Adventure, February 20, 1922 — page 61: what you’re looking at

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

= 2 down there not a half-hour ago that brings me in here. It’s more important for you to listen to me than for me to listen to your Billy Sunday stuff.” Graveyard laughed. “Shoot,”’ he said. “They were Meullor and ‘Dutch’—I knew by their voices,’? Beans began. “I couldn’t see ’em, bein’ inside of the boat-house as they passes by. By the sound of their voices they were comin’ up from the boat landing. “T hears Meullor’s voice. He says— “This’ll put Mr. Wilton where he won’t worry about my cruelty to animals any more.’ “They stops then, an’ one of ’em strikes a match on the boat-house. Then Dutch an- swers— “Yah, und vere he gep nix doodle for vy I sell der sea-gulls’ eggs.’ Just like that. “Then they both laughs and passes on. I don’t know what they’re up to. But you know neither of ’em’s got any use fog you. You licked Meullor for feedin’ live rabbits to the sea-lions; and you reported Dutch for collectin’ and sellin’ sea-gulls’ eggs. They gota job up on you. That’s all I came for.” Beans made for the door. “Wait a minute, Beans,” said Graveyard. “T’m certainly glad you heard that, old scout. Stick your hand out.” “In pretty bad shape, eh?” he went on, regarding the trembling hand the other held out. ‘‘Now, if you'll be satisfied with just a little I'll help you over the hill with a jolt or two. Not much, because——” But Beans turned on his heel. “T told you I quit, didn’t I?” With which he slammed the door. Graveyard sat and pondered. Meullor and Dutch were two of the lighthouse men with whom Graveyard had been at outs for some time. He had come upon Meullor one day standing on the brink of Dead Man’s Look- out, a high craggy overhang on the south end of the island. Meullor had his hat full of young rabbits, which he was tossing one by one down into the snarling, upturned jaws of a hungry pack of sea-lions, five hun- dred feet below. A few words had followed. After that what had happened Meullor could remem- ber but vaguely. A crowding of many events Fish for the Gunner © into a very few seconds; a fusillade of fists 59 that made him think he was fighting several men; numerous wild swings and vain at- ~~ tempts to close in and clinch with his lithe, elusive adversary; a sensation of sickly gid- diness, as the watery world far below com- menced going round and round. Three times the hard rock had conie up The realiza- — tion had finally burrowed in on him that — there was no sense in getting up only to be © knocked down again. Andso he had stayed — and smitten him in the face. down. Dutch had a different reason for bearing = Dutch had been’ _ gathering sea-gulls’ eggs, packing them in Graveyard a grudge. barrels of sawdust and shipping them in to restaurant owners in Felgo. They passed them off for hens’ eggs. Gathering these eggs was prohibited by law. The sea-gull cleared Felgo Bay of fe Lg ve 4 4 4 . < A‘ ~ a % ety /. : v Ant 5 Cis a uf ry ~S % fare Pix) 1 Ae li J, td ‘ fe Che AY As ; " a, j yr TP puatey. y 4’ ‘ RA > SA te A ory : y 4, ; 5 iY ae Nat Wa il . ' We "AN A ath) |b) Lae y ASD OY OARS Coa Ch hy a went I) y \. refuse and were thus of incalculable assist- __ = ance in preventing the spread of disease. Moreover the gulls themselves made strenuous objection to having their nests => robbed. They set up a continuous cackle —s_—> and caw that at times made sleep on the rock an impossibility. After arguing the point with Dutch and failing to persuade ss him to discontinue his illicit business, Grave- = yard had written a report of the affairinto — the lighthouse authorities. == After what Beans had told him Grave- yard sat for a long time trying to imagine ss what the two could be up to. Unable to form the slightest conjecture, he thought for a moment of going down to the boat- — — landing and doing a little detective work. But then a more oppressing worry crept in upon him. Sea He looked about him. This snugly fur- nished, cozy little bungalow, that had been his for eight years and that he had anticl- pated bringing his wife to in another month == was, in the snap of some higher-up’s fingers, _ SS to be en from him. He, Graveyard, might occupy the “dog-house’—a little two-room hut on [the north side of the island. oa He grinned a bitter grin. Such was the — Se precarious lot of an enlisted man. More a than likely, compared to himself, the officer > coming out would be but a rooky in the ser-- vice. Fourteen years Graveyard had been in the Navy. Eight years he had run the ee Fog Rock Station. And now some young, — upstart, quite probably with a lot of theory | and no practise in his head, was coming out __ _t (of yr" ye >