Adventure Magazine Cover — page 156: what you’re looking at

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

; —" .. Pe I FF ’ spied the sickly yellow face of the man who had nailed me to the tree and who now, no doubt, was putting some fresh deviltry into ‘the heads of his followers. And for the first time since my comrades and I had smelled those peccaries in the bush, sen- hores, I laughed as I thought that even while that merciless band plotted more murder and torment, death was creeping silently around them, and the fate they planned for others soon would burst upon themselves. And the savages, understand- ing, grinned back at me a sharp-toothed grin of death and hate. The time dragged. We knew that in the forest around the clearing our men were slipping into their places, that the guards on the other trails were dying or dead, that we should soon spring out on our enemies. But it seemed that night would come be- fore we moved. I could feel my heart pounding as if it would break my ribs, and hear the wild men grind their teeth with the lust for battle, though they made no other sound or movement. And then the waiting ended. From the north rose a deep, roaring yell—the war- cry of the chief. Instantly a rain of arrows whizzed into the Peccaries grouped at the barracdo. And as they yelped and jumped under the shock, and some fell dead, out from the northern forest burst the fighting-chief and his spearmen, and up from the southwestern trail rose the shrill yell of the sub-chief’s men breaking cover. My own six savages surged forward; but I sharply ordered them back and opened fire with my rifle. I shot fast, but I shot straight, and at each explosion a Peccary staggered and fell. And then, dropping the rifle, I drew my two revolvers. And with a frightful roar my men dashed forward with me. As we ran a burst of arrows and poisoned darts whirred around us and. over us into the bandits. And as we ran we saw that most of the Peccaries were running also— running for their rifles—though some stood and shot with their révolvers. Already the ground was littered with dead, and more than one of those who ran for guns never lived to use thems because of the poisoned blow-gun darts that had struck them. — And now behind us and all around us rang the screechés of the bowmen, who came charging to closer quarters, lest they hit Adventure their own men closing in. The air was full of yells of hate, cries of fear, screams of dying men, the snarl of arrows ripping into bare flesh and the smashing reports of. guns. Ma SHOOTING with both hands, I ran straight for the barracao of the Yel- low One, who had suddenly dis- appeared. A few men who still stood in our path and answered_my fire went down quickly. Others, terrified by the ferocious charge of my clubmen and the long spears, fled from our path. So fast did we run that we reached that barracio just as the Yellow One came bounding out of it with a rifle. He shot instantly, and one of my wild men coughed and fell’ dying. Then I leaped at him, dropping my revolvers, and caught him by the throat_so savagely that he went down, losing his rifle in the fall. As we struck the ground I clamped my legs around his hips so that he could not draw his revolver or knife, and then I sank my fingers deep in his throat. Surprize and fear flashed across his face as he recog- nized me. Then he squirmed like a snake and fought like a jungle-cat, so that I had all I could do- to keep my grip. But I kept it, and as I crushed the breath from him I forgot the chief’s orders and my own resolve not to kill this man. I throttled him, senhores, until his face was black and his struggles grew weak. And then I remembered, and let go, and started to rise. His right hand went to his revolver. But I grabbed one of my own revolvers from the ground and struck him on the head with it. He fell back senseless. Swiftly I disarmed him, and looked about for something to tie him with. Finding nothing, I bounded into his barracdéo, where his three women were huddled in a corner in fright; and there I found ropes, and ran out again, and bound him so that he could not move when he should get his senses back, and dragged him to the side of the house and threw him down there. And then, with his revolver and my own, reloaded, I turned back to the fight. By this time the battle was raging all over the village. Near me stood the war-chief, roaring his war-cry to his men;and around him a little knot of clubbers, spearmen, and blow-gun men were rushing back and forth, ie I ee ee ae ee rs * sa |s - = <i tae —_ ates SP ee o > eo"