Adventure, January 20, 1922 — page 66: what you’re looking at

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

64 cumbrous arms and haversacks and a pas- sage of blades, and the Frenchman dropped, his life spouting from his breast. The short, murderous fight was eloquent of the flood of passions held in the flimsiest check by the exigencies of unified command. Davies glanced at L’Escuyler, and seized upon the moment to take full advantage of the trace of wavering he saw in the man. Had the French seaman proved victor, the result might have been different. “L’Escuyler, ye’re in minority o’ num- bers, and-my lads are techy,” Davies said, stepping alongside the Frenchman. ‘‘Do you step down and leave me to lead, at least until the lads have seen booty.” “What matters eet?” returned the Frenchman with a shrug. “Eet is each for all, and all for each, yes. Good! Monsieur Davies shall be ze leader.” Outwardly the change was made without friction; but another inflammable item was added thereby to the combustible mass, already at ignition point. High noon in the forest raised the blood to fever heat until Nell Clark stumbled on blindly, fainting on her feet like any woman for all her mannish guise, and Ed Davies was forced to call a halt for very uncertainty of his mongrel army. They halted in -a_ferny glade within a dense thicket of wild bana- nas and pandanus, and flung themselves on the grass in search of coolness near the ground, “Can’t Halt for many minutes, Nell)” muttered Davies, bringing cool water in his hat and sprinkling her face and chest with it. ‘See the Frenchman how he glowers.”’ “Aye; and Cook, since I marched wi’ you, Ed.” “Scurvy seize both of ’em, Nell; but ha’ ye watched Swan? Pray we come to the town and open the assault before our own lads begin a war o’ their own.’’ Bravo, the parrot, fluttered from Nell’s shoulder and perched on-a swinging vine as a faint rustling sounded in the thicket. It was too faint to attract notice from any but the bird; and the town was supposed to be too far away yet for any of its people to be feared. But the bird cocked his head sidewise, flapped his wings, and screamed raucously: “Ther’s blood on th’ moon! awk!” “Por Dios!’ cried a startled, fearful voice in the thicket, and a Spanish soldier burst Raw-aw- Adventure through and fled along the jungle path in terror. “Get him!” roared Davies, and Goliath bounded after the fleeing figure and brought the man back in his arms like a baby. “Let me talk th’ rover’s tongue to him,” cried Swan, running forward and seizing the captive. : He drew a cord from his belt, swiftly tied it about the Spaniard’s temples and then slipped his pistol ramrod between skin and cord. He gave the rod a turn, tightening the cord, and ‘spoke sharply in good Spanish— ‘Had ye companions?” The terrified man gasped a negative. The cord received another twist. “Tad ye companions? Speak true, dog o’ Satan!” The negative was screamed now. Still the cord was twisted. “The truth, or I'll pluck out yer heart!” snarled Swan. The wretched Spaniard denied the query again. | ‘“He’s speaking truth, Swan,” cried Davies, reaching out and staying further torment of the man. -‘‘Now ask him how far distant is the town, and what defenses lie on the landward side... Quick!” The man answered Swan’s questions in a frenzy of haste, in fear of that terrible cord. “The dog says no defenses lie on this side. The fort commands the anchorage. He was following an Indian wench when he stumbled upon us, and hid for very terror. ’Twas the parrot speaking as forced voice from his dry throat. The town lies but half a league distant, and the forest creeps ° right up to the outer houses.’’ Davies glanced through the trees, meas- uring the hour by the descending sun. He needed San Juan del Sur to keep as a base; his ships had orders to come up to the town on the morrow, when it would either be taken or there would be dire need for the ships as a refuge for the beaten expedition; but he wanted the town without loss to himself if possible, and if he could reach the place before the siesta hour was ended a complete surprize would give him an easy conquest. ‘Forward!’ he cried, and entered the forest by an almost imperceptible path indicated by the trembling captive. He had not gone three paces when a pis- tol-shot cracked out behind him, and he. S CORnICGLOO© (C@