Adventure Magazine Cover — page 164: what you’re looking at

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

158 “He bids me go see them roasting him alive. Mercy, Don Pedro! Save him!” “Save whom?” barked the captain, al- most in exasperation. Brazo Largo answered him, explaining: “She to be my daughter—this. Captain Domingo, he come village, one year now, and carry her away with him. Carambal! Now I roast him and take her home.” He turned to the girl. “Vamos,” he commanded, continuing to use his primitive Spanish. “You are to come withme. You see him roast, then you come back village.” Captain Blood found the explanation amplé. It revealed to him the fact that in urging this raid of Santa Maria, Brazo Largo had used him and his buccaneers to exploit a private vengeance and to recover an ab- ducted daughter from Domingo Fuentes. But, however deserving of punishment that abduction might appear, it was also revealed that whether the girl had gone off willingly or not with the Spanish captain, his subse- quent treatment of her had been such that she now desired to stay with him and was concerned to the point of madness for his safety. “Tt is true what he says—that Don Do- mingo is your lover?” the captain asked her. “He is my husband, my married husband and my love,” she answered, a passion of en- treaty in her liquid eyes. ‘‘This is our little baby. Do not let them kill him, Don Pedro! Oh, if they do,” she moaned, “I shall kill myself.” Captain Blood looked across at the grim- faced Indian. “You hear. The Spaniard has been good to her. She desires his life. And his offence being as you say, it is her will that decides his fate. What have you done with him?” Both clamored at once, the father in an- gry, almost incoherent, remonstrance, the girl in passionate gratitude. She sprang up and caught his arm to drag him thence. But Brazo Largo, still protesting, barred the way. He conveyed that Captain Blood was violating the alliance between them. “Alliance!”’ snorted Blood. “You. have been using me as the monkey used the cat. You should have been frank with me, and told me of your quarrel with Don Domingo before I pledged myself that he should suffer no violence. As it is A He shrugged) and went out quickly with Adventure the young mother. Brazo Largo followed, glowering and thoughtful. Outside, Blood ran into Wolverstone and a score of men who were returning from the town. He ordered them to follow him, tell- ing them that the Indians were murdering the Spanish captain. “Good luck to them!” answered Wolver- stone, who had been drinking. Nevertheless, he followed, and the men with him, being in reality less bloody in deed than in speech. Beyond the breach in the palisade, they came upon the Indians—some forty of them—kindling a fire. Near at hand lay the helpless Don Domingo, bound with leathern thongs. The girl sped to him, crooning soft Spanish edearments. He smiled in answer out of a white face that yet retained some- thing of a scornful calm. Captain Blood, more practical, followed with a knife and slashed away the prisoner’s bands. There was a movement of anger among the Indians, instantly quelled by Brazo Largo. He spoke to them rapidly, and they stood disappointed but impassive. Wol- verstone’s men were there, musket in hand, blowing on their fuses. They escorted Don Domingo back to the fort, his little wife tripping between him and the buccaneer captain, whom she enlight- ened on the score of the Indians’ ready obe- dience to her father. “He told them that you must have your way since you had pledged your word that Domingo’s life should be safe: But that presently you would depart. Then they would return and deal with him and the other few Spaniards left here.” “We must provide against it,”’ said Cap- tain Blood, to reassure her. When they got back to the fort, they found that in their absence the remainder of the Indians, numbering rather more than a score, had broken into the shed where the Spaniards were confined. Fortunately, the business had only just begun, and the Span- iards, although unarmed, were sufficiently numerous to offer a resistance which so far had been effective. Nevertheless, Captain Blood came no more than in time to prevent a general massacre. When he had driven off his savage allies, the Spanish commander desired a word with him. “Don Pedro,” he said. life. It is difficult to thank you.” “T owe you my COPMICLOOOKS Cor