The Wasp, 1918 · page 58 of 330
The Wasp — 1918 — page 58: 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. It depicts a narrative scene where a character named James Burnham lands on an island with a boy named Todd. The story shows Todd—apparently a naive, malnourished youth—mistakenly believing Burnham is a pirate captain. Todd has helped Burnham obtain a boat and eagerly seeks to join in piracy. Burnham corrects him sharply, clarifying he's not a pirate. **Without additional context**, it's unclear whether this fiction carries satirical political meaning about a real person named James Burnham or whether it's simply adventure fiction. The narrative focuses on their island exploration and Todd's inexperience (having never had shore leave despite sailing to the West Indies twice). To identify any satirical intent targeting an actual historical figure or political situation would require knowing *The Wasp's* publication date and Burnham's prominence at that time—information not visible on this page.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WASP 49 The island developed before them momentarily. The boy gazed eagerly forward at the climbing - forests of green, at the low white surf riding in to the lilac sands, at the slender coconut- _ trees between the sea and the forests. He turned _ and gazed at Burnham with awe and admiration ~ in his doglike eyes. There was a fine colour in his wasted cheeks.. _ “* Praise be to Heaven we’re clear o’ the brig = Virtue!” he cried. ‘An’ ye'll let me be a pirate with ye, sir? Ye give me yer word on it, cap’n. I got ye the boat, sir, an’ never a hitch.” “What’s all this talk about a pirate, you fool?” exclaimed the man, bending a terrific glance upon poor Todd. “I am no more a pirate than you are. My name is Burnham, James Burnham.” ~ Yes, sir,” whined the lad, cringing. They beached the boat and went ashore “ tospyoutthecountry. Todd recognised nothing that he saw, for, though he had sailed two voyages to the West Indies, he had never had so much _as an hour of shore-leave on any island. Burnham was at his wit’s end for a plan of campaign. He devoted an hour to a cautious _imspection of his immediate surroundings. He comichbooks.com