Adventure Magazine Cover, November 10, 1924 — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

20 There was a game of stud in progress under another light. The cards had all been dealt and “king-jack” was betting. Each man in turn wet his lips a bit, took a look at his hole card, looked at the king-jack, looked at his pile of matches, took another look at the hole card, and wrinkled his brows. Some stayed and some turned their cards over. It would not be wise to seek in- formation from those men. The sergeant went down the next row of bunks, where a man sat on the lowest tier and wiped his mess-kit with a towel. When he had care- fully put the knife, fork and spoon inside, snapped on the cover and stowed the kit in his haversack, Eadie addressed him. “Do you know where:a big hairy guy named Jake Brown sleeps?” “Yeah, sure, he sleeps over me in this bunk right here.”” The man punched the bunk overhim. “TI never could figure out,’ he continued, “‘why they put a big guy like that in a upper bunk. If that canvas was the least bit weak, he’d come through an’ iron me right out.” ‘Where do you suppose he’s gone?” asked Eadie. “Why, he left here jingling a cup and shavin’ brush. I don’t know where he’d go to shave, that I don’t. He didn’t have no razor that Isaw. Maybe he’ll get some water and come back here. That’s what I do.” | At this moment the one in question ap- peared, his shirt tucked in at the neck and a basin of water held gingerly in his hand. “Hi, sergeant,” he cried. ‘‘Man, there’s such a fightin’ mob in that place you couldn’t get near a faucet. A sailor lent me this here basin. I had a idea it would be like that, so I left my razor here anyway. There’s no place there to set up a mirror even.” He put the basin down, cautioning the men not to put their feet in it, and propped a steel mirror against a mess-cup, just where the rays from the light would be reflected from it. Then he moistened his face with the water and proceeded to rub soap on it from a stick. Eadie tapped his toe idly on the deck and thought of his fine stateroom and how he would feel if he led Jake up there and found it full of officers. Jake was still rubbing soap. The man in the lower bunk began to write in a diary. Jake grunted and took up his shaving brush. Adventure Eadie could hear the brush sloshing about with quick strokes. The sergeant re- flected that Jake must have a beard like so many iron spikes. The brush still splattered and Jake breathed heavily. He picked up the soap and examined it, in- spected the brush, and fell to earnestly once more, staring intently into the mirror. Eadie began to notice that something was wrong. Jake worked madly at the brush, then he would seize the soap and rub it on his face as:hard-as he could, then make play with the brush once more. “What the —— is the matter?” he cried suddenly. “This —— soap is spoiled or something. I-can’t git no lather out of it. If I keep on this way long enough, I'll grind all the hairs off.” “Maybe it’s because the water’s cold, = suggested Eadie. | “That don’t make no difference. There was a advertisement of the soap with a pictchure on to it. One guy all poobed and one guy with his face all soap a foot .deep. The soapy face guy says to the poobed guy, ‘I don’t have to have hot water any more to shave, .buddy, cold water is good enough for me. I use McGluke’s shaving stick. Hot or cold, it lathers just the same.’ So I bought some. It always worked with cold. water before.” ‘Maybe you didn’t rub on enough.” “Huh! I wore about a inch off that stick, an’ I ain’t got soap enough on my face to make a louse blink if it was all in his eye.” “‘Well, I’m condemned,” remarked Eadie. “T don’t know what’s the matter with it. Maybe it’s the sea air. Did it soften your beard any?” Jake made a tentative sweep with the razor and gave a howl that made the com- partment ring like a bell. “No,” he cried profanely, “it didn’t.” The man in the lower bunk stood up after the echoes of Jake’s outcry had died away, and when the other men had ceased to in- quire who was being murdered— ‘“‘What’s eatin’ yuh?” he asked. Jake explained that though there was soap, there was no lather and that he de- sired to shave. “What yuh got in that basin?” queried the man. “Salt water?” “By ——!” cried Jake, and sniffed at the basin. “So ’tis. Would that make any difference?” COMmicboook A) © =