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Show CONDENSED f I CLASSICS I THE SEA WOLF J I X B7 JACK U3NDON X I I , Condensation by Cliflon B. Carternj Jnck London iron born, wl(b the love of adventure adven-ture In hilt velnM, at Snn FrnnclHoo, Jan. 12. 1K78. He alerted hlH edacu-tlon edacu-tlon at the Vnl-verMKy Vnl-verMKy of California, Cali-fornia, but did not flnlfih It there, for the atrenuou.i life was to be hlN school, and all humanity were to be hi teachers, any strange place his schoolroom. Now he was In the Klondlkei now at sea before the mnstj then he was In Japan and seal banting In Bering; Sen; again be was tramping through the United States and Canada, learning all be could of men and their ways; he was Journalist and lecturer, war correspondent cor-respondent In the Russo-Japanese war, and ever and anon making those voyages voy-ages which kept the eyes of the world upon him. How he broke Into the realm of letters he has vividly described) de-scribed) his own great battle with John Barleycorn, told with unusual frankness, frank-ness, did a great deal to set the stage for John's present trnglc plight) his own personality kept the great reading public as Interested as did the creations of his Imagination) his books came thick and fast, beginning with 1000, sometimes two and three a year. He was twice married, first to Bessie Maddern and second to Charmlan Klt-tredge. Klt-tredge. who plays a large part In bts later books. He died Nov. 31, 1818, j THE keen eyes of Wolf Larsen, j master of the senling schooner Ghost, bound for Japanese poaching grounds, spotted the bobbing head of Humphrey Van Weyden amid the waves of San Francisco bay. Into whose waters Humphrey had been thrown as a result of a shipwreck. A few moments more and Humphrey was aboard the Ghost. Rescued, he faced his rescuer with thanks and a request to be put ashore. The skipper eyedIm curiously. "What do you do for a living?" he asked. "I I am a gentleman, Humphrey stammered. "Who feeds you?" "I have an Income." Wolf Larsen's Hps curled In a sneer. "Ton stand on dead men's legs. You couldn't walk alone between two sunrises sun-rises and hustle the meat for your - belly for three meals. You stay here as cabin boy for the good of your soul. I'll make a man of you." Instant rebellion leaped into Humphrey's Hum-phrey's eyes. Before he could protest there came a sudden Interruption a clamor from the real cabin boy, a great husky youth who stood by. Wolf Larsen turned and crashed his fist into the boy's stomach.- Crumpled Hke a wet rag around a stick, the lad collapsed col-lapsed Into a heap on the deck. "Well," said Wolf Larsen meaningly to Humphrey, "have you made up your mind?" The spark of manhood in Humphrey died out. "Yes," he replied weakly. "Say 'Yes, sir!'" "Yes sir." And thus Humphrey passed into the servitude of Wolf Larsen, the Sea Wolf. His blinking eyes, half revealing reveal-ing and half concealing his terror, surveyed sur-veyed his master and thus appraised him: "Massive of .build, like a huge gorilla; with a strength, savage and ferocious; features of no evil stamp; eyes of bafTling protean gray, sometimes some-times as chill as an Arctic landscape, sometimes all aglow with love-lights Intense, masculine and compelling which at the same time fascinate and dominate women until they surrender In a gladness of joy and of relief and sacrifice." Ills creed, the mighty will which en-gined en-gined Wolf Larsen, was short. "Life Is a mess," he declared. "The big oat the little that they may continue con-tinue to move; the strong eat the weak that they may retain their strength. The lucky eat the most and move the longest, that is all." His company on shipboard: seamen sodden and sullen by drink, more animal ani-mal than human ; a group of seal hunters, hunt-ers, wild reckless nomads, Ignorant of an ordered world all slaves in body nd spirit to the Sen Wolf. Yet there was a gentle side to Wolf Larsen. He was no Ignorant cave man. He could discuss literature with "Ilump," roll over his lips the poetic glories of Shelley and Browning, argue the sciences with amazing fluency and be disarmlngly charming at times. As the days rolled on and murderous quarrels made the hours hideous. Humphrey's backbone gradually stiffened. stiff-ened. He dreamed of killing the Sea Wolf. But Larsen fascinated him and like some splendid animal, some dangerous dan-gerous beast, held him In a spell. He knew the world should be rid of such a monster, yet Larsen's eyes compelled obedience. Pay by day. with not a gleam of gra-ciousness gra-ciousness to break the orgy of bnitlsh-ness. bnitlsh-ness. this tragic drama went on. Ilmn-phrey Ilmn-phrey despaired of even a gleam of Minshlne. Suddenly fate Intervened in the person of Maude Brewster. Like Humphrey, she came to the Ghost from tlw sea. saved from a wrecked liner. lAc Humphrey, she I expected to be put aboard a passing vessel. But no ! The Sea Wolf had other plans. She was added to the crew as Humphrey was, and likewise "fur the good of her soul." Maude received the news In wonderment. wonder-ment. What kind of a man was this mocking master of the Ghost? She was soon to find out. The cook had offended Larsen. A rope was colled around the offender and he was cast overboard In the wake of the ship. A shark rushed for him and Larsen ordered him pulled in. Despite the maddened haste, the shark in the final rush tore away the foot of the victim. "The shark was not in the reckoning, Miss Brewster," said the Sea Wolf, smilingly. "It was shall we say an act of Providence." This scene convinced Humphrey that he must kill Wolf Larsen. His courage cour-age flared up so brightly that he actually actu-ally threatened to murder him. The Sea Wolf barked a whimsical guffaw : "Bravo, Hump, you do me proud. I like you the better for It." Humphrey winced. He confided his resolution to Maude, with whom he had fallen in love. She counseled against It, protesting that moral courage cour-age always defeats 'brute force, but she failed to convince him. He knew the Sea Wolf too well. The dancing lights in Wolf Larsen's eyes when he looked into Maude's warned Humphrey that some day the storm would break. And It did. In the midst of the night, he rushed into Maude's cabin to find, her the crushing crush-ing embrace of Wolf Larsen. - Humphrey flung himself on the monster to be tossed aside like a chip. He rushed again, drawing his knife, plunging the blade Into the Sea Wolf'B shoulder. Larsen staggered back anfi Maude seized Humphrey, begging him not to kill. Suddenly the Wolfe collapsed, col-lapsed, not from his wound, but as if from some uncanny spell that paralyzed para-lyzed him. The giant was helpless. Humphrey carried him to-his berth and realized that opportunity for escape es-cape was at hand. Maude and he put off In a small boat, hoping that they might make Japan, 600 miles away. But the winds and creeping drift of the Pacific intervened inter-vened and finally the grim adventure ended for a time on a little Arctic Island. Here they prepared to remain for the winter. ( Suddenly one morning, weeks after, Humphrey saw on the beach the wreck of a vessel, and It was strangely familiar. It could not be yes it was the Ghost. The blood chilled In his veins. Wild thoughts of flight or the sudden ending of both their lives entered en-tered his mind. Then a wondering cunning succeeded such fears. He would kill Wolf Larsen, kill him as he slept, for all on board were doubtless sleeping. With knife and gun he climbed to the deck. He saw no one. Was the ship deserted after all? But as he rounded the poop there burst on his gaze the Sea Wolf. Humphrey Hum-phrey raised his gun ; the trigger clicked sharply. Then silence. "Why don't you shoot?" ;oolly remarked re-marked the Wolf. Humphrey could not speak. "nump," said the Sea Wolf, slowly, "You can't do It. And after all I have taught you. You know that I would kill an unarmed man as readily as I would smoke a cigar. Bah! I had expected ex-pected the better things of you, Hump." Humphrey slowly lowered the gun. The Ghost's presence was explained calmly by the Sea Wolf. He was caught In a net he had set for his hated brother, "Death" Larsen, his crew were taken away and he was left alone. Pacific storms did the rest. A strange weariness in the Sea Wolf's bearing, a hesitant, preoccupied air about him puzzled Humphrey. A few days later he again summoned courage to put him out of the way. But this time he saw Wolf Larsen slowly making his way down the deck, his quivering finger tips groping for the hand rails. Wolf Larsen was blind! No need to kill him. Maude and Humphrey determined to escape by repairing the Ghost, but the Sea Wolf willed otherwise. Blind and helpless as lie was. he craftily contrived con-trived to ruin Humphrey's work, determined de-termined they should die together, so his grim revenge would be complete. Fiendish cunning and Instinct to kill still remained. A final reckoning was to come. Scorning precaution because he felt the Sea Wolf physically powerless from the suspected presence of a tumor tu-mor on the brain. Humphrey ventured too near one day. Suddenly the Sea Wolf's stupor passed. The steel-like fingers gripped Humphrey's throat. The trap had sprung. Maude leaped Into action, tearing at Larsen's hands. But for once the Sea Wolf's tremendous will could not spur his weakened body. His fingers twitched and then relaxed and Humphrey Hum-phrey was released. "That was the last play of the Wolf," said Larsen. with his twisted smile. "I'd like to have done for you first. Hump. I thought I bad that much left In me." And so Wolf Larsen faded Into unconsciousness, un-consciousness, a pitiful ending for this gTlm sea murderer who pictured himself him-self roaring to death In a blaze of tumult tu-mult and evil splendor. Soon the restored Ghost embraced the waves again, freighted with happiness. happi-ness. Then a trail of smoke on the horizon, a rescue and the lovers kiss as the cutter went dancing over the waves on the long road home. CopyriKht. 1319. by the Post Publishing Co. I (The Boston PosO. All riehts reserved ! Condensed from "The Pea Wolf" by Jack j London. Copyright. If 4. by the Mac- j millan Company. I'sed by f ermtsston of author and publisher. j |