Adventure Magazine Cover — page 140: what you’re looking at

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

130 In a trice Japes had the coffee-pot in one hand and a fistful of coffee in the other and was pouring the latter on to the floor be- cause his misted gaze played him false. Arnie waited outside the door until “Jonah” burst forth within; whereupon he grinned. But Japes’ singing was likely to imply ' something else than one thought. The worse he felt, the more he roared out his verses, as if they wee a sort of “Rock of Ages.” As to his cooking, he redoubled his efforts, exercised all his skill, sweated, -strained and trusted—with exactly the same result he had obtained before. _The crew, on the other hand, driven to the braces too often, halved their effort and renounced their skill and acquired a very different pride. Yet it was pride of a sort, and it seemed so similar a pfide to that of the ship that as the men gained pride, the Samson lost it. Her badly set braces marked a clumsy motion in the vessel and a crude music in her tophamper; her canvas shivered and spilled the wind; her head became unsteady. They were sucking the majesty out of her. Captain Loman saw with uncomprehend- ing frenzy the degeneracy of his ship, the increasing loss of time, the horrid, uprearing head of disrespect whence mutiny springs. He railed and thundered and drove the crew until his hands bled. The crew laughed; they had taken too much to care, and their pride, ridiculously, showed greatest when it was of no use. Some, struck down, were satisfied to lie and curse; some who would have risen and rendered other answer could not get upon - Arnie dropped down beside - their feet. one such and pinched his flesh and ex- amined his mouth. ..To the captain who > waited, boiling o¥er with wrath, he reported in one word, “Scurvy!” ~ SCURVY, that terror of the sea! oy Scurvy that seizes upon a man from * his stomach and makes his flesh like potter’s clay! At the word bunk-mates and comrades backed. away as from a leper. Captain Loman dropped his fists and fell to trem- bling and licking his lips and staring at his bleeding hands that had taken toll so freely. He stared at them in fear, in repudiation— as if he would cut them off. Out of his blessed silence he muttered, he gabbled, he flung oaths, he roared imprecation. His \: Adventure tumult drowned the Samson’s spasmodic pleas for a helping hand to her canvas. Arnie rose from beside the stricken sailor _and said to him quietly: ‘All you can do for us, sir, is to keep still. There’s —— enough.”’ As the captain had left him préviously, so he left the captain and went at the task of carrrying the sick forward into the fore- castle and, breaking open the medicine- chest. By night-time three of the crew were down. Wabbling on their legs, they tumbled into hammocks and bore their distress in mute wonderment. Their ship-mates gave them elbow-room, backing into corners whence they glared out defensively. Only Arnie drew near; he it was who mixed them potions—out of his infallible memory—and bathed their faces and their arms. In the cabin Captain Loman treated his raw knuckles with antiseptic and called Arnie a fool and raved about the four days of lost time that were becoming five and everlastingly anathematized. the crew. “It’s their lack of pride, upon my soul,” . ‘No de- cency, no cleanliness—there’s the root of ' he declared, his eyes flaming. it. They’ve done it now.” Arnie impressed Japes into service. gether they ransacked the lazaret. ““Broth’s the wellin’ food,” Japes mumbled. His voice sounded weak; his awkwardness seemed amazing, for he banged into every- To- ‘“‘What ’d there be fer brothin’ up? ,/ No cook, they says. Why, sir, the Lord guide me an’ P’IK——” “Take the cabin provisions—anything, all you find; no time for questions.” Kindled with new inspiration, Japes pried open cartons and boxes and kept his fires going all through the night. The next morning he was still contriving. “‘Get to bed!” Arnie ordered. The little man had rings under his eyes and a feverish face. “We'll have no overdoing. You’re done in in, Jape te “Yah aoukin's be insultin’ me, would ye?” he was answered. “Husky whaler’s man, yed mind. Ain’t we labored con- ; jinglin’? Let’s we be standin’ together now.?;,, So they toiled without stint, without rest,.: without aid. They made some headway: but others came down in the mean time. And the bark shivered and shouted and lost,, cS “Eomicboo (E@)