Adventure Magazine, December 10, 1924 — page 187: what you’re looking at

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

The Pirates of Andrus Island Yet on closer examination Jessup saw that the poise of this other intruder had that alertness found in a panther ready to spring upon unsuspecting prey. Jessup turned his gaze back on the man with the revolver. ‘““You—you’re the sailor—who was sick,” he breathed. Wade nodded. “T’m the man. But I’m not sick, so don’t make that mistake about me now. In fact, I never was sick, and I’m in fine fettle for anything like a fight.”’ ‘““You—you didn’t strike me as being very sick yesterday,” said Jessup. Wade ‘ignored the remark. Instead, speaking through lips only barely apart, he said— “Strip him of his guns.” Doxey sprang aft. From each hip pocket of the missionary there came a revolver, and from a pouch up under the sleeve of his jacket, strapped to his forearm, a handy lit- tle automatic. “For a praying man, you’re a good deal of a gunner,” remarked Wade as he took the automatic from Doxey. “T was ashore yesterday and we had na- tive boats alongside this morning. Simply neglected to put my weapons away.” “You shoot natives to save their souls, eh?” grinned Wade. “T must insure my own protection when dealing with savages who can not be trusted,” said the missionary. ‘And I see now that white men can not be trusted. But how did you get aboard?”’ “That makes no difference now,” said Wade. ‘What I want you to understand is that I’ve a lot of trouble wrapped up in these guns. If I turn that trouble loose, it’s your fault. We’re not here for the fun of the thing. We’re ready to kill, you or anybody else.”’ “T—J suppose so,” faltered Jessup, help- lessly. ‘‘But there’s no necessity to kill any- body, my dear sir. Pray, what can I do to serve you?” “Everything I tell you to do, and keep your voice low. I know now you're playing for time, and hoping to attract the atten- tion of the mate to what’s going on. We don’t care how soon the mate finds out; the ‘sooner he does, the sooner he gets winged. But before we shoot him, if we have to, we'll finish you.” “Please don’t do anything to disturb my. 165 wife,” pleaded Jessup in a whisper. ‘“She’s not at all well, though she’s up and around during the day. Any excitement’ll be the end of her. Let me and the mate do your bidding without giving her any alarm. Your every wish will be obeyed, if you will spare my wife terror or distress. ,Surely, you wouldn’t cause the death of a woman, when I’m willing to comply with any wish you makepP”’ Doxey had returned to his station at the end of the passage, and was examining the revolvers he had taken from Jessup, but keeping close watch on both passage and the companionway up to the quarter-deck. ‘Where is your wife?”’ asked Wade. ‘‘She’s in there, asleep. At least, she was asleep when I came out here to read.” ‘Jessup pointed to the door farthest aft on the starboard side, a cabin-door close to the bulkhead that ran athwartships as far as the companionway. That cabin, Wade knew, would extend aft under the quarter- deck,’ following the round of the schooner’s' stern. Wade’s eyes now roved over the fittings of the main-cabin, noting the racks with the water bottles, the shelves with slats holding rows of books in place, the drawers under the transom-seats, and the religious chromos set into the paneling between the doors of the sleeping-cabins. These highly colored pictures were scenes from Bible his- tory which now seemed strangely out of place where one man held a gun at a preacher’s head, and the other man stood with a re- volver in each hand ready to kill anybody who entered the cabin. There was a rifle-rack built against the round of the mizzenmast, which came down through the roof of the cabin and passed through the deck to its stepping somewhere below. The muzzles of the six rifles were held in place by semi-circular brass bands which had padlocks at their ends. Wade glanced up through the open sky- light, as if expecting to see somebody peer- ing down. He observed that the cabin- table swung up out of the way. Pineapples and bananas hung from the frame of the skylight, and the cabin reeked with sweet odors of mangoes and other fruits of Andrus, lying about in the corners in native baskets. ‘“You’d better get a drink, and slip me a bottle, while we’re having things so quiet,” Wade suggested to Doxey. cComicbook © 5}