Adventure Magazine Cover, November 10, 1924 — page 31: what you’re looking at

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

The Casual’s Return “Greasy slum,’ he muttered, “I knew it would disagree with me.” He rearranged his blouse that served as pillow and lay dewn again. Sleep would not come. There vas. a feeling of unrest and terror upon him, his body still cringed from the impact of the nightmare’ s flying hoofs. ‘“‘You’re a poor man to go to war,” Eadie informed himself. ‘‘You’re ready to jump out of your skin because you've waked up suddenly in the dark. He raised on his elbow to rearrange his overcoat and the movement of the ship swayed him against the inner side of the bunk. He waited for the return roll to straighten him up again. ‘Two, three, five seconds he waited. Something fell off the washstand and rolled across the deck, clicking against the bulkhead. Eadie got from that bunk immediately. It was so dark and the silence was so pro- found. Silence! Ah, that was it! What made it so quiet? There was no burrum, burrum, burrum from the vitals of the ship, no chattering, hurrying, talking - sounds ree. the bulkheads. The engines had stopped. “Jake!”’ cried Eadie, leaping across the room. “Jake! Get up! Something’s the matter, wake up, man!”’ “Whah?” queried Jake. “Gettup! Gettup! The engines have stopped and the beans are on the floor! Rouse out of that!” “You're crazy,” said ae now fully 2 awake. ‘‘Gawn back to bed. Maybe we’ve cast anchor or something.” That indeed was a reasonable thought. “Pm going on deck,” said Eadie, “T want to see what’s coming off. I’ve had a nightmare and a little fresh air won’t hurt me.’ “T’ll come with yuh,” decided Jake. “‘Wait’ll I put on my shoes.” “Did you sleep full pack after all?” “Sure did,” answered Jake. “I was going to undress, but I forgot and went to sleep with one shoe on.” Eadie put on his own shoes and the two hurried out. In the alleyway they could hear confused sounds from the other state- rooms, sleepy voices, doors slamming and feet running away into the darkness. They went. out to the well deck. It was very dark there and a bitter wind blew. hurrying clouds across the black sky. The ship had 29 stopped, there was no doubt of that, and she lay over to port, so that the two men- slid very easily down her steel deck to the port rail, where they could see the six-inch gun pointing here and there like a guide’s finger. The crew stood about it, aman on each side with his eyes thrust into the eye- pieces of the sights, and an officer leaning over the bulwarks and cursi “Where the ——’s them other ships?” asked. Jake suddenly. Eadie craned his neck over the rail. He could see the black sea and the distant bil- lows rolling, but of either ship or destroyer there was no sign. They had disappeared utterly, He looked forward beyond the bow. “Look, Jake!” he cried. anything there?” “Looks like a lotta bugs,” said Jake. “T bet it’s them. We broke down. an’ they went on. an’ left us.” There was a deep rumble from the ship’s interior, and before the two soldiers could gasp, she swung back to an even keel. At that same moment a distant grumbling began. ‘There go the engines again,” said Eadie. “IT guess I got you out; of bed on a wild- goose chase.” “The gobs on them guns act kinda nervous, just the same,” remarked the other. There were two guns in the well deck, and both crews swung them continually back and forth, with no apparent target. “Maybe they’ re doing that to keep warm,” said Eadie, “and anyway if you were a captain of a ship and your convoy had run off and left you in the middle of a hostile ocean, you'd be a bit nervous.” “Guess I would,” grunted Jake. “Well, if your indigestion’ s all better, let’s go back to bed.” “We might as well,” said the sergeant. He a: a minute, watching the questing guns. ’ cried Jake, “come on back “Can you see ‘Come on,’ to bed, Pll freeze to death here.”’ ‘Lets go,” agreed Eadie, and took one step away from the rail. A bugle shrilled from the upper deck. Away back toward the stern another echoed it, trilling faintly. turned from contemplating the sea. “There she goes,” he said calmly, **bandon ship!” CoOMmiclhoo The officer’ ©