Adventure Magazine Cover — page 19: what you’re looking at

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

Guns of the Gods . 9 “A big dog might serve better after all,” mused Tess. “Chamu beats the servants, and takes commissions—even from the beg- “How do you know?” “They told me.” “Um, Bing and Ping would better keep — There’s no obligation to camp ere.”’ “Only, if we fired Chamu I suppose the maharaja would be offended. He made such a great point of sending us a faithful servant.” . “True. Gungadhura Singh is a suspicious raja. He suspects me anyway. I screwed better terms out of him than the miller got from Bob White, and now whenever he sees me off the job he suspects me of chicanery. If we fired Chamu he’d think I’d found the gold and was trying to hide it. Say, if I asic t find gold in his blamed hills eventu: a eYou'll find it, Dick. You never faites at anything you really set your heart on. With your experience——” “Experience don’t count for much,” he answered, blowing at his tea to cool it. “Tt’s not like coal or manganese. Gold is where you find it—there are no rules.” “Finding it’s your trade. Go ahead.” “I’m not afraid of that. What eats me,’ he said, standing up and looking down at her, “‘is ‘what I’ve heard about their passion for revenge. Every one has the same story. If you disappoint them—gee whiz, look out! Poisoning your wife’s a sample of what they’ll do. It’s crossed my mind a score of times, little girl, that you ought to go back to the States and wait there till I’m through.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed him. “Tsn’t that just like a man!” “All the same——” “Go in, Dick, and get dressed, or the sun will be too high before you get the gang started.” She took his arm and they went into the house together. Twenty minutes later he rode away on his pony, looking if possible even more of an athlete than in his pajamas, for there was an added suggestion of ac- complishment in the rolled-up sleeves and scarred boots. laced to the knee. Their leave-taking was a purely American episode, mixed of comradeship, affection and just plain foolishness—witnessed by ‘more wondering, patient Indian eyes than they suspected. Every move that either of them made was always watched. As a matter of fact Chamu’s attention was almost entirely taken up just then by the crows, iniquitous black humorists that took | advantage of turned backs—for Tess walked beside the pony to the gate—to rifle the re- mains of chota hazri, one of them flying off with a spoon since the rest had all the edi- bles. Chamu threw a cushion at the spoon- thief and called him balibuk, which means “eater of the temple offerings,” and is an insult beyond price. “That is the habit of crows,” he explained indignantly to Tess as she returned laughing = to the veranda, picking up the cushion on her | way. ‘They are without shame. Garud, | who is king of all the birds, should turn) them into fish; then they could swim in water and be caught with hooks. But first Blaine sahib should shoot them wit a shotgun.” ae) of the problem, Chamu stood, with fat hands folded on his stomach. “The crows steal less than some people,” Tess answered pointedly. He preferred to ignore the remark. — “Or there might be poison added to some food, dnd the food left for them to see,” he suggested, whereat she astonished him, American women being even more incom- prehensible than their English cousins. “Tf you talk to me about poison I'll send HAVING offered that wise solution you back to Gungadhura in disgrace. Take - away the breakfast things at once.” “That is the Aamal’s business,” he re- : torted pompously. “The maharaja sahib is knowing me for most excelient butler. He himself has given me already very high recommendation. Will he permit opinions of other people who are strangers to con- tradict him?” The words “opinions of women” had trem- bled on his lips, but intuition saved that day. It flashed across even his obscene mentality that he might suggest once too often contempt for Western folk who worked for Eastern potentates. It was true he re- garded the difference between a contract and direct employment as merely a question of degree, ahd a quibble in any case, and he felt pretty sure that the Blaines would not risk the maharaja’s unchancy friendship by dismissing himself; but he suspected there were limits. »* Gomichbook (E@)