The Wasp, 1918 · page 240 of 330
The Wasp — 1918 — page 240: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains serialized fiction rather than political satire or cartoons. It narrates a pirate adventure story involving rivalry between two sea captains: James Burnham and Captain Trimmer (described as an "ex-highwayman"). The plot depicts Burnham's superior leadership winning over Trimmer's crew, leading to conflict. When Trimmer demands Burnham's resignation from command of the ship *Le Diable*, Burnham physically retaliates, breaking Trimmer's nose. Burnham then takes about two dozen men and sails away on the same vessel, leaving Trimmer behind. The narrative appears designed for entertainment rather than political commentary. There's no visible political allegory, and the characters seem fictional creations for adventure fiction. The text focuses on maritime conflict, honor disputes, and crew loyalty typical of pulp adventure serials popular in American magazines of this era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WASP 232i: after hard fighting and found nothing aboard her but fifty guineas and a cargo of sugar. As he was not in the sugar trade, the cargo was not worth a shilling to him, so his men began to grumble. Both schooners ran into a quiet cove and their companies went ashore. James Burnham made his report to Captain Trimmer; and upon hearing it, Trimmer’s men all voiced their desire to ship with Captain Burnham. : Here was a blow to the ex-highwayman’s vanity. Trimmer was furious. He accused James Burnham of treacherous intentions, and demanded his resignation of the command of LeDtable. James’s retort laid Captain Trimmer on the flat of his back with a broken nose. A half-hearted mix-up followed, in which half a dozen men were slightly wounded. Then James and his devoted admirers, and a dozen of Trimmer’s hearties, went abroad Le Diable and — sailed away. Thus Trimmer’s great scheme fell to the sand. Trimmer’s ambition now was to break James Burnham. He told himself pat he had nursed a viper in his bosom. While the Thunderous lay off Bales owe, Barbados, two weeks before her arrival in Nevis, comiciooks.com