Cargo of Coffins by L. Ron Hubbard

in Cayenne, a seaport and the capital of French Guiana. On this mount stands Fort St. Michel, the marine barracks, the signal station and the lighthouse.

    peerages: books listing the titles of nobility in various countries, the members of nobility and information about their families.

    Pernambuco: state in northeastern Brazil.

    Pico: Pico de Papagaio (Parrot’s Peak), a mountain peak located at the mouth of the Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The bay is flanked by Pico de Papagaio on one side and by Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf) on the other.

    pip: something extraordinary of its kind.

    put in or put into: to enter a port or harbor, especially for shelter, repairs or provisions.

    queer: to ruin or thwart.

    salade: a light, late medieval helmet with a brim flaring in the back to protect the neck, sometimes fitted with a visor.

    Scheherazade: the female narrator of The Arabian Nights, who during one thousand and one adventurous nights saved her life by entertaining her husband, the king, with stories.

    Schoenauer: Mannlicher-Schoenauer; a rifle introduced in 1903 that proved very popular with big-game hunters worldwide. Its main feature was the use of a magazine that automatically rotated the rounds into the feeding position while the gun was being fired.

    schooner: a fast sailing ship with at least two masts and with sails set lengthwise.

    screw: a ship’s propeller.

    set: in the card game of bridge, to defeat an opponent.

    Shanghai: city of eastern China at the mouth of the Yangtze River, and the largest city in the country. Shanghai was opened to foreign trade by treaty in 1842 and quickly prospered. France, Great Britain and the United States all held large concessions (rights to use land granted by a government) in the city until the early twentieth century.

    “sleeping giant”: the northeast face of the peak Gávea in Rio de Janeiro that has a carving of an ancient face resembling that of the Sphinx in Egypt.

    Sparks: radioman; traditionally nicknamed Sparks or Sparky, stemming from the early use of transmitters that produced sparks to radiate energy, the means by which radio signals were transmitted.

    SS: steamship.

    stanchion: an upright bar, post or frame forming a support or barrier.

    Sugar Loaf: Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf), a mountain peak located at the mouth of the Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Its name is said to refer to its resemblance to the traditional shape of a concentrated refined loaf of sugar. The bay is flanked by Pico de Papagaio (Parrot’s Peak) on one side and by Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf) on the other.

    ticket: a certifying document, especially a captain’s or pilot’s license.

    transom: transom seat; a kind of bench seat, usually with a locker or drawers underneath.

    trick: 1. (cards) in bridge, four cards played in sequence, one by each player at the table in a clockwise rotation. The high card is the winner. 2. a period or turn of duty, as at the helm of a ship.

    tricolor: the French national flag, consisting of three equal vertical bands of blue, white and red.

    Tropic of Capricorn: southern tropic; one of the five major parallels of latitude, it lies approximately 23½ degrees south of the equator. It marks the most southerly latitude at which the sun can appear directly overhead.

    twenty-five-twenty: .25-20; a rifle cartridge approximately .25 inch in diameter, originally having a powder charge of 20 grains, which is the source of its name. This size rifle was used for hunting small game.

    weigh anchor: take up the anchor when ready to sail. Also used figuratively.

    wing: bridge wing; a narrow walkway extending outward from both sides of a pilothouse to the full width of a ship.

L. Ron Hubbard in the
Golden Age of
Pulp Fiction

I n writing an adventure story
a writer has to know that he is adventuring
for a lot of people who cannot.
The writer has to take them here and there
about the globe and show them
excitement and love and