, 1923-07-04

Another plate went.
I'm rubin"
Here they are 7" cried Ro+c,iro
Jude's nose did not seem to wan,
any rubbing, nor her face. Descended
from generations of crockery worship
ers and careful housewives. instinc-
u'eiy hating Cleary, Sellers, Clark.
and all their belongings, feeling with
PERFECT illogic that they had been
aohe out OF the treasure Of the "skele-
tons somehow through Clark, she was
convincing. Satan with rare art had
worked her up to the part. She was
no. crying; her mind was raging
above tears.
"Hullo, Kid!' cried Sellers, as the
a ground alongside and a filthy
ruhan with a handkerchief twisted
round his head clawed on with a boat-
NOOK. What's the matter, Kid?
WHAT'S up with your Where's
Satan?"
Whore you kiddin'Y' cried Jude.
as sellers came aboard, followed by
Cleary. Where the HI are your
tenders7 Comm cuttin' the paint of,
you your skullintons! Where's
Satan? He's down below drunk as
Billy be d-n and cuttin' the lights
out of the ship"
Hes been at the yewas WINS
tellin' you Of" said Cleary. Look,
he's broke n bottle of 1t. Lord! don't
the place stink"
We'll, drunk or sober, he's got to
bail up said Sellers. IT'S my belief
he's been spoofn' us all along"
"Spoofin' who?' cried Jude.
Clark an me-"
Clark an you-that old leather
face an you! Satan been spoofn'
you-pair Of yeggmeni Satan's
straight, the on'y straigh .Nnan in Ha-
vana! Get off this ship! Come in
the mornin' if you want to try an rob
him. OFF with you now !"
why" cried Sellers, ~haIf-laughing,
h~alf-angry, whats the matter with
the kid? What's giugerin' you upr'
The answer came from auo,iier
smashed plate below.
Jude made one spring for a deck
mop standing handy, twirled 1t so that
the water sprayed from 1t in a rain
bow, and brought 1t to the charge.
Cleary slipped over the rail.
"Of with you ~ cried Jude.
Put down hat mop" cried Sellers,
now suddenly furious. PUT down
that mop, You braying little devil!
Con get inter your %petticoats! You
amt a boyl ! never blieved 1t, not
for the last six months, an now l
know. You've give yourself away
proper. Why, look at you, as round
as a tub-you're a wumman ~
Radcliffe looked on Mortified. Jude,
flushed and bright-eyed, had somehow
revealed her sex In her excitement
she looked for a moment almost beau
tiful. Her tongue had done the rest.
The smashing of the plates had
brought the woman out of her as a
conjurer brings a rabbit out of a hat.
Put down that mopi"
Jude from rose color had turned
awfully white; then with the elan and
dash of a gamecock she charged. The
wet swab hit the rufiian full in his
fiat face, and he fell on the deck with
a bang.
In a second he was up and scram-
bling ove the rail. Again she charged,
the swab meeting him this time full
on his stern and sending him over into
the boat like a bag of oats.
A slush tub, fortunately, half-full,
and marked by her president mind,
was her next weapon. The contents
caught Cleary full In the face, and as
the boat made off, the oars, all at
skies and sevens, wildly rowing, she
pursued 1t with the battery of the
tongue till II was out of range. Then
she broke down and cried. shifted
with her arm hiding her fI,-e, and then
flushed, like a thing of shame dlyed
below.
Radcliffe. knew.
Her sex proclaimed aloud by the
shameless Sellers was as n garment
stripped of her publicly. On the very
first day Satan had stated her case
and she didn't mind, though he. Rat
cliffe, had been a stranger; but It was
different now, somehow. II was as II
the end of her boyhood had come.
Sellers would no doubt proclaim the
fact in Havana.
He heard voices from below.
81 don't care II I'd killed him
wish't hadl Lea mt alone-for two
cents I'd go drown myself Look at
them plates! You've broke the two
blue pattern ones an the clancy one
with the bird on 1t, the best we had.
an not a cracked one touchedl Hain't
you no sensef"
Never you mind; I'll get you some
more"
I'm not wanting more. Them
plates were mother's-much you care
II you must be breaking and cutting
up. couldn't You a broke the cracked
ones? An where's the sense In break
ing them anyhow
"waal, I reckoned itd liven you up
-. -. u...tn,- yntrs