Adventure Magazine Cover, October 30, 1924 — page 153: what you’re looking at

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

Great no ’Orn. Not if Hi signs on when Hi ’m sober. Hi fell hoverboard last time round the Orn. Where’s she bound for?”’ ‘“‘Melbourne,” said the Duke, who read the shipping news. ‘“‘And she’s short handed I hear Johnny Smith say.” ‘“‘Le’s try ’er?”’ said ’Arry Coy. Feeling that they had discussed the mat- ter thoroughly they set out for Johnny Smith’s boarding house. ‘“‘A fine ship,” said Johnny Smith, who had them down on his books. ‘A regular home, you bet. One family. The two mates—nice boys, them mates—are brothers. Their uncle’s the Old Man.” — “Old Man” had no reference whatever to age. It means Captain. f. (4 BY THE middle of the afternoon afl they were out spending what the ME) crimp had left them of their ad- vance, all eager to get rid of the last copper of the three months’ wage, as yet un- earned, before the following morning when they were due on beard. . It was chilly weather and they wouldn’t be ashore again for a long, long time, so they stepped pretty lively; and even the Duke, who was suspected of being a social scapegrace with some tragedy behind him, ‘grew cheerful and almost light hearted. A few hot whiskies with steam-beer chasers, great platters of steaming free lunch, sauer- kraut with weenies nestling in it, shrimps, ‘bologna, celery, green olives, potato chips, deep bowls of clam chowder, with hot red slices of roast beef, pumpernickel and pretzels, crisp crackers heavily salted—all fme thirst producers—helped to make them feel that this was a pretty good old world, San Francisco a great little town after all, aad that the Clarendon would be a home. Everything was going fine. Webster, as usual, got into a crap game but his friends got him out again before he lost all his money. ’Arry Coy, who had a weakness for beauty, danced until he had enough in one of the toughest dumps on the Coast; and though his pockets were picked he didn’t care, for there was nothing in ’’em. Made wise by experience, he had stowed his money in his sock. The Duke had spotted an ancient stone bottle of yellow Chartreuse on the shelf of a dive that had as many calls for soothing Days 143 syrup as for cordials. He gave two-fifty for bottle and all, and the bartender thought him crazy because he sipped a thimbleful a drop at a time with a far away blissful light. in his eyes. At about ten o’clock that evening they drifted into a little all-night restaurant for something to eat, something substantial, like steaks two inches thick, fried onions and mushrooms with a couple of poached eggs and an order all reund of French fried. They were hardly at the table before a down-at-the-heels man, with a big wart on his cheek, near the nose, and eyes that were a bit cocked, came in from the street and said right off— “Mates, Tm no moucher—look at them hands He held them out, and showed the black streaks of tar in the salt water cracks of his hard hands. ‘““__T’m no moucher; but I’ve ducked off the worst heller that ever carried rotten grub to sea. I’m a stranger in this town and they’re lookin’ for me. [I laid all day yesterday along the wharf waiting for the blankety-blank double-blanked mate to come ashore. But the captain come first. He was bad as the mate, so I heaved my rock alongside his head and—well, I got away. I didn’t stop to explain to nobody that the old blankety-blank and his doubly blanked sons of two blanks had made a little ocean madhouse for us crew ever since we left Liverpool. I jumped across the street, through the front door of a saloon and out the back. Here I am, and hungry, mates. I took a good look at you out there as you went by—you’re sailors. I’d like two bits for a meal and a bed. It’s a cold night, mates.’ The Duke suspected that the modesty of his request was due to a bit of cunning knowledge as to the generosity of sailormen, but he made no comment. “Set down!’ said Webster, pulling out the chair beside him. “Two bits, ,’ cried ’Arry Coy, digging down in his sock. ‘‘’Ere’s two iron men, an Hi’ll pay for wot yer can swallow now, Hi will!’’ ‘“‘Make yourself at home,” said Duke, continuing to give the fellow a close scrutiny. The man sat down readily. The Duke drew his stone bottle from a heartily, comicbooks.cO in