Adventure Magazine Cover — page 54: what you’re looking at

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

44 the word, Helen—I’m waiting! Speak!” Startled, alarmed and thrilled, she did not resist; but after a moment her lips tightened and her flushed face pleaded for his mercy. ‘‘No!”’ she gasped. Tom released the pressure of his hand and took a step backward. It was auto- matic. His face lost its flush though he still trembled. Her plea had been honored as she knew it would be. She knew her man. “I guess you're right,’ he muttered. “T’m only making a fool of myself. I shouldn’t.”’ The old smile broke over his face, and he held out a hand. ““Good-by, little friend!” She gave her hand and smiled also, though her eyes were moist. | Tom turned and strode out of the tent with the mashed provisions on his shoulder. In a short time his cavalcade started. In a minute more the riders turned out of sight in a bend of the gray cajion, leaving only a lazy cloud of dust to tell that they had ever existed. =x | THE little camp became lonely. rO ine Its members went about silently”or aaa! talked in low tones, for tragedy had thrown them together. Even Markum went about as he pleased, unhampered by the dour Pete. The presence of the still body of Jed Hill, now lying under a tar- Paulin in the superintendent’s shanty, dwarfed lesser matters and made them un- _ important. But old Pete was cogitating. Crooning profane songs while pottering about the store, Pete pondered over the ‘recent past, especially Markum’s end of it. The more he thought the angrier he grew. Once at his mother’s knee in the distant days of his mountaineer childhood he had heard the Biblical lesson about turning the other cheek to his enemies; but it didn’t stick. Now that Tom’s restraining in- fluence was gone Pete’s unholy desires gained headway. Toward sundown he came to certain conclusions. “Tom’s a leetle too durned legal. It’s all right to dicker with a regular gent that way, but when you’re dealin’ with a rattle- snake hit it with a rock.” By dusk Pete had evolved a complete Adventure program. He felt responsible for losing the mine, and he ached to redeem himself. By now the matter had simplified to two equations: Pete and Markum. That made it easier. With his mind at rest Pete strode up the hill toward the superintendent’s office, where a light came through a crack in’the open door. He edged into the doorway. The superintendent was away. Markum, ignoring the grim presence be- hind the closed door of the other room, was poring Over some papers on an impro- vised desk, with the light of a kerosene lamp throwing his grotesque black shadow along a rough board wall. He had taken some of his San Francisco memoranda with him to this place, losing not a day’s time. Pete watched as paper after paper was noted by the keen eye of a thorough business man. Then Pete grunted. Markum jumped like a cat. He. looked about and his mouth opened. He clutched his papers convulsively. But the quick pallor on his face receded. He remembered his pledge of safety and spoke in a voice intended to be brisk and business- like. ‘What do you want?” Pete swung through the door, closing it by a motion of his hip where the butt of a wicked forty-five protruded. Markum’s eyes widened, but Pete appeared quite amiable. — “Mr. Markum, when might you say a minin’-company is started workin’?” ‘Why? What do you mean? This mine?”’ ‘Any mine. When does it begin oper- ations official? When lumber and supplies arrive?” ‘“Why—er—I don’t understand your question. A company begins operations when it has the money to go ahead.” ‘And when she goes ahead you might say she was on her way?”’ “You might say that. Pete looked at the floor. “I’m an old man, Mr. Markum. Sorter old and tired. I ain’t so crazy to live as I used to be. I’m ready to leave any old time. ‘Take hangin’, for instance. The aver- age man’s skeered of it, but me—if it was worth my while I’d hang in a minute.” Markum felt a somber terror crawling over him, but he fought to control it. ‘“What’s this all about?” | Yes. Why?” COmiclbook CO