Adventure Magazine Cover — page 126: what you’re looking at

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

I16 “Moreover, there is five thousand in it for any man that will remove a certain person who is in the city, but who is reported to be dead. That’s all. The hearing is set for eight o’clock—don’t forget what you saw.” And Garth left the office himself. As Dan made his way up to the linen- closet he told himself: “Garth is certainly cleaning up quick—he intends to make a clean sweep before to- morrow night; but why did he tell Brenner that?” He later specified: “Telling Brenner five thousand for taking me off the earth! Did he expect Brenner to take his little old gat and go get him a mess of Dan Wheelers? He did noi! He was just obfuscating the issue. He is going to do his own rat-killing—he thinks! Let him think!” In the upper hall he ran into Drake, who saw him with a sigh of relief. “You were gone so long I couldn’t stand it any longer. I came to see if Garth had discovered your rat-hole and smothered you in it.” “YT never thought of that—he might.” Dan paused thoughtfully. His cue had slipped as usual and the effect was quaint. He suddenly remembered: “But we are all right! It’s easy now— Garth is wise to the whole thing except that we're onto him! He’s laughing himself sick.” “What do you mean? He knows you are alive, and the stone not lost?” “And that you are going to buy back the other one,” Dan nodded. “And he is going to let you do it—¢get his hands on all the cash he can scrape together. Then—yjust before the steamer sails—day after tomorrow night —he’s going to capture the whole outfit on the way across the bay—Prince lotu, the Twins, Miss Lina and the rest of us. _ “He is going to take the Twins and Miss Lina aboard the Kronprinz and off they go! The rest of us on the Lina W. I understand he intends to blow up—just for a sort of fireworks—grand-stand finish! Ain’t he sweet?” “He would do it! He could do it—” Drake was white-lipped—“if you had not discovered it in time. It is so simple—so simply savage and impossible—that nobody but Garth would have framed it.” As the frightful picture rose before him, Drake had to control his voice as he said— “But we ought to be able to block it now.” “Easy! Get the Senator and Lu Yan into Adventure action—and have Brendon go to the com- mander of the Victoria,” said Dan. “They. are next-door neighbors or something over- across—look!”’ He interrupted himself eagerly. “The commander of the Aronpring is leery of mixing it with the British Govern- ment, but nobody gives a hoot what the U. S. says. Why not have the wedding tomorrow or next day. That would spike one of their guns anyway.” “IT don’t imagine they would care to kid- nap Lady Brendon,” Drake reflected. ‘But I am not sure the couple are——?” “Don’t know they’re going to marry?” Dan chipped in crisply. ‘But we do, and we'll tell ’em. See? What’s the use fooling along?” “Not any—you’ll tell ’em,”’ said Drake. “Who—me?!”’ Dan exploded. Then with blanching cheeks— “Well, I can do it!” Then with a look down at his “scenery”— “T see myself doing it!” Drake laughed—a thing that happened once in a blue moon, and took his arm. “T didn’t mean it. I will do it. But you go tell Lu Yan and I'll see the Senator. There is the mine business to be settled, and the Senator will buy Garth out. All we have to do then is to block Garth’s piracy plot and arrange for the wedding. It does look as if you had solved the problem and ended our troubles—if we make no mistake.”’. “T told you it was easy,” said Dan. ‘Find out the other fellow’s game and beat him to it!” He added: “Better not come with me—so long!” Dan hurried back to Lu Yan, who would be uneasy until he appeared, and ruminated thus: Pe “That settles Brendon. Just let me get'a liking for anybody and he goes and gets himself shot, or hanged, or married—but this zs so sudden! .Well—variety is the mother of action, and action is all the difference between a stiff and a live one. Gimme action!” With his cue askew he darted along the narrow streets, fairly boiling over with life and vitality. There was plenty of activity in prospect—and the world was bright. If only there were a little scrap round the corner—just for exercise. A truck-driver at a crossing swore at him with a felicity that bespoke real spirit, and GOMIIGooOoO S (©)