Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 37: what you’re looking at

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

TEN FATHOMS DOWN. Later, the Mary’s decks showed life in the form of three figures standing aft near the taffrail. They were on converging courses, and the sharp bow of the Olympia was drawing nearer and nearer to the schooner, which was now under sail alone. “Guess she’s had hard luck with her gasoline kicker,” Dunn suggested. ‘‘ Don’t see the puff of her exhaust or hear it. They know we are after the old Moon Glow’s cargo, too. Must be exasperating,” he chuckled. A gentle wind, no doubt nerve rasping to the Mary’s skipper, gently fanned her fiap- ping sails. The sea was almost like glass— pure turquoise that flashed brilliantly as the cut-water of the Olympia slashed through it. The yacht passed the schooner with all eyes turned in inspection on each other. When they answered the breakfast call, the Mary was a tiny spot on the hori- zon to the rear. “Guess they'll be some mad when they reach the reef and find the Olympia anchored over the Moon Glow,” Fitz chuckled. ‘‘ And her bones picked clean. My, my, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a load of buckshot fly in our direction. Any one that will cold-cock Ah Jung for a log isn’t going merely to make faces at us in revenge.” “Ves” agreed Dunn, “‘ and any one that cold-cocks Jung has a fly in his ointment. What have you aboard in the line of weapons? Mine is in the hock-shop in Colon.” “ Nothing much,” Fitz answered rueful- ly. “ There’s a twenty-gauge shotgun that Florence uses, and a twelve-gauge of mine. Then, I still have a little thirty-two-forty rifle tucked away for a surprise. Pistols?” he asked in response to one of Dunn’s questions. ‘‘ No! I couldn’t hit a flock of office buildings with one. I’m like an Eskimo with a pair of chopsticks when I have one in my hand.” When breakfast was over, Dunn and Fitz retired to the deck above with sev- eral choice Havana cigars burning well. A peaceful contentment settled over them both. They sat in silence, too engrossed with their own bodily pleasure to notice Ah Jung hand at craftiness. 27 climb up the ladder and then pick a spot on the quarter-deck to whiten Cap’n Bill’s shoes, a thing forbidden. A few moments later Florence came up, and not noticing the silent men on the opposite side of the hatch, who were invisible from where she stood, dropped into a chair near the indus- trious Ah Jung. The almond-eyed Celestial was a master He polished intently —so intently that Florence spoke to him, which was exactly the situation for which Ah Jung had planned. “Do you whiten your master’s shoes because you are a good workman, or be- cause they belong to Captain Dunn?” Ah Jung spoke in a tone that was oily. ““Shua! Cap’n Bill, damn plenty—fine man! Velly much topside skippah! No good fo’ wea’h shoe plenty bum.” Ah Jung began to warm up. He dropped the shoe, and began to crouch at her feet. He extolled the virtues of a saint, an Apollo, an Adonis, and then deftly hooked Captain Bill’s name to the entire eulogy. He elaborated on the fact that he was an excellent specimen of manhood, entirely fit- ted for the task of fathering many men childten, which was Ah Juns’s idea of a perfect family. He declared him to be the summit and culmination of what the cat dragged in. In fact, Ah Jung said, as he warmed up, Cap’n Bill was a damn good man for a damn good woman, and then fired his amazing whizz-bang with a gentle hint that he, Ah Jung, thought she was that woman. When Ah Jung had finished the shoes, he went below, his face serenely content, leaving on both sides of the canvas hatch covering a Startled group of human beings: Fitz doubled up with mirth, Florence won- dering, and Bill Dunn confused and flushed. Ah Jung himself thought he had done a pretty neat job. He remained discreetly out of the im- mediate vicinity of Dunn’s presence until the latter’s wrath had cooled. When he did make his appearance he was innocent and astonished at his master’s outburst. He seemed the very personification of surprise and reproof, making it known to Dunn, in his peculiar way, that he would never—no, Eomichooks (S@