| Show a THE SEA WOLF BY JACK LONDON Copyright 1904 by JACK LONDON Copyright 1903 by TH E CENTURY COMPANY L Copyright 1904 by TH THE E MACMILLAN COMPANY CHAPTER XV There was a deal of ot cursing and groaning as the men at the tho bottom of ot the ladder crawled to their feet Somebody strike a light my thumbs out of or Joint said ald one of ot themen tho the thomen thomen men Parsons Parson a n swarthy saturnine man boat hoat in Standish's boat In Jn which Harrison was WIlS puller YouJI find it knockin about by hy the bUts Leach sal said 1 sitting down on the edge of oC the bunk in which I 1 was co concealed There was a fumbling and a n. lI scratching of or matches and the sea ea lamp Jamp flared up tip dim and smoky and andIn andin In Its Us weird light bare legged men moved mo about nursing their bruises and anU caring for their hurts Cofty- Cofty O tty laid hold of or Parsons Parsons' thumb pull Ins It out stoutly and snapping It back into place I 1 noticed at the same time that tho the Kanaka's k knuckles were laid open clear across and to the bone He exhibited them exposing beautiful white teeth in a aBlin agrin grin Blin a as he did so 80 and that the wounds had come from striking Wolf Larsen in the mouth So it was you rou was as it It you ou black beg rT belligerently demanded one K Kelly lly an Irish American and a R. longshoreman long long- horeman boreman making his first trip to 8 a an and boat puller for tor Kerfoot As u he ho made the tho demand he spat out cut a mouthful of blood and teeth and shoved hoyed his pugnacious taco face close to The Kanaka leaped backward to his bunk to return with witha a a- a second leap flourishing a long w A w go 1 lay down you make mako me meWed Wed bed Lc Leach Interfered Ho lie was wac evl- evl A Y for tor all aU of ot his youth and In- In cock of or tho the forecastle you ou Kell Kelly You leave leayo Oaf ty one alone How In hell did he know It was j Iou ou em In th the dark Kelly subsided with some muttering mutter mutter- ing W ng and the Kanaka flashed his hla white t teeth th In a grateful smile He was wae a creature almost feminine in hi the pleasing lines Unes of or his figure ar and there was a softness and dreamt dreamt- nees In his large eyes which Beem seemed d to contradict his hla w well ll earned tm tion for tor strife strite and action How Eow did ho bo get away Johnson Be Ha was wae sitting on the tho side of at his bunk the whole pose of ot his figure Indicating utter dejection and hope- hope L He was still sUll breathing heavily from tho exertion he had made HI Hia Hla shirt hn had been ripped en entirely entirely en- en from him in the struggle and blood from a gash in tho cheek was flowing down his naked chest marking markin mark mark- in ing a red path across his hlA white hite thigh and dripping to the tho floor Because he Is the devil as I told you DU before was L Leach's achs ach's answer and the thereat at h he was ag on his feet and ond raging his lile disappointment with tears in his eyes And not one of you rou to get a knife was his unceasing lament But the rest of the hands had a alively alively lively fear of or consequences to como come and gave no heed to him Howll he ho know which was as which Kelly asked and as he went wenton wenton on Ca he looked murderously about him unless ono one of ot us peaches Hell know as soon as ever he claps eyes ees on us Parsons replied Ono One look at you'd be enough Tell him the deck flopped up and gouged ed yer teeth out iv yer Jaw Ix Louts Louis grinned He Ho was the only man who was as not out of or his bunk and be he was Jubilant In that h he possessed no bruises to advertise that he had had bad a hand in the nights night's work Just Juet wait till he gets a a. glimpse IVer iv iver ivy y er r mugs muss tomorrow the gang Iv ye 0 he chuckled Well say MY we thought it was tho the mate said one And another I know what Til rn Il eay that say that I arow a ft row Jumped out of ot m my bunk got a jolly golly good crack on the Jaw jow for tor my I pains palmi and sailed in m myself Couldn't tell who or what it was as in the dark and Just hit out Ar was S mo me IO you ou hit hU of ot course e Kelly seconded his face faco brightening to for f. I. I the moment Leach and Johnson took no part Inthe Inthe in inthe the dl discussion and it was plain to see that their mates looked upon them as men for tor whom the worst was inevitable who were beyond hope and already dead dE Leach ach stood their fears and reproaches for tor some time Then ho broke out You make mako me mo tired A nice nico lotof lot lotof of ot b you are I If Jr you talked less with yer mouth an and did something something some some- thing with yer er hands h hed he'd d ben a dono done with by now Vh Why couldn't one of you ou Just ono one of ot you get et mo a a. knife when I 1 sun sung out You mak maks mo sick flick A and round as thou though h hed he'd kill klU you when he gets get won well ho he wont won't you ou You know damn Cant Can't afford to No shipping masters masters mas mas- or beach bench combers over here and he wants yer er In his business and he wants yer er bad hoe Who's to pull or steer or sail Aall ship if It he loses yer Its It's me and Johnson have to face the I music Get into yer bunks now and shut yer er faces I 1 want to get ret some sleep all right all right Parsons Parsons Parsons Par Par- sons up he wont won't do dotor for tor us but mark m my words holl hell bean bean be bo boan an icebox to this ship from now on All An the tho while I had been apprehensive concerning my own predicament What would h happen happen hap hap- p- p pen to me when these men discovered my presence I could never ne fight my wa way out as Wolf Volt LarK Lar- Lar K JAn n hail hAd done And at this moment I Latimer r called d down on the tha scuttles Hump I The old man wants wante you youl Ho aint down here Parsons called back sliding out of ot Yes ho is I said tho the bunk and striving m my hardest to to o keep m my voice steady and bold Tho The sailors Bailors looked at me in con con- Fear Fe-ar w was strong in their faces and the tho devilishness which comes of ot fear Im coming I shouted up to Latimer cried stepping stepping stepping step step- No o you ou dont don't Kelly ping between me and tho the ladder his hia right hand shaped into a veritable f stranglers strangers s clutch You damn littIe little lit little lit lit- tle tIe sneak Ill I'll shut yer mouth Let Lct him go Leach commanded Not ot on yer er life lite was the angry anery retort Leach never changed his position on the edge of ot the bunk Let t him go I sa say he repeated repented but this time his hie voice was gritty STitt and metallic The Irishman wavered I made mado to step b by him and ho stood aside When I 1 had gained the ladder I 1 turned to the circle of ot brutal and malignant faces peering at me through tho the semi semi- darkness A sudden and deep sympathy sym sym- pathy path welled up In me I remembered remembered hered tho the Cockneys Cockney's wn way of ot putting It How lIow God must have hated them that they should be tortured torture so I 1 have seen sean and heard nothing believe bellevo me mON moM I said quietly I 1 tell yer er hes he's all aU right I 1 could hear L Leach ch saying as ns I wont went up the ladder He lIe dont don't like lIko the old man manno manno manno no more nor you or me I found Wolf Larsen in the cabin stripped and bloody waiting for me He greeted me with one of ot his whimsical whimsical whim whim- smiles Come get et to work doctor Tho The signs are arc favorable for tor an extensive practice this vO voyage e. e I dont don't kno know what the Ghost would have been without you ou and if It I could only cherish cherish cher cher- ish such noble sentiments I 1 would tell yoa you her master is deeply grate grate- rate rate- ful tul I knew the run nto of oC the tho simple med med- chest icino-chest the Ghost carried L and I while I was heating water ater on the cabin stove and getting the things read ready for tor dressing his hI wounds he moved about laughing and chatting and examining his hurts with a cal- cal I eye e I had never before seen him stripped and the sight i ht of his bod body quite took my mr breath awa away It has ne never nevor I be been n my weakness to exalt lt the flesh flesh far far from It It but there thero is enough h o of the thc artist in me to ap appreciate ap- ap predate Its Us wonder I 1 must Aa say that I wa was CI 11 b by the perfect lines linea of oC Wolf I Larson's Larsons f figure and b by what I 1 Inn may term the terrible beauty of it I 1 had noted tho thomen thomen thomen men in the forecastle Powerfully muscled though some of them were were there had hall been sorn something wrong TonJ with all of ot them an Insufficient development development develop elop ment h hero rn an undue development de there a R. twist or a crook that de destro destroyed destroyed de- de ed symmetry legs Ices too short or too lon long or too much sinew or bono bone exposed or too little t had been the only one whose whole lines ne were at all pleasing while In so far faras faras tar taras as they pleased that far tar had they b been en what I 1 should call feminine But Wolf Larsen was wa the type type man the masculine and almost a 11 god in his As ho he moved about or raised his arms tho the great muscles leapt and moved mo under tinder the satiny skin I 1 have ha forgotten to sa say that the tho bronze bronzo find ended cd with his face tace His bod body thanks to his Scandinavian stock was fair as the thc fairest womans woman's I 1 re remember remember remember re- re member his putting his hand up to feel of the wound on his hili head and m my watching the tho biceps bleeps move like Jike a living thing under Its white sheath It It was tho biceps that had ne nearly crushed d out m my life lito once th that t I 1 had seen Been strike so man many killing blows I could not take tako my eyes from him I stood motionless a roll of at antiseptic cotton In my hand unwinding and spilling itself flown n to the floor He lie noticed me and I 1 became conscious conscious con con- that I was staring staling at him God made you ou well I 1 said Did he he answered I have hav often otten thought so myself and wondered wondered won won- dered why Purpose I began Utility he Interrupted This bod body was made for tor use These muscles muscles mus mus- cles des were m made de to grip and tear and destroy living It things that get be between be- be teen tween me mo and life But have you thou thought ht of the other living things The They too have havo muscles of nr and another made to irl grip and d t tear and destro destroy and when the they come como be between be- be I tW tween en me and life liCe I 1 outgrip them them them Purpose Purpose Purpose Pur Pur- pose does not explain that Utility does docs It Is not beautiful I 1 protested Life LICe isn't you OU mean he smiled Yet you say eay I 1 was made well Do you sec seo ec this 7 He Ho braced his legs and feet teet pressIng pressIng press- press Ing lag th cabin floor with his toes in a clutching sort of or wa way Knots and ridges es and mounds of or muscles writhed and bunched under tinder the skin Feel them he commanded They were hard as Iron And I 1 observed also that his whole body had unconsciously drawn itself together to to- to gether ether tense and alert that muscles were softly crawling and shaping about the hips along the hack back and across tho tim shoulders that the arms were slightly U lifted ted their muscles I I tile the fingers crooking till the hands were like talons and that even eyen the had eyes yes changed s- s sion slon and into them were coming watchfulness and measurement and a light none other than of ot battle I Stability equilibrium he said relaxing relaxing- on the Instant and sinking his bod body back Into repose Feet with which to clutch the ground le legs s to stand on and to help withstand while with arms and hands teeth and nails I struggle lo to 1 kill and to be he not killed Purpose Utility is the better better bet bet- ter word I 1 did not ar argue u I 1 had seen the mechanism of ot the thc primitive primitivo fighting b beast ast and I 1 was as strongly Impressed impressed im im- Im- Im pressed as If It I had seen tho the engines of ot a great reat battleship or Atlantic liner I 1 was surprised considering considering- the fierce struggle in the forecastle at the superficiality of ot his hurts and I pride myself that I 1 dressed them dexterous dex dex- With the exception of sev e eral bad wounds wound the tho rest were mere mer I ly hy severe severt bruises and lacerations Tho The blow which he had received Ed before going going- overboard o had laid his scalp open OIlen sc er several l inches This under his direction I 1 d and sewed to together together to- to gether sether having first shaved shave the ed edges eti of the wound Then the calf call of ot his leg lg was as badly badh lac lacerated and looked as hough Chough it had been man mangled led b by a Some sailor h he told me mo had I laid hold of or it by his teeth at the bE beginning of ot th the tl fight fight ht and hun hung on end been leen dragged to the tho top of ot the tho fore ladder adder add r when he hEl was kicked loose looe B By the Va way v Hump as I 1 have re remarked remarked re- re marked you Ou are ire a hand handy man Wolf VoIr Larsen sen began when ihen my work was done As you ou know were we're short amate a 0 mate Hereafter you vou shall stand watches receive 75 per pr month and bo Ito addressed fore tore and aft as Mr r. Von Van I I 1 I dont don't understand navigation atlon you OU know I gasped Not Jt necessary at nil all I r really do not car care to sit In the I high places I objected I 1 find life lICe I precarious J eno enough h In my present humble situation I 1 have no I ence Mediocrity you OU see has Its compensations I He smiled as thou though h it were cre all I settled I wont won't he mate on this ship hell I cried defiantly I saw hl his face tace grow o hard and the tho merciless glitter come into his e eyes es He lie walked tho the door of ot ed to his room say saying I ii g And now Mr Van Yan c den good goodnight goodnight night G Good od ni night ht Mr l Larsen I answered answered an an- weak weakly To be bo continued tomorrow |
