem that the dead Canadian had done Captain John Trimmer a very good turn. John thought so, and felt a positive glow of gratitude; but John’was | wrong. Captain Trimmer inspected Le Diable and her treasure, and was delighted with both. - The : _ Canadian schooner was aslikethe white schooner as a twin sister in all but the colour of her grace- ful hull. It was this fact, together with the somewhat overmanned condition -of the white schooner, and the twenty new prisoners. whose fate had not yet been determinéd, that set a germ of ambition in Trimmer’s mind into full life and size. Why should he, John Trimmer, share the toll of the rich and narrow seas with such blun- ~ _ derers as Deck and Duval? Had not Hellfire 7 Hicks already been swept from his path? Why — should he not reap the harvest and harry the — other harvesters with two ships instead of one ? The personal risk would-be no greater ; he would fComicbooks\con