Adventure Magazine Cover, December 18, 1919 — page 112: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

x ‘ We kad ahs! ‘eet Pm © ay i, ih : Yd Sabet 9 FElIw WY pity Mm ¥ oh * a) wakes es 4 ‘) a | Ai PI RISE roy Fy CHAO RO e = A Ayres eid 4A ele é i 4ajed Pant Y PUSAN , ir { y , oe re a M. , ¥ : - ; vi * ‘ fuls of food. hairs just now, good father. 98 . Adventure but how could he get word to ter? That was settled now and there remained but the insignificant task of carrying off the girl from the midst of the people and of traversing some nine hundred miles of dry, arid country with a woman, a tired horse and a half-demented priest—for he had begun to look thus upon Fray Marco. Except for these small details, the problem presented no difficulties. Fray Marco and Xicotl were in the crater where he had left them. In the little sandy pocket where they lay, a tiny spring oozed from the shale of the hill- side. The horse had trampled it, into a - small quagmire, but the water was still drinkable. The scanty cactus growth and prickly-pears gave also a few meuth- It was to eke out the scanty food ‘supply that Andres had raided the grain fields. He had gone bare-footed so that the prints of his southern-made moccasins should not be- tray him. He came down that sandy slope in two great leaps and struck Fray Marco a resounding blow between the shoulders. “Tt is all arranged, my good fray. It is all arranged, I say. I have seen her.” “Holy Virgin!” The good fray started “No! Not that but another—Merce- des! The Sefiorita de Acasta! I have seen her, I say.” Fray Marco and Xicotl crowded for- ward in eager questioning. “It is all very simple, my friends. It was just as Xicotl has said all along. u - The trail that her party left was clear . enough. The men who picked her up three weeks ago found her in a tornado and mistook her for a goddess whom they call Ari-zuna and they have installed her in the temple, where she is well served. They asked her last night to bless the crops for.them and she was doing it when I saw her. What are you shaking your head and. muttering about, my good fray ?” “Do you mean, my son, that she has accepted the worship that belongs only to the saints?” “Hm! It seems-to be pretty well divided, in this land, between gods and goddesses, snakes and pretty girls. For Heaven’s sake, split me no theological Let me do a man’s work first; you can do a priest’ S work later.” “T will! ‘If I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon,’ I say, ‘the Lord par- don thy servant in this thing.’ Will we wait long, my son?” - “How can I wait? When every heart- beat clamors for speed upon the southern trail? She will meet me tonight at sun- set. We must scrape together every ounce of green food for the horse and see that he gets a bellyful of feed and water, for by all the saints! he must travel far tonight.” “Your plans 3 y “Does the coyote plan when the hounds clamor behind him? They will pursue us, of course, just as soon as they discover that she. is missing and they will trail us with all the skill at their command. You know what that is. Our only hope is to head south as direct as we can and to travel as fast as is pos- sible. We must outstrip the pursuit. Can three men fight a tribe?” : “They may when ‘God is with them, Who has said through His prophet— — “‘One man of you shall chase ‘a thou- sand.’ ”’ “Hm! Let us not put that to the test till we are compelled to do so. I ama good Catholic, I trust, but, for today at least, my creed is: ‘Quod tango, credo.’ cE What I touch, I believe.’) Fill those water-bag's carefully, Xicotl, and look to every strap and buckle on saddle and bridle. Nothing must break tonight. Pack our few belongings at once so there will be no delay, then both of you get what sleep you can. I will watch. You will need all the rest you can get.” So hour after hour throughout that long, hot June day they lay sweltering in the shallow crater in the sand. It was too hot to talk. It was too hot to do anything but move from side to side and follow the shifting shadows of the cac- tus and the prickly-pears, as the sun- threw the shadows from west to east. Andres examined his horse critically. He was tired and exhausted but the light in his eyes was undimmed. His shoes, of course, had long since gone, but he had not been ridden and had carried light weight; but now Mercedes must ride him and he would need .shoes, Well, he must go barefoot tonight.