Adventure Magazine, December 10, 1924 — page 190: what you’re looking at

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

168 more. The mate seemed astounded and somewhat puzzled. “Does Mrs. Jessup know about it yet?” he asked. “She is asleep,” said Jessup. ‘Please be careful, Mr. Langton! I order you to obey every command of these men. It is our only chance for life.” Langton muttered assurance that he would not cause any trouble. “If you’re satisfied, Parson, I am,” he said. And to Wade, ‘“‘Couldn’t you find anybody to play pirate on but Salvation Jessup? Strikes me as a pretty mean piece of work to pick on a parson!” “I don’t care anything about your opinions. If the parson and you behave yourselves, we won’t injure anybody, and he’ll get his schooner back when we’re done with it.” “You're awful sweet about it!” jeered Langton. “Which is your cabin?”’ Langton pointed to the middle door on the starboard side, the door next to the cabin Jessup had indicated as belonging to his wife. “Then slip into your cabin out of the way. And make it snappy,” said Wade. ‘‘We can’t waste any time, and I’ve got to attend to a lot of things.” : - “Please do just as he says,” pleaded Jessup. The mate looked about him once more, peering first at Doxey and then at Wade ence more. With a sniff of disgust, Lang- ton walked forward in the cabin, opened the center door and disappeared, slamming the door after him. Doxey went to the door and dropped the batten-bar into the -slets on each side, so that the door could not be opened outward again unless the bar was taken off. “That settles him!” said Wade. “Now, Parson, you can sit down on this after- transom and be good while I tell you what we want done.” “I’m a man of peace,” said Jessup as he dropped on the cushions. “You’re a man of peace, all right, but you’d like a squad of soldiers or police just now to save you from us. But I noticed that you packed your peace around in your hip pockets.” “That was only against savages,” said Jessup. Wade grinned. Adventure “TI appreciate the compliment. But I know your kind. You spend your lives talking peace, but when there’s fighting to be done, you farm it out to somebody else. You missionaries preach peace with a couple of gunboats at your backs!”’ Jessup disregarded Wade’s comments and leaned back in his seat. “Call the cook and have some supper laid. Be sure you don’t give any signals or show that we’re unwelcome guests. Cookie might as well understand that we’re to be regular boarders. And remember: You'll have to eat and drink some of every- thing that’s brought for us, so don’t let him poison us.” “He may be ill-tempered if he has to go to work at this hour of the evening, so don’t blame me on that account,” said Jessup. “T’ll take the temper out of him if he acts up,” said Wade. ‘‘Let down the table, SO we can eat in style,” he told Doxey. “I think some coffee will do us good; haven’t had a good cup of coffee since the Year One, and some real honest biscuits. We’ve had fruit enough to last us a life- time.”’ Doxey swung down the table, and they sat on a transom-seat beside it, so one could move aft and the other forward, both facing the starboard side. Jessup was within six feet of Wade, who kept the revolver on the missionary. “Call the cook,’? commanded Wade. “Oh, Kwan-po!”’ There was no reply from the region of the cook’s quarters down the forward passage. But instead, from the after cabii on the starboard side there came a startled call in a woman’s voice. “What is it, George?”’ The voice came clearly through the little ventilating holes bored in the woodwork over the door and covered with tiny screens . to keep out insects. “That’s my wife,”’ whispered Jessup. ‘‘I’d better speak to her and keep her quiet.” Wade nodded assent. “Everything’s all right, my dear,” called Jessup. ‘‘Go back to sleep; don’t lose your rest.” “*T can’t sleep,” came an irritable whine. “T want to go out on deck.” There were sounds of movement inside the cabin, as if somebody was hunting through drawers for clothing. CoMmicbook A) (© =