Adventure Magazine Cover, December 18, 1919 — page 48: what you’re looking at

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

7 ye HAM i pais SEY ME We PR ie back of the assault on his person. aa 34 the post-office and, a trifle thickly, opened conversation. “Say, you, I been lookin’ to tell you that you're through associatin’ with Rose Gardiner.” Hasting looked up three full inches into the face of the first enemy he had seen. since the signing of the armistice. Enemies, outside of wars ordained by higher powers, were not in his line. Here was absolutely the first one with whom he felt not the slightest inclination to fraternize. His feelings must have astonished him almost as much as the other’s words. It was several seconds before he replied: “T can’t say I’ve been looking for you, but, if I’d supposed there was anything dike you on earth that dared to mention the name of that young lady, I’d have looked for you good and hard. I'll give you ten seconds to apologize. Now—do it quick!” Bil Durrance’s answer had been a rush, with a terrific blow aimed at the slightly snubbed nose of Hasting. Has- ting had learned quite a bit of boxing, and Durrance’s blow had connected with space. So many things happened to Bill Durrance before he was ready to begin another that he forgot to begin it at all. The only persons he had bullied since were his mother and Jess Purdue—the latter with petty blackmail. HIS was one of the reasons why Purdue now wished he had found out sooner that Hasting did not number swimming among his accomplishments and made no serious attempt to learn it in water which was too cold for anything but short plunges. The other reason was that the succeeding weeks had shown Purdue absolutely no other safe and sane method of eliminating his successful rival. Probably Rose had been too much in love with Hasting at the start to love anybody who could do him harm. In- cidentally, though -Purdue was counted a strong man, he had no wish to mix things with one who had so thoroughly beaten a citizen like Durrance. Hasting seemed never to have sus- pected the fact that Purdue had been He had taken for granted that Durrance was himself a distant, misguided admirer of Adventure the girl. He would not have insulted Rose by asking about such a lout. Later he had probably learned that his success in love was a disappointment to Purdue. He had never shown anything but sym- pathy for that disappointment. All Sum- mer he had been making efforts to get acquainted with the man. Purdue had never returned a greeting until that acci- dental discovery that his rival could not swim. Hasting’s refusal to give up the effort to make friends with Purdue could have no.other reason than his innate liking for everybody. He simply didn’t want an enemy in the world—not even Durrance, since he had thrashed that bully. Be- sides, the faet that Purdue had been somewhat attentive to Rose had indicated to Hasting that Purdue must. possess some worthy traits. As Hasting felt that. henceforth he would become a more or less frequent visitor to the village, and as Mananlico contained all too few men worthy to know Rose Gardiner, he wanted all those few as friends: Of course little details, fine touches that would give finish to his big jest, had developed in Purdue’s mind during the fortnight after he had made that illum- ining discovery about Hasting’s glaring deficiency in aquatics, The main plan had leaped, full grown, into his brain the instant he heard the city man declare that he could not swim a stroke. Hardly a moment later, Hasting had turned around, seen Purdue and nodded as ever before. Then, for the first time, Purdue had mumbled some acknowledgment of recognition. Surprized,° apparently pleased, Has- ting had_opened a conversation on the spot. Purdue had avoided too sudden a change of front and avoided anything resembling effusiveness. He had never needed to meet the other half-way. Has- ting was willing to make all the advances his former rival would accept. To bring about a conversation on the respective «merits of gas and sail as means of pro- pulsion was easy. * There were plenty of people who main- tained that Purdue’s advocacy of sail was of a piece with his liking for a black hull. Sailboats make no _ betraying noises. Black hulls are hard to see on dark nights. A lot of. folk knew that OMG DOOKS (E@) mM : me Se eee A Se 2 aa aoe