Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-07-15
BY EDGAR RICE
B BURROUGHS u
AUTHOR or THE
TARTAN AND MARS
STORIES

| self in a dark and smelly hole, chained ana
| padlocked to a stanchion.
They kept Billy there for a week, but
| every day the captain visited him In an
| attempt to show him the error OF his way.
| The medium used by the skipper for ini-
| pressing his ideas Of discipline upon Billy
was the large. hard stick.
AT the end of the week Il was necessary
| to carry Billy above to keep the rats from
| devouring him, for the continued beatings
| and starvation had reduced him TO little
more than unconscious mass or raw
| bleeding meat.
"There," remarked the skipper he
| viewed his work by the light OF day. Il
| guess that fellowll know his place next
time an officer an gentleman speaks to
| him"
That Billy survived is one of the hitherto
| unreoorded miracles Of the power OF matter
| over mind A man Of intellect, OF imagin-
| ation-a being of nerves-would nave sue
| cumbed to shock alone, but Billy was not
as these He simply lay still and thoughtless,
| except for half-formed ideas of revenge,
until nature unaided, built up what the
captain had SO ruthlessly torn down.
| Ten days after they brought him up
| from the hold Billy was imping about the
| deck of the Halfmoon doing light manual
| labor. From the other sailors aboard ne
| learned that he was not the only member
| of the crew who had been shanghaied.
Aside from halfdozen reckless men from
| the criminal classes who had signed Voiun-
| tarily, either because they could not get
| berth upon decent ship or desired 70 III.
as quietly from the law zone of the United
States as possible, not a man was there VINO
| had been signed regularly.
They were as tough and vicious a lot as
| fate had ever foregathered in one forecastie.
| and with them Billy Byrne felt perfectly
| Mt home His early threats of awful ven-
geance to be wreaked upon the mate and
| skipper had subsided with the rough but
| sensible advice of his messmates.
The mate, for his part, gave no indicaton
| of harboring the assault that Billy had MADE
upon him other than to assign the most
| dangerous or dsagreeable duties OF the snip
| 70 the mucker whenever it was possible to
| do so, but the result Of this was to hasten
| Billy's nautical education, and keep him IN
| excellent physical trim.
| All traces OF alcohol had long since
| vanished from the young mans system.
His face showed the effects of his enforced
abstemiousness in a marked degree.
The red, puffy, blotchy complexion had
| given way to clear, tanned skin; bright
eyes supplanted the bleary. bloodshot things
| that had given the bestal expression TO his
| face in the past His features, always
| regular and strong, had taken on peculiarly
refined dignity from the salt air, the clean
| life and the dangerous occupation OF the
| deep-sea sailor, that would have put kellys
| gang to a pinch to have recognized their
erstwhie crony had he suddenly appeared
| in their midst in the alley back OF the feed
| store on Grand avenue
|
taking on a new character. He surprised
| himself singing at his work-he, whose
whole life up to now had been devoted 10
| dodging honest labor, whose motto hao
| been "The world owes me living ana
| it's up to me to collect It,"
| Also he was surprised to discover that
| he liked TO work, that he took keen priue
| in striving to outdo the men who worked,
with him. and this spirit despite the sus.
| picion which the captain entertained OF
| Billy since the episode of the forecasts,
went far to making his life more enduraple
| on board the Halfmoon, for workers sucn
| as the mucker developed into are not 10 Do
| sneeZed at and though he had little idea
| of subordination II was worth putting up
with something to keep him in condition 10
work
II was this line of reasoning that saved
| Billy's skull on one or two occasions when
| his inpudence had been sufficient to have
provoked the skipper to n personal assault
| upon him under ordinary conditions, ,Squint-
| Eve Ward, having tasted OF Billy's medicine
once had no craving for another encounter
with him that would entail personal con-
| flct
The entire crew was made up of ruffians
| and unhung murderers, but Skipper Simms
had had little experience with seamen OK
| any other ilk, so he handled them rousn-
| shod, using his horny fist and the snort
heavy stick that he habitualy carried, in
| lieu of argument, But with the exception
| OF Billy the men all had served before the
mast in the past, so that ships discipline
was to a certain measure ingrained IN them
| ALL
| Enjoying his work, the life was not an
| unpleasant one for the mucker The men
| of the forecastle were of the kind he haA
| always known-there was no honor among
! them no virtue, no kindliness, no decency.
| With them Billy was at home-he
| scarcely missed the old gang. He made his
| friends among them, and his enemies he
picked quarrels. as had been his way since
aaFA nj
strength, together with his endless stock OF
underhand tricks brought hirl out Of each
encounter with fresh laurels.
Presently he found it difficult to pick .
| fght--his messmates had had enough or
| Linn They left him severely alone
| These battles, often bloody, engendered
| no deep-seated hatred in the hearts OF the
| defeated. They were part Of the days
| work and play of the half brutes that
! Skipper Simms had gathered together.
| There was only one man aboard whom
| Billy really hated. That was the passenger,
| Divine and Billy hated him, not because
| Of anything that the man had said or done
| to Billy. for he had never even so much as
| spoken 10 the mucker, but because OF the
| fine clothes and superior air which marked
| him plainly 70 Billy a member of that
loathed element of soeiety-a gentleman.
Billy hated everything that was respect
| able. He had hated the smug self-satished
| merchants OF Grand avenue He had
| writhed IN spirit at sight Of every shiny.
purring automobile that had ever passed
him with its load Of well-groomed men and
| women. A clean stiff collar was 10 Billy
| as red rag 10 a bull
| Cleanliness success, opulence decency
| spelled but one thing 10 Bily-physteal
| weakness and he hated physical weakness.
| His idea OF indicating strength ana man
liness lay in displaying much OF brutality
and uncouthuess as possible.
| To assist woman over a mudhole would
have seemed to Billy an acknowledgment
| Of pusillanimity; TO stick out bis foot and
trip her so that shs Eprawled fun length IN
| H. the hallmark OF blum manliness.
And so he hated. with all the strength
| OF a strong nature. the immaculate cour-
/ teous well-bred man who paced the deck
each day smoking fragrant cigar after
| his meals,
Inwardly he wondered what the dude
| vas doing on board such a vessel as the
| Halfmoon, and marveled that 90 weak \
| thing dared venture among rsal men
Bnlys contempt caused him 70 notics
| Divine more than he would have been
| ready 10 admit He saw that the mans
faee was handsome, but that there va
| an unpleasant stiffness 70 his brown eres.
/ rnl. -