Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 23, 1924 — page 23: what you’re looking at

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

E SHIFTING SANDS, “Oh, I won’t run her over twenty pounds, just enough to test her out, try the winches, and so on.” ‘‘ Well, I’m nervous about it.” “Forget it; twenty pounds of steam would only fizzle a bit even if anything went wrong.” “But why bother with the steam?” Clay scratched his head dubiously. ‘‘ Suppose she’s got some bad flues?” “Has it ever occurred to you that this ship’s full of a rotten cargo of some kind, and to get the stuff out of her will make her just about half as light, that is, easier to float, provided some way is figured out to float her?”’ “No, I told you I don’t know anything about ships; my line is hydraulic and min- ing machinery.” “Well, I think I know what I’m doing. And then, too, it may not amount to any- thing on the floating end, but the more work of a substantial nature we do on her the bigger bona fide claim we have and the more we can ask, provided we sell out; or even if the case gets in the courts.” ‘““ But what’s all that got to do with rais- ing steam?” Clay insisted. “Oh, darn it, can’t you see that I’ve got to have steam to operate those winches, to hoist all this truck out of her and dump it overboard to lighten her?” ‘“ Excuse me, I didn’t know—”’ “Well, that’s the idea. Oiga—com- panero!”’ he yelled at the boatman. “ Tra- game quatros mas hombres—muy fuerte—y pronito—tambien?” “Si, st, capitan!” The boatman went over the side and down the ladder to go get the four more men. “Come on, let’s get busy while we can; no telling when an outfit will land here and try to break up our playhouse!” Watson 181 took up the scrubbing brush dropped by the boatman and Clay opened another bucket of white paint and began using the brush. : ‘Do you really suppose we are likely to have trouble?” he asked as he freshened up interior woodwork. ‘Wouldn't surprise me a bit. Suppose you had come all the way from the States and expected to clean up about a million, and had a heavy expense, too, and found a couple of adventurers had beat you to it and were in possession, what would you do?” inquired Watson. ‘“Why—why—lI’d try to buy them out: reasonably—” ‘“ Suppose the adventurers were not rea- sonable, and you didn’t have any too much money?” “Td run ’em off!” “Exactly!” exclaimed Watson. ‘ Now, when you figure there’s another outfit of sure enough hard boiled ginks and wreckers from down on the coast of Chili also expect- ing to come up here and pick this juicy plum, you see, it’s no blooming picnic we are on?” ‘You're damn well right!” blurted Clay. ‘“‘ Suppose we could put on a bigger crew and get away before they come?” “Hardly, but it’s worth trying; at two reales a day per hand that all of twenty-two cents.” ‘““ Suppose they’d help us fight?” ‘Doubt it; spigs are rotten shots—at least, Mexicans are. Shut their eyes when they pull the trigger. Besides, we haven’t anything to shoot with except these two old gats.” “ Looks a bit bilious, doesn’t it?” “Friend, in a little better than three weeks I look to see hell a-popping around this beautiful little City of Peace!” TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK U Le] THE GIRL IN THE GOLDEN ATOM—Sy RAY CUMMINGS originally printed in this magazine, as listed in the issue for November 11, 1922, on the occasion of its being brought out in book form in England, has now been issued between covers in this country by Harper & Brothers, New York, price $2.00. ; Eomicbooks (E(0)