Adventure Magazine Cover — page 19: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AS IS often the case the agents were wrong. and the second mate right. Within an hour the coal tip ceased to belch “‘black diamonds” into the capacious hold of the Hesperus, and two _ hours later a procession of beings, who might excusably be mistaken for negroes, emerged from the dusty bowels of the boat for the shore. Immediately afterward the dock pilot, who had been passing the grimy hour or two over a grog in the saleon after the manner of pilots, ascended to the bridge | in company with Captain Kelvett. The grizzled mate took up his position on the fo’c’s’’ head and the second went aft. Men cried, tugs panted and fussed, the telegraph tinkled below in the engine- room and slowly the biscuit-box shaped hull of the tramp veered across the stagnant dock. “Don’t seem that young Selwyn is going to turn up,” remarked Captain Kelvett to his niece, who was interestedly watching. _ the maneuvers of warping eut. “Perhaps he doesn’t take kindly to coal- dust and rain,” she responded. “Don’t blame the dear.” “Oh, you won’t say that when we’re out- side the roads and get washed down, Vi,” retorted the Old Man, who, like any sailor, was apt to take umbrage at any insult to his ship however ancient and humble she be. “She certainly wants her buttons bur- nished!”’ replied the military niece. “Never mind, uncle,” she added, laughing. “T’ll admit I didn’t look pretty myself as a rooky doing fatigue. Oh, look at that funny little tug casting off or something. Why, she or it or whatever you call ’em looks exactly like our colonel. She puffed in that identical asthmatical manner.”’ As soon as the blunt bow of the Hesperus was free of the other vessels along the dock- side the horny hand of the pilot summoned her own power. Cautiously she felt her way through the narrow passage of the - lock-gates, waggling her tail in the absurd self-satisfied manner of the deep-laden tramp to the shouting of the harbor master. Just then she was hailed from the wharf. There a young man in a Homburg hat and coat, and carrying a cane, seated on a valise, waved his hand oe 5 = = nn ie Bae =o ron pact . = . Bre : There’ s that fellow. y Sew? muttered Captain Kelvett. Vi eyed the distant : figure appraisingly. “Looks quite a lad,”’ she commented. “Um. Why the he can’t come aboard like a gentleman instead of a drunk- en fireman I don’t know,” grumbled the Old Man as he irritably pulled down the handle of the engine-room telegraph. ‘‘Stop- ping the way on her an’ all, confound the man!”’ As the port quarter of the ship crunched the fenders against the quayside the fash- ionable young man shouted hilariously to the second mate to lend him a hand. The grimy young man stared at him and bade ~ him in rude terms to seek a warmer climate. “‘Are you the ‘s’cond’?” “T am,” snapped the second mate. “Well, put over a gangway at once,” commanded the stranger arrogantly. “I’m Mr. Claude Selwyn.” “Mr. Carnell!” bawled the captain from the bridge. ‘Aye, aye, sir!’”’ responded Carnell. “Throw Mr. Selwyn a rope ladder. He’s coming aboard.” “Aye, aye, sir,” mumbled Carnell, throw- ing up his hand as a signal that he had understood the order. A handy rope ladder was accordingly thrown over the quarter, and up this Mr. Selwyn proceeded to climb none too agilely. As he approached the rail the grimy Second held out his hand courteously to assist him. As Selwyn grabbed he apparently forgot that he could not hold his cane and the handsat the same time. The former slipped and fell into the dock. With one leg cocked over the taffrail the owner’s son stopped and treated the odd loungers on the quay and the attentive people on the boat to a fluent flow of words that would have raised the envy of the pro- verbial trooper. “Look here,” interrupted the Second sharply before the epic was concluded; “vou cut that out, mister.” The owner’s son regarded the filthy-look- ing object in front of him and desired to know in the name of the alleged abode of an alleged person whom he thought he was talking to. “That’s all right,’ responded Carnell curtly. ‘You may be the owner’s son, —— knows, but anyway you’re going to keep your mouth shut when women are about.” -