Adventure Magazine Cover, March 20, 1925 — page 45: what you’re looking at

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

The Snow Driver saw that the helmsman was as dead as the others, bound to the tiller. So, too, the sailor on the figurehead remained immov- able, lashed to his place, his head sunk on his chest. The rank smell of decay was stronger on the air. And then the black pinnace glided out of sight in the mist, vanishing without guidance from living hand and bearing with it that strange crew of inanimate beings With its disappearance the spirits of the men on the Edward revived perceptibly, some saying that it must have been a plague ship, or a craft from Dane-marke that had been taken by pirates. “Be that as it may,” muttered Peter, “it bodes no good to us. Those chaps had been strung up for many a day by the looks of them, and still it keeps the sea.” “You are wide of the mark,” put in another, who had made the voyage to Ice- land. ‘“Yon’s the handiwork o’ the Easter- lings.” ‘“‘What’s them?” asked a young sailor, who was listening with all his ears. “Why, the little people as keeps watch and ward upon the Ice Sea. FEasterlings they be. They’ve set their hands to that pinnace.”’ 7 “Save us!” “‘Aye,” nodded the old hand, “here we be up beyond the Circulus Articus.” “By what token?” “By this token, bullies all. "Tis now nine o’ clock, and yet the light holds. Come on watch at three bells and the light will be upon us anew.” “Aye,” assented Peter moodily. ‘The hours o’ darkness be dim-inishing. But the powers o’ darkness be a-growing and a-girding and a-coming about us.” al remark, the wind turned contrary and held the ships back. ‘They sel- dom saw the sun now, except as a ball of silver hung in the mist. As the Iceland farer prophesied, the nights grew shorter instead of longer as the season advanced. Hard bitten and callous as were the hands of the Edward, they were supersti- tious to a man, and the visit of the black pinnace had set them on the lookout for more omens. ‘The very day they changed course from north to east, having rounded the North Cape, one of the men on Sir Hugh’s ship reported that he had seen a AS IF to bear out the truth of his 27 mermaid.in the half light of late evening. He swore that the white body of a woman had appeared under the stern, a woman whose long hair was like seaweed, and who beckoned and smiled at him, before diving into the depths again. When she dipped out of sight he beheld clearly the scales of a fish and a great tail that whipped the water. Both Peter and the Iceland-farer were agreed that the sight of the mermaid presaged death on board the Bona Esper- anza. ‘They recalled other occasions when shipmen who had been beckoned by women swimming upon the waters had fallen over- board in a storm. The burly boatswain kept a careful rein on his own unruly tongue thereafter. Ralph he relieved from duty in the galley and made boatswain’s mate, saying that the lad had done his work well and could help him upon the deck. So the armiger enjoyed a good wash in fresh water, and persuaded the quarter- masters to give him a new, clean leather jacket and hooded frieze shirt as a protection against the growing cold. The sailors be- lieved that they were about to enter the Ice Sea, because they saw several whales, and noticed that Chancellor took his noon observation with more care than usual. More than once Ralph caught sight of Durforth, when the little Confidentia drew abreast of them—the tall figure, clad in a robe of foxskins trimmed with ermine was unmistakable. He could even see the broad chain of gold the man always wore. It was the day they saw the whales, the last of many upon which the circle of the sun was visible through the mist, that Durforth hailed the Edward. He had just completed his noon observation and held the backstaff in his hand. Ralph, busy in the waist of the ship, caught a few words. “Seventy degrees of latitude—the first of August, and soon the ice—Wardhouse.” Every hand of the watch on deck cocked an ear to hear Chancellor’s reply, which came at once. “Tt stands not with honor to turn back.” ‘We lack victuals to winter in the Ice Sea—a barren coast.” Chancellor’s ruddy face darkened with anger, whether at Durforth’s words or whether the master of the Confidentia had spoken within hearing of the crew Ralph did not know. Gioo (©