Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 70: what you’re looking at

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

696 with the weight of all doom, to deluge the . Molyneux with devastating water. She was stripped for the ordeal, as only Sellerman, greatly experienced, could have stripped her. He, sensing the coming weather, had taken every precaution, what time Lyons was talk- ing about paint work and varnish. Extra tarpaulins covered the vulnerable hatches; derricks had been unshipped and firmly lashed where they would do most gaod. Sellerman patted the ice-cold rail of the bridge as the ship swooped chatteringly to the crest of a monstrous wave and then plunged, with sick twistings, into the follow- ing trough. “You're all right, old girl,” he said. “We've been through worse than this to- gether.” He was very fond of the ship; he was proud of her, too. She was behaving as well as a vessel could under the circum- stances, and he reflected pridefully that his close attention to her stowage had made her weatherly. She was as wet as a half tide rock; whole water swirled about her gaunt decks; but she was safe; she swung up buoyantly from the resounding hollows, she felt resilient. ‘“She’s burying herself like a pig,” said a querulous voice behind him; and a waft of spirit-scented breath passed the mate’s nostrils, to be torm away: by the bellowing gale. “T thought she was doing very nicely, sir,” Sellerman replied. ‘‘ Shows what a lot you know about it! I’ve never seen such a hog. The Prometheus would have laughed at this.” “The old packet isn’t exactly in tears over it,” snapped the mate. “And it’s going to be a lot worse before it’s better, sir.” “Vou know all about it, don’t you? Slow her down, man, slow her down! What in all hell do you mean by driving her into this sea? Haven’t you got more sense than that?” ‘““ She’s eased down a good deal, sir; but she can stand all she’s getting now.” “ Do as youre told, damn you! How’s aman going to get his sleep with the ship tying overhand knots in herself this fashion? My God!” ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. The Molyneux plunged wholeheartedly. into a vast watery chasm that seemed to open right down to the Atlantic bed, and the race of her propeller, before the engi- neer on watch got to the throttle, jarred abominably. Sellerman applied himself to the engine-room speaking-tube and de- manded a lessened speed. The ship was carrying little more than steerage way as it was; and in a minute or two, as the throb of her engines slackened, her bow swung off into the trough and she rolled compre- hensively—so comprehensively, indeed, that Lyons failed to steady himself in time. His slippered feet slid on the wet planking and he collapsed into the lee wing of the bridge, with a dollop of ice-cold water over him. Spluttering, he hauled himself up- right, and his voice shook with rage as he said: “Next trip Ill see that I have a mate who knows something about handling a ves- sel in a seaway.” Then it was as though his rage overcame him, for he stumbled below to his cabin, and left Sellerman alone. “‘ Going to. get me the. sack, I suppose,” thought the mate. “ That’ll be bad—un- less things are improving at home, and that isn’t likely. Steady, old lass. Your troubles are still ahead of you.” He communicated a fresh message to the engine-room, and presently the sick rolling ceased; the ship behaved more kindly. She continued to do so until the grim yellow dawn broke over the whirling wilderness of spite. Sellerman, staring out with puck- ered eyes, grunted. : “ Going to be a snorter,”’ he informe his pipe. ‘“ Yes, we'll have all the weather ‘we want presently.” He stumped to the chartroom and studied the barometer. What he saw there made him whistle incredulously. The Molyneux was probably booked for thé toughest struggle of all her checkered career. Seller- man went back to his position in the weath- er wing of the bridge, and looked the ship over fore and aft. He studied the minor damage of the night; his keen mind saw whereir the ship’s greatest weaknesses lay. A ventilator had been smashed; a wash-port: had been torn from its hinges; the ship pre- CORNICLOO© (C <S) (C@