Adventure Magazine Cover, November 10, 1924 — page 32: what you’re looking at

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

30 peta NO CHORUS in a finale ever Pea entered a stage with one half the «® suddenness and clamor of the men swarming that deck. Sailors poured from the forecastle and down the ladders from the upper deck. The planks that covered the hatchways were thrown off with tre- mendous clatter, and the emergency exits thus cleared allowed the troops to boil up from below. They came up as the dead will probably rise on Judgment Day, a cloud of white figures hurrying up from the depths, pushing and crowding,’ but still maintaining a kind of order, a silent crowd, in which no man knew his neighbor. Eadie and Jake watched them speechlessly. Finally Jake spoke. “‘Bellowin’ Moses!” he exclaimed. ‘They ain’t but one in ten o’ them guys got ona stitch. An’ won’t they be cold swimmin’ from here to France!’ “‘Jake,” said Eadie, “I’m going back to the stateroom, I’ve forgotten something!” ““___’s terbaccer! You’ll git drowned sure. This here ship’s sinkin’.” “Well, it won’t sink before I can rush there and back. I forgot my toothbrush and razor. I got to have ’em.”’ “‘You better not go! Listen, kid, there’s a lotta water in this ocean and if it gets to goin’ down that corridor, it’s goin’ to be inconvenient as makin’ ice cream in —— for you to get outta there!” “Well, maybe so, but I haven’t got a life preserver nor anything. Neither have you. And after we lugged one around every day for a week.” ‘“‘Never mind the life preserver. We’re fixin’ to ride on these rafts they throw in over the side, ain’t we?” “The rafts might sink. By the way, how about your bacon and condiment can?”’ ‘““My bacon and condiment—wow! Slab- sided ! My snuff and _ terbaccer! Come on, kid, let’s hurry!” The two wiggled across the deck, worm- ing their way through the hurrying mob, piling up the ladders with but one idea, that of reaching their boat stations. The two dived into the deserted alleyway, and hurried to the stateroom. They could hear the scraping and clattering of hob- nailed shoes overhead and the faint shuffle of bare feet. “T bet them that obeyed orders an’ went to bed full pack is glad now,” said Jake. “T know one that is.” Adventure The men secured their life preservers and Eadie his toilet articles, and they went out again. “Put ’em in your shirt pockets,” said Jake, “‘because we’re goin’ to shed our blouses pretty quick. There’s rafts an’ boats an’ the like o’ that, but I ain’t too much confidence in ’em.”’ When they reached the deck they re- turned to their old place at the port rail. There was a crowd everywhere but that place. “‘Where’s all our gang?” asked Eadie in surprize. “This is our boat station,’ answered Jake, ‘I’ve come to it often enough durin’ submarine drill to know.” “Well, there’s no one here but these few guys. Where’s the rest of them?” “It’s a long ways down to that compart- ment,” said Jake. “It would take them longer to come up than it would the Others.” “They ought to be up now.” Eadie turned to one of the other men who stood there, leaning on a bayoneted rifle. ‘“‘Where’s the rest of the bunch?” he asked. “T ’spec’ they’re all daid,” said this man. “‘What do you mean, dead?” asked the other two. “Big boy, that train load o’ dynamite come right into our compartment. It come right in an’ stopped kerblam! All change! End o’ the route. Didn’t you-all hear it?” ‘“‘Where were you?” asked Eadie. “T was on guard on that ole ladder, else I’d got killed like the rest. Some clomb up the side of the wall, kase the ladder was blown away. Most of ’em was killed by the explosion.”’ “Why didn’t every one come up right away?” “Why, they wouldn’t let no one up till they give the word. We was all waitin’ same as like we did fer the drills. Nary one went up the ladder till the whistle blew.” ‘Looks like we ain’t goin’ to have a lot o’ company,” remarked Jake. Both he and Eadie were having an at- tack of chills. Suppose they had stayed in that compartment! ‘““How come the rifle?” asked Eadie. ‘You aren’t on guard over anything now, are you?” CoOMmicbook Wh) CO 5}