The Wasp, 1918 · page 273 of 330
The Wasp — 1918 — page 273: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This text page (no visible cartoon) appears from a serialized story about a pirate settlement ruled by "John Trimmer" and his consort Hélène. The narrative describes how a criminal community—organized like a mock aristocracy—gradually self-destructs through internal corruption. The satire critiques how lawless hierarchies inevitably decay: immigrant settlers become spies, gamblers, or laborers; Trimmer's followers squander resources at gaming houses; violence escalates as the pirate crew weakens through murder, disease, and alcoholism. The "parasites" (gamblers) gain power as the original "pirates" (leaders) decline. The passage suggests The Wasp is satirizing contemporary social stratification and criminal enterprise, possibly referencing real San Francisco underworld dynamics. The ironic "aristocracy" of scoundrels illustrates how even outlaw societies replicate and corrupt the class systems they supposedly reject. The text breaks off as mutiny against Trimmer begins.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
264. THE WASP -useful‘to them. Trimmer was the king of the place, Héléne was its queen, the members of the - schooner’s company and their lights o’-love formed the aristocracy. Some of the immigrants be- came agents and spies for Trimmer and his men ; others opened gambling-houses. Still others be- came the hewers of wood and drawers of water - for the plantation. -Since his treacherous act against Burnham and the other schooner, Trimmer had not ven- tured far from his hiding-place or visited any of his other secret ports. His followers had been content, for a while, to remain inactive and wallow in the mire; but in the course of time many of them lost all their ready cash to the parasite gamblers. s At first it was a simple enough matter to set such an awkwardness straight by killing the gambler and starting all over again, but in time it- was often the gambler who first used the knife or pistol. And some of the bold blades died at the hands of their shipmates, in sense- less brawls, and others died of fever, and still others of too much rum. As the pirates weakened in FEES, the 9 parasites strengthened. Then the. grumbling at John Trimmer’ commenced. Why didn’t (Comicbhooks:com))