Adventure Magazine Cover, November 10, 1924 — page 172: what you’re looking at

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

170 put her on the course for Bird Rock and Crooked Island Passage, seventy-five miles to the southward. The ship, now, was in the very position he wanted her, and the swinging motion of her stern made the success of his plan all the more certain. This time, he told himself, he could not fail. Again he put out his boat-hook, and jammed the sharp metal point between the strands of the 8-inch hawser; then, using the long wooden shaft of the hook as a lever, and the lower edge of the port-hole as a fulcrum, he raised the bight of line and shoved it to the rail, between the bars, and over the side. Jamming the point in again farther back, he shoved some more of the hawser over the side. This he did several times, until the hawser began to run out of its own weight, then he drew in his boat- hook and, smiling grimly, stood calmly watching, Faster and faster went the line. Paint chips flew from the rail; smoke began to rise from where the rough hawser was chafing over the wooden grating; Manila shreds, torn from the line, began to collect in the waterway. “‘Two anchors to windward, huh?” mused Breen. ‘And both dragged? Well, let’s see what anchor number three will do.” He tossed the boat-hook through the port and far over the rail, went to an upturned bucket and sat upon it; then, his head on one side and one eye closed, he fell to whistling tunelessly. CAPTAIN MAC and the second 4 mate, after their inspection of the “aes jog, returned to the bridge, and the latter told Mr. Tenny of their narrow escape from going on the reef and of how Breen had tricked them by shortening the log-line, causing the log to register less than the actual distance run. “He took a chance,” he concluded. “Had a squall or rain come along and cut down the visibility for half an hour we would have piled up sure. It’s a wonder we didn’t as it was.” “Oh, he’s a wise one, that Breen,” said Tenny. ‘“He’s a good navigator, I guess, and he’s been pullin’ dirty tricks so long that ’is head’s just runnin’ over with ’em. He’s dumb-lookin’, and walks around like ’e don’t know anything a-tall, but all th’ time he’s snatching schemes out of the air like a sleepy ole turtle snatchin’ flies.”’ ) Adventure He gave an order to the wheelman, and the ship began to come round on the course to Bird Rock. Now the sky in the east was red. The cloud-shapes formed a ladder with rungs of fire, and up that ladder climbed the sun, a ball of molten copper. It was day. “It’s going to be a hot day,” remarked Scott. 3 “‘ “Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning,’’’ quoted Mr. Tenny. ‘Maybe nothin’ more’n heat and a squall or two, though. This is the season for ’em.”’ ‘“‘Anyway, we’ve one thing less to worry about: we'll not have to worry about what ‘Breen’s going to do next.” “No, an’ durn glad I am we ain’t——” There came a sudden grinding noise from below, the hiss of steam; for some seconds the ship shook from stem to stern; then, as the engine stopped, there was silence, and all vibration ceased. The two mates stared at each other with startled, questioning eyes; then Mr. Tenny recovered and sprang to the engine-room voice tube. “What’s wrong down there?” he cried. “Veh—that’s what I want to know!” came sharply back. _ Captain Mac came from his room, and shouted to the mate: “Keep ’er up to the wind, mister! Get as far off shore as you can before she loses way.” The Hawk, her engine stopped, answered her helm and swung slowly up into the wind; then, as she lost momentum, began to fall off, and kept on around until the wind was quartering. The wind, blowing strongly, gave her a slight list, and an almost imperceptible swirl of water along the weather waterline showed that she was making leeway—toward Watling Island and the reef! ‘“‘How long ye goin’ to be fixin’ ’er up?” shouted Mr. Tenny down the voicestube after a while. “Don’t know,” came the answer. ‘‘Won’t know till we find what’s wrong.”’ : all engineers to -—— anyway grunted Tenny, returning to the wing of the bridge and looking anxiously at the white water breaking over the line of reefs to lee- 129 ward. An engineer came out of the engine-room fidley, cast an angry glance up at the bridge and walked aft on the main deck. A few CoMmicboook Wh) CO 5}