Solace of the Sea

cover art by A.L. Ripley

 Read/Watch 'em In Order #180

Our next story in the January 10, 1926 issue of Adventure is "Solace of the Sea," by Bill Adams, a fairly steady contributer to the magazine. His work included poems and articles as well as prose fiction.

"Solace of the Sea" is set aboard a merchant sailing ship. A man identified in the story only as "the cripple" has stowed away. He's got a lot of upper body strength, but can't walk on his club feet.

He's treated kindly by most of the crew, but the second mate dislikes him. This is important--during a vividly described storm, the rest of the crew is swept overboard. Only the cripple and the second mate remain. 

As I said,  Adams also wrote poetry. Perhaps that's why the story ends with some ambiguity--Adams continues to paint a vivid word picture and, I think, implies an act of self-sacrifice, but I was a little aggrevated in this not being spelled out for me. Sometimes, ambiguity is appropriate to a story. Sometimes, it can be a little annoying.

Read it yourself HERE.