Adventure Magazine, April 10, 1924 — page 84: what you’re looking at

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

Author of “The Man in the Water” and “The Master’s Touch.” “W@W WANT you to give partic’lar at- tention to this here bomb-lance I’m a-goin’ to show ye, Mr. Deedham,”’ counseled Captain Mallett, ‘“‘for to my notion it’s a invention that’ll rev’lutionize the whole business 0’ whalin’. But where in tarnation is that steward? I sent him for it a hour ago ’pears like. Thac smoke is gettin’ slower an’ slower every v’yage.” He rose from his deck chair and peered down through the open skylight into the after-cabin. “Hey you, Smuts!” he growled. “Hurry up with that there bomb. It’s in the forrad lower drawer onder my bunk where I told ye it was. Wrapped in brown paper.” “Yes sah, yes sah!” floated up the throaty, musical voice of the black steward. “{ done discaberate it, sah. Coming, sah.” The captain resumed his seat and in an- other moment Smuts appeared on the poop his coal-black face shining, like polished ebony, with perspiration for it was a hot afternoon, the whaling bark Sankaty being, by the noon’s observation, about three de- grees south of the line in the Atlantic. Smuts handed the elongated parcel gingerly to the captain and went about his business. Captain Mallett paused in the act of un- wrapping the bomb to warn the man at the wheel to keep the sails full, for the helms- man in his eagerness to see this novelty had allowed the ship to come up into the wind. He spun the wheel and for the time being became perfectly cross-eyed in endeavoring to keep one eye on the shivering leach of the main t’gallant-s’l and the other on this wonderful engine of destruction which the captain now exposed in the shape of a cast- iron tube, eighteen inches long, as thick as a man’s thumb, and terminating in a tri- angular point of needle sharpness. After examining it almost lovingly fora little while the captain passed it to Mr. Deedham, the mate, who was sitting on the edge of the skylight where he could catch the draught from the spanker and at the same time flash an occasional eye on the main deck where the watch had the spun- yarn machine going in the waist, manufac- turing season-stuff from pieces of old hemp rigging, under the supervision of the second mate. “Set-fire! I don’t see nothin’ extra- ordinary about this bomb,” decided the mate after viewing it from all angles criti- cally. “It’s as like them others we been using as two peas.” Captain Mallett relighted the inevitable cigar and chuckled: “To be sure it does Jook like t’ others, I'll admit, but right there all resemblance ends, Mr. Deedham. You see, the ord’nary bomb is filled with six ounces of common black powder, an’ if it don’t bust in just the right place it don’t stop the whale none. He don’t mind it no more’n a charge 0’ duck-shot. But nothin’ like that’ll happen with this here bomb for the minute it enters the whale, no matter what portion o’ him, he becomes par’lyzed an’ lays on the water $2 GO NOOK (C@