Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 48: what you’re looking at

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

38 turned to stone. A ghastly finger pointed straight at him. The seaweed about him seemed to shriek ‘“‘ Murderer!” His ago- nizing mind took up the strain, “‘ Murderer! You spineless reptile.” For a brief space he saw himself as he was, in his true light. Sixty feet below the surface he caught a fleeting glimpse of him- self. Jung had been fighting the fight that belonged to him, and had gone to destruc- tion in his efforts to save what remained of a jellyfish, unfit to touch the old China- man’s foot. Blind, staggering with self-hatred, curs- ing himself, calling himself the basest name, he jerked the signal line for slack. For one minute Bill Dunn was going to fight against himself. For one minute his mis- erable body was going to obey Bill Dunn, the Bill Dunn that Florence FitzGerald wanted to know. Never before had he drawn this perspective of himself. The gates of truth, unvarnished, swung open, and, like a silvered mirror, all the baseness the irresoluteness, the rotten sore of moral decay, shone forth, plain and filthy. Then he saw himself as he was. The sight sick- ened him. He coiled his air line behind him until the people on the surface signaled the end. Then he lifted himself to the edge, and dropped off into the pit at his feet. Somewhere below him was the spirit that had kept him clean and decent; then, with the spirit belonged the body. That sudden, decisive leap left behind the hesitancy that he had cast off. As he fell he felt the pressure increase slowly. The light from aboye grew dim- mer. He was startled to find himself sud- denly alongside the Moon Glow, on her beam ends. The solid hull, unhurt by the long submersion, had remained unfractured. He searched for a sight of Ah Jung. He crawled over the side, through the snarl of rigging that had fallen, and found the still form of his loyal friend tangled and fouled among the rigging. ~ Somehow a timber had fallen across his chest. Dunn was unable to remove it. He found it to be the main boom of the schooner. Dunn breathed a sigh of thankfulness when he saw that the air line had not been ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, = fractured and that Jung was still getting the life giving flow of air. A plan occurred to him, and he put it into execution. Rapidly he disconnected the life line about his own waist and at- tached it to the end of the boom. Then he signaled savagely on his own signal line for them to hoist away. The life line taut- ened and strained. - The combined strength of Fitz and the men on the surface sufficed to lift the heavy ~ boom clear. After Jung was free of the weight, Dunn signaled for them to slack away again. Dis- connecting his life line from the boom, he passed a turn about Ah Jung’s waist and another about his own, then signaled for the ascent. The line would support both of them. Their own measure of buoyancy made the task comparatively easy, and when Dunn’s helmet broke the surface four arms reached down and drew Jung aboard. A quick turn of both segemental screws and the helmets were off. “Quick!” Dunn panted. “Ah Jung fell and was caught in the tangle of rigging. Jerk off his suit. Quick, for God’s sake! Jung! Jung! Old timer, speak!” Bill Dunn clambered aboard and fell on his knees be- side the still form of his servant. Shame- lessly the man’s eyes filled with tears. To purchase decency at such a price mad- dened him. ‘“ Oh, God!” he whispered. “ Please!” | The helmet, shoes, suit, were quickly drawn off, and first aid adminigtéred. They found Ah- Fung had been bruised severely, but he soon came round to consciousness. Later Dunn said: ‘‘ We found the Moon Glow all right; the current had shifted her bodily over the reef until she came to the edge, where she stuck until Jung and I cut away the seaweeds; then she leaned over and dropped off, taking Jung with her. To- morrow we can start work; she is in about twelve or thirteen fathoms of water.” “ Treasure!” Florence breathed ecstati- cally. ‘ You found it! You're rich!” And Dunn nodded. He was rich—rich in his new found treasures, ivory and the will to do. He had found that which would clear him in the eyes of the girl he loved. ComicloOokS. COM