Adventure Magazine Cover — page 74: what you’re looking at

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

64 rope, which was supported near the other end by a spar, set upright in the ground. With his head through a noose, and pulled clear of the ground, an unfortunate kicked and squirmed about in the last agonies of strangulation. He was blue in the face, while his untied arms threshed wildly. Almost at the’ same instant Mashlugi caught sight of the pair. Without loosen- ing his own hold, nor expressing surprize at their unexpected appearance, he shouted something in his native tongue. “To with you!” replied Madison. Again came an order from the native, who had apparently understood Madison’s retort to his first command, though it had been spoken in English. “All right, old sport, I won’t then. When you get through hanging that guy, come down to the schooner and we'll talk bus- iness.”’ And without another word or glance Madison turned on his heel and walked over the hill. ‘The seaman followed close- ly. What'd that old cuss say?” he queried. “Told us to get hold of the rope with the rest of them. I wasn’t going to help hang the poor devil, so I told him to go to —. He said we couldn’t look on, so I replied we would go.” ‘“What’s the big idea, do you suppose?” “Oh, these people kill off their aged and infirm,’ Madison explained, “and con- sidering the hard life they lead and the. fact that it’s impossible to carry them along I suppose it is really a merciful thing to do, even though we don’t do things that way. “They give them the choice of being _ hanged, stabbed or shot. All parties take itasa matter of course. At East Cape once a fellow came in and stated his mother was pretty bad and he guessed they’d have to kill her. The chief looked her over and TV’ll admit she was in a bad way. She elected to be stabbed and they placed her on a skin, stripped to the waist. Then a man tore off a bit of his denim parka, wrapped it about the blade, threw himself down upon his face, muttered something, then after a single thrust it was all over.” “Hmmmml’ gasped the astonished sea- man, and with that he cast a doubtful glance at Madison, but decided from the grave expression upon the captain’s face, he was telling a matter of fact experience. Adventure EMALCROIT and old Mashlugi boarded the schooner shortly there- after. Yes, they had a _ goodly supply of furs and some fine ivory. All of which was stored near by. They hinted at Russian sable, various kinds of fox-pelts and the skins of other fur-bearing animals of the Far North—all in prime condition. In turn Madison mentioned the varied articles of trade he had brought, not for- getting to play up a “knocked-down”’ house suitable for the residence of a chief. The latter’s eyes glistened, and Madison was hopeful until they discussed terms. The chief was firm in his stand, even though his prices were impossible. Madison shook his head. “No, chief,” he told him in the native dialect. ‘You want too much. I can’t do business. You know me from the bus- iness we have done in the past. I have al- ways been just.” The chief acknowledged the justice of previous transactions, but held out for his price, and eventually stepped into his skin- boat and was paddled ashore. “Did you notice Mashlugi’s mucklucks?” queried the mate. “T did, now that you mention it,’’ re- plied Madison, ‘‘and I meant to ask him about them.”’ The captain seemed to be considering for a moment, then added: “T wonder if he’d trade them. If I could only find the reason for his peculiar style, then get the mucklucks, they’d bring a good price from a collecter of curios. I’m going ashore,” he added with decision. The mucklucks worn by Mashlugi were similar in every respect to those worn by the other members of his tribe save one. They were made of skin and reached to the knees, but on the outside of each had been sewn a second muckluck. This part was small, about four inches in length, and of proportional width, but from toe to top was an exact counterpart of those worn by Mashlugi, even to thongs for lacing them. As they were sewed along the top, leav- ing the bottoms to dangle, it was apparent they were never fashioned for human foot. In all his experience Madison had never seen anything like it, and knowing a good bit about the Siberian native and his super- stitions, he was interested in an explana- tion. COmiclbook C©