Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 30: what you’re looking at

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20 - An idealist, a dreamer, and a doer—only with a momentum from the outside. It was not in him to worry; his happy-go- lucky code had no room for it. Dunn let FitzGerald lead him to his room, where he struggled into a clean shirt and collar; size was managed by numerous pins. A razor smoothed his cheeks, and when he returned to the restaurant, Flor- ence was agreeably surprised. During the meal, neither Fitz nor Dunn spoke of the Impending cruise. They were sitting on the hotel veranda when Ah Jung returned. His face wore a smile, but his lips were grimly silent. From under his spacious blouse he drew the log- book. Dunn held it to the light, running rapidly through its pages. Each day of the month was marked with a separate page, telling hourly the direction of the wind; the force of the current, the condi- tion of the sky, its forms of clouds, and at last, he found the page showing the last entry. “Here it is, Fitz, I was just about to write down the nine o’clock readings, when we piled up. See, here is the eight o’clock position. From that position I ran for a distance of eight miles on a true course of three hundred and ten degrees, and after making the eight miles from this position, T struck. It’s simple navigation, by dead reckoning, and we should come within a square mile of what I have a hunch is the resting place of the Mocn Glow.” Dunn was tracing the course with his finger. : ‘You can see,” he continued, “‘ the value of the log now. Here is the coast of Dutch Guiana. Here is Port of Spain, where I was heading. And here—yes, here is where our robber friend copied the posi- tion and the course, so he, too, could find the Moon Glow.” Bill Dunn pointed to an ink smudge across the white page. Turn- ing to Ah Jung, he asked: “Where did you find it, Jung? haven’t taken much time.” Ah Jung stood in the shadow and said: “Wing Low, fixee plenty quick. Mo’ bet- tah Cap’n Bill get plenty wiggle on. All same belay chin-chin to-mollow.” “There you are, Bill,” Fitz put in, You ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. “waiting for your dynamite to awaken you. Let’s go down and break out Solo- mon. He’s the ship chandler, and is never closed.” They secured their hats and walked rap- idly away. Dunn called to Ah Jung to get his dinner and wait for them there. Bill Dunn spoke a bit regretfully. “TI suppose, Fitz, you think I am rather a black sheep, don’t you?” Without waiting for a reply, he continued a little defiantly: ‘“‘ Well, maybe I am. I chose the sea when I left. college. I was sick of the commercialism of life ashore. Some folks tell me politely that I am indolent, and I guess that’s true, too. If it wasn’t for Jung I guess I’d be a beach comber by now. Once we were on the beach together—flat broke. I man- aged to hock my watch, then I headed for a hop joint. I was disgusted, and ready to quit. I was in the wooden bunk with the pill all cooked by the Chink proprietor when Ah Jung came in. What he didn’t do to that place isn’t worth mentioning. Any- way, he dragged me out of the wreck, and ~ saved my bacon. Always he has been sort of a spur to me—sort of a force for good. He makes me think I am better than he is, and then he sets his own standard, and I must live above that. He insists on the supremacy of the white race, in my case.” Dunn fell silent. ““T understand, Bill; forget it,’ Fitz an- swered impulsively, They passed the edge of the water front. A schooner was get- ting under way. Lights flashed, and voices shouted. Dunn thought it a noisy ship. Aft, he could hear the skipper shouting insanely. They reached the ship chandler’s, and Dunn pounded on the door for admittance. A faint light showed in the back room, the rays visible through the dirty window. The barred door was opened, and Dunn found himself staring at an old man wearing a skull cap. Dunn explained that he wanted to pur- chase a diving outfit and gear. The door swung open, and they entered the musty interior. From overhead swung strings of garlic, small boat anchors, sledge hammers, marlin spikes; the floor was littered with a dozen sizes of manila line, shackles, an- oO CeO MMe DOOKSsECO