Adventure Magazine Cover — page 132: what you’re looking at

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

126 of subdued sobbing struck Kid McCrady’s ears. But he made no attempt to soothe or comfort his wife. He knew well enough that the only thing that would soothe and comfort her was for him to assure her that he would repudiate his contract to fight Lynn, and he felt that conditions. were such that he could not conscientiously repudiate that contract. Nor did he wish to repudiate it. The words Lynn had spoken against Kitty McCrady burned in McCrady’s brain like living fire. Nor did he feel that he could take. his wife into his confidence. repeating to her the dastardly he that had _been uttered against her character. He finished his breakfast silently and went away to work without seeing Kitty, whom he left still sobbing in the bedroom. He excused his conduct toward her then with the reflection that he must have time to consider before he tried to square himself with her. It would be a hard enough task, he well knew, to reconcile her, and perhaps sometime during the day some logical plan of defense for his position would occur to him. When he returned home that evening he found the house locked. That was ominous and evoked within him a keen sense of dread. He let himself in with his latch-key. Kitty was not there, but on the dining-room table he found a note. He picked it up with trembling hands and read it. “Tt isn’t your consenting to fight again, Charlie, so much as it is that you would deliberately break your promise without first consulting me,”’ was one of the sentences he read in that note. ‘‘And so I have gone back to my people,”’ was another. A sharp*pain racked Kid McCrady’s heart. He had counted too much upon his wife’s love to hold her and eondone his transgression. Yet he had somehow all along felt that she would do just what she had done—leave him. She was ‘exactly that sort of woman. Had he put it up to her in the right way as he should have done, explain to her that his fighting would bring them enough money to clear them of all debt, possibly she would have assented to his meeting Lynn. But she would never forgive him for breaking his promise without first consulting her. He saw his mistake when it was too late. Adventure He shrank from touch him up a little. 4 But he had not yet in fact broken his promise. It was not yet too late to repudi- ate the contract. What if he did? In that event Kitty would return. But would his conscience permit him to let the slander against her good name go unavenged? And what if he repudiated his contract to fight and punished Lynn wherever he found him? In that case doubtless Ike Trimble, out of pure, malicious revenge, would bruit it about that McCrady was too cowardly to protect his wife. Trimble would not hesitate to expose the secret that McCrady wished above all things to remain a secret. Trimble was like that. After many restless hours of consideration McCrady decided that he would fight. He felt that he must fight. He would lose his wife, perhaps, but better that than never again to be able to look her in the face. He could at least call himself a man and not a slinking creature too yellow to protect his own from vicious slander and lies. Even a savage would fight under such circumstances. Reem THE night of May 12 the North Ga Side arena was packed to the doors. Trimble had graded seat prices from ten dollars ringside to three dollars under the eaves. Five hundred seats in one section alone had been reserved for members of the Calumet Club and their friends, who came up to Midway, three miles distant from Mercer, in four chartered electric cars. If Kid McCrady lost the fight it would not be the fault of his fellow club members, who were there to root for him. The program started promptly at eight o’clock with a go between two welter- weights. Followed four fast rounds by a pair of bantamweights. These two bouts served to whet the appetites of the fans, and scarcely had dropped down from the ring than the au- dience set up a clamorous cry for the head- liners. “That Sounds like they’re about ready for us out there, Kid,” said Chick Ward, who, with two sparring partners and hand- lers was with McCrady in the dressing room allotted to them. “Better let the boys run over you again, Kid. Here, Johnny, Fred; Feeling all right, KidP”’ “Fine as_ silk,” - CoOmicoooKks j the bantamweights. answered McCrady ° (C@)