Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 4 — page 98: what you’re looking at

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

604 practises; she knew. how high they esteemed the virtue of the white woman. Did they sense something of what had passed be- tween her and the mate, and, maghifying it, rate her as a light woman, forfeiting their respect? She raised her head indignantly to see Badoun observing her, and stared him down with haughty pride, passing on to Samson’s — side. The bruise instantly caught her eye, and fascinated her. The mate was dressed with unusual care. His fresh linen trousers were starched and even creased, thanks to Quong; his shoes had been newly pipe- clayed, his silk shirt was immaculate. His cummerbund sash was the vivid color of a pomegranate bloom. He looked at the girl with swift suspi- cion. If she ignored his disfiguration, he told himself, the skipper had got in his own story concerning it. The suggestion that the captain had caused it did flash into her mind, but her lashes shut off any revelation as she slashed at the knot that puzzled the thread of her thought. e “Did you run into a spar?” she asked with a smile. | The mate’s face cleared. ‘« Just that,” he answered. proves my figurehead, does it?”’ “It will soon go away.” She knew that he lied, and curiosity tore at her to know the details of the fight she was sure had happened. Happened on her account. Four bells chimed, and Badoun gave an order. The men stopped their other work, and commenced flushing the deck, avoiding the immediate space about the girl and the mate. But one Malay was careless, and allowed the rim of his bucket to strike the rail as ‘he inhauled. A little fountain of water sploshed up and wetted the girl’s skirt. The'man caught hastily at his pail, tilted it, and spilled all the contents, soak- ing the mate’s immaculate shets and the bottoms of tfbusers. Samson choked back a curse on account of the girl, and then let loose the mental bile that had been accumulating since his quarrel with the skipper. His lips curled back, and he kicked viciously, expertly, with all his force at the Malay, sending him ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, sprawling on the deck, springing after him and kicking him again, deliberately and foully—though this the girl did not guess. As the ‘anguished wretch rolled on the planks the mate followed him up. “You clumsy, yellow-pelted Mohamme- dan hound,” he said in a voice whose con- © centrated fury amazed the girl, unrealizing his long hours of brooding and drinking, “the next time I'l! skin the hide from you!” Her mind was set for some spontaneous outburst, knives flashing in rising mutiny, and she glanced about her for her best move. But no one appeared to have no- ticed the incident. The man got himself under control, and picked up his bucket, limping away to the farther rail while the mate stood by sneering. “Yellow curs, that’s what they are! And that’s the only way to treat ‘em. Looked for an explosion, didn’t you? The skipper handles ’em like so much dynamite. Piain mud, that’s what they are.” For the first time she caught the taint of whisky on his breath. She was neither prepared to defend the skipper nor listen to any slur upon him, and she made the excuse Of changing her gown to leave Samson and ‘“‘ Hardly im- go below. - At ttffig Samson joined the first table. His mind was filled with revenges against the skipper, with the girl as the one best outlet through which he could achieve them. - He attempted to hold her in conversation, hoping to annoy both the skipper and the spinster. le To his surprise the former opened up the talk and kept it going, n fluent, but , persistent, giving the details of a trip of his ashore on Celebes as guest of a raja, hunt- ing seladang bison from the pad of an ele- phant. The mate attempted some cleverly sar- castic remarks, but the girl did. not rise to them, and the skipper plowed on through his yarn unstirred. The meal over, the mate went below, and the two women soon followed, hoping for some sort of a doze in the privacy of their cabins, where superfiu- ous clothing could be dispensed with. The skipper smoked a cheroot in the cuddy, and then applied himself, despite ] | | is ) i | \ i \ \ u EG OOOKK