The Wasp, 1918 · page 230 of 330
The Wasp — 1918 — page 230: 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 depicts a naval engagement between two vessels—a sloop commanded by Scovil and a white schooner. After a tense encounter where the schooner's crew cheers and someone throws a bottle onto Scovil's deck, the damaged *Tartar* limps into Nevis harbor. Alexander Burnham arrives to learn what happened during the engagement. Scovil, described as swarthy with a thin face and pensive eyes, privately meets with Burnham in his cabin. Without identifying specific historical figures or seeing accompanying illustrations, it's unclear whether this narrative contains satirical commentary on colonial naval affairs or is simply adventure fiction. The page provides no obvious political critique visible to a modern reader.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WASP | 221 sloop at a clipping pace. Scovil sent his men back to their stations. The men of the white schooner swarmed into the rigging and lined the rail and cheered. Scovil, sorely puzzled, cau- tioned his men not to fire cannon or musket unless they first saw some threatening sign. aboard the schooner. | The schooner passed so close to the sloop that a tall man on her poop was able to throw a bottle on to the sloop’s deck. _ Four days later the Tartar crawled into the harbour of Nevis under a makeshift top-mast, with splintered bulwarks and a patched hull. Her wounded. were carried ashore. Her dead had already gone to their deep-sea grave. : Her anchors were scarcely down before Alex- ander Burnham came aboard, eager to hear what adventure had befallen his ship and _ his ship- - mates. He met the commander at the side, all ready to go ashore in the gig and report the’ engagement to the governor. The two shook - hands warmly ; then Scovil put a hand under Burnham’s elbow and entered the eabin with him. He led the way to his own. Scovil was Alexander’s senior by a few years —a slender man with a long, thin face and pen- _ sive eyes. He was swarthy as a Spaniard, P comichooks.com