Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 7, 1928 — page 109: what you’re looking at

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

GOLD. complicated fact that the skit was alone,’ Swope said. “I understand after your explanations. All right. She was alone. But why did you let her come aboard when I told you—” “Because she—because she was alone.” “You were to warn me if any one approached.” “But I figured she had more gold. Comin’ back from the dance hall.. Saw her clothes. Knew she was rigged out. IKnew where she'd hauled from.” Swope would have had to admit that that was a better way of handling the situation than scaring her off. “I just laid low. She come along- side at the stern so she didn’t see our boat up forward. She thought they was no one on board that shouldn’t be. So she runs up—up the Jacob’s ladder. I bein’ hidin’ in the lee of the round- house, see? “ She runs up. If she’d come a min- ute before she’d of heard you confab- bin’ down in the steerage here. But just before she come alongside you men down here stopped talkin’—” Swope reflected that it was then that he had sent the cook forward for the coals. During the cook’s absence they had observed a tense silence. The girl meanwhile had boarded the ship with- out making a sound. She had come so quietly that Swope, even though he was in the steerage and directly above her boat, had not heard her. “When she was aboard, on deck, leapin’ over the rail like a boy—why, she saw me. She thought I was Joshua. Called, ‘That you, Joshua?’ Didn’t know it was me. Thought I was some one else. Thought I was Joshua. : “T said, ‘ Sure, it’s Joshua! Come to my arms.’ But she ran for’rd, skimmed like a flyin’ fish. Ran like a shadow of a sheet flickin’ in the wind, ran like hell. But I caught her. Up for’rd there at the fo’c’s’le. “lhe fore hatchway is where I 99 caught her. Caught her as she was jumpin’, Jumped in after her. Caught her in my arms. Saw her face in the light of the galley. Thought I had some one else, . All painted up—see? Look at her face. But I dragged her here. The cook dropped a scuttle of live coals when he saw us. Liked to of set the hulk on fire.” “ All right, boy,’’ Swope said, grin- ning from ear to ear. ‘‘ You’ve ex- plained enough why you disobeyed me. And bein’ there’s extenuatin’ circum- stances I won’t hang you, which is what you deserve. “Go above again and stand guard. The next time you see a boat approach- in’ us, call me. There’s no one else you need let come aboard.” He smiled. “We've got all we need right now. Didn’t have till she come aboard. But now that she’s here among us, why, the congregation is all set for prayers.” The doughboy regained his breath; the furrows on his cherubic forehead smoothed. A smile came to his lips, a smile that was heavenly, despite the cold blister in the corner. He breathed a tremendous sigh of relief at shuffling that responsibility onto his master’s shoulders, A girl was something that he was not used to handling, especially when the handling had to be rough. Hiram was fairly shaking all over his over- grown, loose-jointed frame when he had brought her in. But he went out, thanking his lucky stars. Swope and Tom Brass were staring as if entranced at the girl’s head bowed before her father’s eyes, her ringlets catching the full blaze of the lamp like a heap of gold. Brass had gripped his master’s arm, And when Swope said: “ Get up, my lady, I want to look at you,” Brass pulled him back. “Don’t touch her, Mr. Swope. I’m warnin’ you, Mr. Swope. Don’t lay a finger on that woman! It ‘Il mean the death of us.” COMIEDOOKS // (E@)