Adventure Magazine Cover, October 10, 1921 — page 84: what you’re looking at

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

74 “Mademoiselle of Armenteers, Pa-a-arley-voo! She smoked our butts and bummed our beers, Pa-a-arley-voo! She had cock-eyes and jackass ears And she hadn’t been kissed for forty years, Rinky dinky-parley-voo!’’ As his musical effort ended, out from the dense jungle hemming in the town burst a hideous roaring howl. Again and again it sounded in a horrible crash of noise. “Holy Saint Pat!’ gasped Tim, throwing his rifle to port and bracing his feet. “Now look what I went and done! Is that the echo, or a couple dozen jaggers all fightin’ to oncet?” ~ “Guariba, Senhor Ree-ann,” snickered Joao. “Not jaguars—no. Only one little guartba monkey. The howler.” “G’wan! Ye’re kiddin’! “But no, amigo. ItisasI tell you. One monkey. It is sunset and the jungle awakes.” “My gosh, Ill say it does. Sounds like a Sat’day night row in a Second Av’noo saloon, except there ain’t no shootin’. Guess you boys have some night-life too, even if ye are away back in the bush.” “Time for us to move, Tim,” laughed Knowlton. “It'll be dark in no time. Joao, will you have our baggage moved to the hotel?” : “Si, senhor. Immediatamente. Antonio —Jorge—Rosario! And you too, Meldo— vem cél Carry the bundles of the gentlemen to the hotel, presto! Proceed, senhores. I, Joao d’Almeida Magalhaes Nabuco Pes- tana da Fonseca, will remain here on guard until all your possessions have been trans- ported. Proceed without fear.”’ CHAPTER III THE VOICE OF THE WILDS Nike eyes twinkling again, awaited them at the top of the hotel’s street- ladder. ‘Rooms any good, Rod?” hailed Knowl- ton. “Best in the house, Merry.” ‘“‘See any insects in the beds?” “Nary a bug—in the beds.”’ The twinkle grew. ‘Didn’t look in the bureaus or behind the mirrors. Come look ’em over.”’ Entering a sizable room evidently used for dining—for its chief articles of furniture were two tables made from planed palm- Adventure trunks—McKay waved a hand toward, 3 row of four doorways on the right. _ “First three are ours,” he explained. “Only vacancies here. Eight rooms in this hotel—the other four over there.” He pointed across the room, on the other side of which opened four similar doors. ‘“‘They’re occupied by two sick men, one drunk—hear him snore?—and one she-goat which is kidding.” “Huh?” Tim snorted suspiciously. think ye’re the one that’s kiddin’, cap.” “Not a bit. I looked. The last room on this side is the Dutchman’s and these are ours. Take your pick. They’re all alike.” Knowlton stepped to the nearest and looked in. For a moment he said no word. Then he softly muttered: “Well, I'll be spread-eagled!”’ ‘““Me, too,’”’ seconded Tim, who had been craning his neck. The room was absolutely empty. No bed, no chair, no bureau, no rug—nothing at all was in it except two iron hooks. Its floor consisted of split palm-logs, round side up, between which opened inch-wide spaces. Its walls were rusty corrugated iron, guilt- less of mirrors or pictures, which did not reach to the roof. “Observe the excellent ventilation,” grinned McKay. ‘Wind blows up through the floor—if there is any wind—and then loops over the partition into the next fellow’s room.”’ “Yeah. And I'll say any guy that drops his collar-button is out o’ luck. It goes plunk into the mud, seven foot down under the house. But say, cap, how the heck do we sleep? Hang ourselves up on them hooks?” “Exactly.” “Kind o’ rough on a feller’s shirt, ain’t it? And the shirt would likely pull off over yer head before mornin’.”’ “Yes. Probably would. But the secret is this—you’re supposed to hang your ham- mock on those hooks. You provide the hammock. The hotel provides the hooks. What more can you ask of a modern hotel?” “Huh! And if a guy wants a bath, there’s the river, all full o’ ’gators and cattawam- puses and things. And if ye eat, I s’pose ye rustle yer own grub and pay for eatin’ it off that slab table there. There’s jest one thing ye can say for this dump—a feller can spit on the floor. But with all them cracks in it he might not hit it. at that. At | COmiclbooks Cc C©