The TNT Punch
Encyclopedia
The TNT Punch is a Sailor Steve Costigan
short story by Robert E. Howard
. It was originally published in January 1931 issue of Action Stories
. It has been reprinted under the titles The Waterfront Law and The Waterfront Wallop since Howard's death. The story was sold to Action Stories publisher Fiction House
in August 1930 for $75.
The story concerns Costigan entering into a grudge match in South Africa in order to raise bail money for another boxer. Like all of the Sailor Steve Costigan stories it is told in the first person by Costigan himself.
, South Africa, and penniless after having to pay a fine for Mike biting a policeman.
He meets an old enemy, Shifty Kerren, who is the manager of rival boxer Kid Delrano. Kerren says Delrano is in jail and needs to pay the £6 ($30) fine to be released. When he plays on Costigan's sense of patriotism, he agrees to get him the money for his release.
Costigan heads to the waterfront and the South African Sports Arena. Promoter "Bulawayo" Hurley set him up in a special grudge match with the Australian sailor/boxer Bucko Brent. Bucko was the brutal mate aboard the Elinor when Costigan served on her on the way to Bristol to meet the Sea Girl. They fought a few says into the trip and Bucko ended up with several broken bones.
A few rounds into the fight, with Bucko almost unconscious, Bucko and crew from the Elinor soak his left glove in Turpentine
. A blow from this to the face blinds Costigan but not before he can grab Bucko's wrist and force the glove into his own face. Things get worse when the referee gets involved and, being blinded, Bucko punches and blinds him as well.
Soon, however, Costigan manages to catch hold of Bucko, knocks him out and wins the £6 prize money. The fight took longer than expected so Costigan takes the money directly to Shifty Kerren's room only to find Kid Delrano already there. The Kid laughs at Costigan, having bet Shifty $10 that they "could hand you a hard luck tale and gyp you outa your last cent". Costigan soon knocks out the Kid, his sparring partner Bill Slane and Shifty then leaves.
On his way back, he finds a young woman being thrown out by her landlady. Costigan uses the prize money to pay her rent and feels proud to have contributed to a worthy cause and for being too smart to be conned out of the money. However, back at the American Sailors Bar, the bar man mentions the notorious con artist "Boardin'-house Kate" is in town, taking money by pretending to being thrown out by her landlady. With his final coin, he ends the story by asking the barman, "Give me a schooner of beer and take this nickel, quick, before somebody comes along and gets it away from me."
. Since that time it has been reprinted in these publications:
The story is now in the public domain
.
Sailor Steve Costigan
Sailor Steve Costigan is a fictional character created by Robert E. Howard. He is a merchant sailor on the Sea Girl and is also its champion boxer...
short story by Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
. It was originally published in January 1931 issue of Action Stories
Action Stories
Action Stories was a multi-genre pulp magazine published between September 1921 and Fall 1950, with a brief hiatus at the end of 1932.As an adventure pulp it did not feature the horror and science fiction of other pulp magazines. Instead it focused on real-world adventure stories...
. It has been reprinted under the titles The Waterfront Law and The Waterfront Wallop since Howard's death. The story was sold to Action Stories publisher Fiction House
Fiction House
Fiction House is an American publisher of pulp magazines and comic books that existed from the 1920s to the 1950s. Its comics division was best known for its pinup-style good girl art, as epitomized by the company's most popular character, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.-History:-Jumbo and Jack...
in August 1930 for $75.
The story concerns Costigan entering into a grudge match in South Africa in order to raise bail money for another boxer. Like all of the Sailor Steve Costigan stories it is told in the first person by Costigan himself.
Plot
The story starts with Steve Costigan and his dog Mike ashore in Cape TownCape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa, and penniless after having to pay a fine for Mike biting a policeman.
He meets an old enemy, Shifty Kerren, who is the manager of rival boxer Kid Delrano. Kerren says Delrano is in jail and needs to pay the £6 ($30) fine to be released. When he plays on Costigan's sense of patriotism, he agrees to get him the money for his release.
Costigan heads to the waterfront and the South African Sports Arena. Promoter "Bulawayo" Hurley set him up in a special grudge match with the Australian sailor/boxer Bucko Brent. Bucko was the brutal mate aboard the Elinor when Costigan served on her on the way to Bristol to meet the Sea Girl. They fought a few says into the trip and Bucko ended up with several broken bones.
A few rounds into the fight, with Bucko almost unconscious, Bucko and crew from the Elinor soak his left glove in Turpentine
Turpentine
Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
. A blow from this to the face blinds Costigan but not before he can grab Bucko's wrist and force the glove into his own face. Things get worse when the referee gets involved and, being blinded, Bucko punches and blinds him as well.
Soon, however, Costigan manages to catch hold of Bucko, knocks him out and wins the £6 prize money. The fight took longer than expected so Costigan takes the money directly to Shifty Kerren's room only to find Kid Delrano already there. The Kid laughs at Costigan, having bet Shifty $10 that they "could hand you a hard luck tale and gyp you outa your last cent". Costigan soon knocks out the Kid, his sparring partner Bill Slane and Shifty then leaves.
On his way back, he finds a young woman being thrown out by her landlady. Costigan uses the prize money to pay her rent and feels proud to have contributed to a worthy cause and for being too smart to be conned out of the money. However, back at the American Sailors Bar, the bar man mentions the notorious con artist "Boardin'-house Kate" is in town, taking money by pretending to being thrown out by her landlady. With his final coin, he ends the story by asking the barman, "Give me a schooner of beer and take this nickel, quick, before somebody comes along and gets it away from me."
Publication history
The TNT Punch was first published in the January 1931 issue of the pulp magazine Action StoriesAction Stories
Action Stories was a multi-genre pulp magazine published between September 1921 and Fall 1950, with a brief hiatus at the end of 1932.As an adventure pulp it did not feature the horror and science fiction of other pulp magazines. Instead it focused on real-world adventure stories...
. Since that time it has been reprinted in these publications:
- Fight StoriesFight StoriesFight Stories was a pulp magazine devoted to stories of Boxing published between June 1928 and spring 1952...
, Fall, 1941, retitled as "The Waterfront Wallop" and attributed to the housename "Mark Adam" - The Howard Review #4, 1975
- REH Fight Magazine #2, September 1990, retitled again as "Waterfront Law"
- The Complete Action Stories, November 2001
- The Complete Action Stories, November 2003
- The Complete Action Stories, January 2005
- Boxing Stories, April 2005, using the "Waterfront Law" title
The story is now in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
.