Pulp - Adventure.19.03.01Dirty Jim - S. B. H. Hurst (pdf)

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  help and he stepped out to the pin-rail and

  anchor up. Spritz would be aft on the poop.

  selected a wooden belaying-pin—a very

  The awning had been furled. To find some

  useful weapon.

  sort of weapon, then to find the girl and

  He slipped back into the alleyway

  wait with her until Spritz came—this was

  and began to walk aft to the captain’s

  Annesty’s plan. But the greatest difficulty

  cabin. On either side as he went along the

  lay in getting on board without being seen.

  curtain-doors of other cabins caused him to

  Hugging the schooner’s side, hesitate. Sydney Dick he knew to be on Annesty listened to the clank of the cable

  deck, but the steward and perhaps a clerk

  as it came over the windlass. This lasted a

  might be behind one of these curtains. But

  few minutes only—the anchor having been

  nobody came out or got in his way, and

  hove short before Spritz came aboard. Then

  trembling like a leaf, he reached the main

  Sydney Dick called aft and Spritz cabin.

  answered. There was the sound of men

  The table with its fixed chairs was

  running along the deck to the halliards, the

  in the center and the swinging lamp

  Adventure

  14

  showed that everything had been cleaned

  looked about desperately. To break down

  away since dinner. Opening off the main

  the door would be foolish, even if possible.

  cabin were four doors. One was the The broken lock would only serve to warn bathroom, in one Spritz kept his Spritz. And the minutes were passing.

  chronometers and charts, in one of the Spritz would be down very soon. Annesty others he slept, and the other was a spare

  walked rapidly to the room where Spritz

  room. In one of the latter two the girl was

  kept his charts. Inside in a rack over the

  probably confined.

  wash-stand was a bottle of whisky. With

  It was less than a minute since trembling hands, Annesty reached for it Annesty had left the water, although he had

  and took the drink he needed.

  the feeling that much had happened to him.

  The swim and the unusual strain

  Now, clutching his belaying-pin, he went

  had taken a lot out of him. But he wisely

  to the door of Spritz’s sleeping-room and

  limited himself to the amount he required

  knocked lightly.

  as a stimulant. He felt better—able to plan.

  He thought of boldly taking the whisky out

  THERE was no answer, but it seemed that

  to the main cabin table, sitting down and

  a low undercurrent, of sound suddenly pretending to be drunk. In that event, Spritz ceased. What had that sound been? He had

  would never imagine he was there to help

  noticed it half-consciously when he first

  the girl. It would be difficult for Spritz to

  entered the main cabin.

  imagine that anyway.

  Again

  he

  tapped

  lightly on the

  And he knew Spritz’s peculiar

  cabin door and then—half a gasp, half a

  disposition well enough to know that he

  sigh, and wholly terrified—a voice feebly

  would treat his presence in the cabin as a

  answered, “Yes” and Annesty understood

  joke. Yes, if he acted drunk, he would be

  that the low sound had been the girl’s safe. But Spritz would throw him out of the sobbing;

  main cabin, give him more whisky, and—

  “It’s me—Annesty—I want to help

  the girl would be lost. Then he heard heavy

  you,” he whispered.

  footsteps coming down the companion

  “Yes,” came back eagerly.

  way.

  “Are you locked in there?”

  Annesty slipped out of the chart-

  “Yes, and that big man must have

  room and crouched by the side of the

  the key.”

  companion-way steps. Unless he could stun

  Annesty fought with his diseased

  Spritz with one blow it would be all over.

  nerves. He wanted calm—calm, so he For it was doubtful if even John L.

  could think. The situation was exceedingly

  Sullivan, then in his prime, would have any

  dangerous. Every hand on the schooner chance in a rough-and-tumble with the big would be against him and Spritz would

  captain, much less Jim Annesty, who felt

  throw him overboard and think nothing like a man about to be hanged, the courage about doing it. And the girl’s position was

  that had once made him a great athlete

  worse—for after all Annesty had only his

  having been drowned in years of alcohol.

  life to lose. He had hoped to get into the

  It was Spritz coming down the

  cabin where the girl was confined—to hide

  stairs, and he was alone. Annesty was not

  behind the door and strike Spritz down

  hidden and if the captain looked his way he

  with the belaying-pin when he came.

  would see him. But Spritz’s eyes and mind

  But what could he do now? He were fixed on something else and he never

  Dirty Jim

  15

  even glanced in Annesty’s direction. As he

  so Annesty took her arm almost roughly

  reached the deck of the main cabin, the

  and led her to where the unconscious Spritz

  beachcomber raised himself on his tiptoes

  sprawled.

  and rifted the belaying-pin.

  “Take his other arm. And, look

  Then, with all his strength, he here—you’ve got to buck up. Be brave. I brought it down on the captain’s head and

  think I can get you out of this all right, but

  the big man fell unconscious without as

  if I can not I’ll see you get a chance to kill

  much as a grunt.

  yourself. Here, wait a minute.”

  That blow would have killed an

  He went into the chart-room again

  ordinary man, but Annesty had no and brought out a small glass of whisky.

  delusions about Spritz’s vitality. Very

  “Here, drink this.”

  quickly he went through his pockets and

  She refused, shook her head,

  found the key of the girl’s cabin, then he

  seemed disgusted. But he insisted, told her

  went back into the chart-room and picked

  to take it like medicine, and at last she

  up a hank of spun yarn he had seen lying

  swallowed it with a wry face.

  there. Coming back, he securely bound

  “Now, you’ll be better. Take his

  Spritz’s hands behind his back and tied his

  arm again and we’ll lock him up where you

  ankles together. Then he opened the door

  were.”

  of the cabin where the girl was confined.

  The whisky did its work. A flush

  The bunk ran fore and aft against

  came to the girl’s cheek. With some

  the vessel’s side. Into this Spritz had difficulty they dragged Spritz into the thrown the girl, but she had got out and

  cabin, left him on the floor and locked the

  was crouched on the leather settee, which

  door.

  was fixed athwar
tships at the after end of

  “You look better.” Annesty put the

  the cabin. Her hair fell in a shower to her

  key in his pocket.

  waist, her clothes were torn, she was white

  “I feel better. I’m afraid I’ve been

  with terror and she was still crying.

  an awful coward.”

  But she did not recognize Annesty.

  “Not at all—you had a rotten

  Indeed, the clean shave and change of shock.”

  clothes and the general air of resolution

  “Can I help you?”

  altered him completely from the

  “Certainly. But I don’t quite know

  disreputable beach-comber she had tried to

  what I’m going to do yet. Will you step

  reform. So she gasped when he entered the

  into the chart-room—no, somebody might

  room, and her astonishment stopped her

  go there. Go into that spare room there and

  crying.

  lock the door on the inside. I’ll find you a

  “I’m Annesty,” he anticipated her

  pistol soon. Wonder why we took the

  question.

  trouble to put Spritz in his own room?”

  She was too much upset to do more

  The girl did not know, but she went

  than nod, and she probably saw no help in

  into the spare room and locked the door.

  Annesty’s presence. She would have faced

  Then Annesty considered the worst of his

  death bravely enough, but that other... And

  job. His destination? He shivered, then

  Spritz had carefully removed every sort of

  tried to put it out of his mind as being too

  weapon from the room.

  far off to bother with. Sydney Dick at

  “Help me to drag Spritz in here.”

  present in charge of the deck and the only

  She only looked at him helplessly,

  other white man on board? In some way he

  Adventure

  16

  would have to be confined with Spritz.

  daylight I’ll run my bluff on the crew. If I

  After that Annesty would have to force the

  can get the kanaka second mate on my side native crew to do his bidding.

  we’ll win out. Don’t use that thing until the

  It looked like an impossible task for

  last, and keep it hidden.”

  any man—for Spritz had his men bound to

  She promised, and then annoyed at

  him by all sorts of fears. Well, then, the

  his carelessness he went into Spritz’s cabin

  first thing to do was to get control of all the

  and with a handkerchief securely gagged

  firearms on the schooner. Annesty went

  the captain, who was breathing rather

  back into the chart-room, for he had found

  heavily but seemed none the worse for the

  no gun on the unconscious Spritz, who

  blow on the head. For a little while

  seldom needed one.

  Annesty watched him. He felt he had been

  very lucky. Then he realized that Spritz had

  OVER the bunk in the chart-room were

  given orders that nobody was to enter the

  two fine rifles and in the desk a pair of new

  main cabin. The steward would have to be

  revolvers with several packages of reckoned with. He was a Chinaman and cartridges. Annesty took down the rifles

  would have a knife but no gun. It was

  and hid them under the mattress; then he

  unlikely that Spritz would allow any

  turned to look for the key of the room and

  member of the crew to own a gun—except

  found a double-holstered belt for the Sydney Dick. Therefore Annesty had revolvers behind the door. Attached to the

  probably accounted for all the firearms on

  belt were two canvas bags for shells. This

  the schooner. But he felt very tired and

  was luck. The revolvers were not loaded,

  sleepy and his nerves were on edge and

  so Annesty loaded them and fastened the

  getting worse. He went out and locked the

  belt ’round his waist.

  door, and then eight bells were struck. The

  Against the forward bulkhead of the

  time, then, had come to tackle Sydney

  main cabin were two stands of various Dick. He would be going to his room, rifles and shotguns. These Arinesty also

  relieved by the second mate. Annesty went

  locked in the chart-room after knocking out

  back to the chart-room and took a small

  pins and otherwise doing his best to render

  drink. He put down the glass, went out

  the guns useless. He then went forward to

  quickly and picked up the belaying-pin. It

  Sydney Dick’s room in the alleyway. The

  had occurred to him that the mate might

  lamp was lit, but expecting the owner to

  come to the chart-room to write up the

  interrupt him every moment he searched it

  log—a fear born of Annesty’s ignorance,

  thoroughly; finding nothing but a small since the mate of a ship keeps his own log derringer which he thought of throwing

  in his own cabin. So he waited again by the

  overboard. Then he remembered his steps of the companion way. The passage promise to the girl. The pistol was loaded,

  was proceeding just as other passages. The

  but there were no spare shells. He went

  kidnaping of the girl had made no more

  back to the spare room and knocked.

  disturbance in the ship’s routine than the

  “Yes?”

  loading of an extra package. Everything

  “Open the door—I have something

  was quiet, the schooner slipping along

  for you.”

  about six knots an hour. No one ever went

  She came out quickly, looking into the main cabin at night but Spritz, much better, and took the pistol gratefully.

  unless it was necessary to call him on

  “Keep quiet till I need you. At account of bad weather. Overhead on the

  Dirty Jim

  17

  poop Annesty heard footsteps—the man noticed how the events of the night had relieving the wheel and the second mate

  taken away her initiative, how she

  relieving Sydney Dick. There were no depended entirely upon him and trusted passengers.

  him; and he found something very pleasing

  Annesty waited twenty minutes by

  and strengthening in her trust.

  the cabin clock, then he tiptoed along the

  Nevertheless he successfully

  alleyway and listened outside the curtain of

  removed the whisky from the chart-room

  the mate’s room. Regular breathing told

  without her seeing him do it and hid it in a

  him all he wanted to know. He did not

  convenient place. Then he remembered that

  relish the idea of hitting a sleeping man,

  he had not gagged the mate and went back

  blackguard as that man was, but it had to

  to do it. He told himself he would have to

  be done. He pushed aside the curtain and

  stop forgetting things like that.

  went in, the belaying-pin poised. He stood

  It was a little after five o’clock.

  by the side of the bunk, hesitating. Then he

  Time enough when light came—about

  closed his eyes and brought the weaponr />
  six— to tell the second mate he was in

  down—wildly. It missed the mate charge and impress the crew with the need altogether, hitting the edge of the bunk.

  of obeying him. But how would they take

  Sydney Dick sat up and saw him in the

  it? He wanted to take the schooner to

  half-light but the intended shout never left

  Sydney, but that was many hundred miles

  his lips.

  away. He would have to sleep. Was the girl

  There came to Annesty, nerving able to watch against surprise while he him, the memory of the girl’s struggle with

  slept? A lot would depend on the second

  Spritz as he carried her into the boat. But

  mate. If he were trustworthy and would

  he did not hit the mate as hard as he had hit

  come on his side half the battle would be

  the captain.

  over.

  Then another problem—and

  But it was a lot to expect. It was the

  problems were falling all about him like

  hour when a man’s courage is at its lowest

  flakes in, a heavy snow-storm with a dark

  and Jim Annesty saw no comfort ahead.

  bank ahead presaging a heavier fall—what

  And while he waited, speculating

  to do with the unconscious mate? To leave

  unhappily, the dawn came.

  him in his room would be folly, for he

  He heard the steward go forward to the

  couldn’t watch him, and some one would

  galley. Was Spritz in the habit of having

  be sure to find him; and to put him in with

  coffee at this hour? But that didn’t matter,

  Spritz would be as unwise, for several unless the steward had another key. He reasons. Jim again knocked on the girl’s

  examined the revolvers and went up the

  door.

  companionway. The second mate was

  “Sorry to trouble you again, but I

  standing aft by the wheel. Annesty