Adventure, January 20, 1922 — page 67: what you’re looking at

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

Tides of Hate whirled around to see Swan, smoking pistol in hand, kicking aside the Spaniard’s dead body. He started back in anger when Nell’s voice rang out. “Murdering swine!” she cried; and dis- charged her own pistol in Swan’s face. The ball missed him, but the flame scorched his face, and his whiskers smoked. He stared at the woman in ludicrous aston- ishment, and from her to Davies, in whose angry face he read approval of Nell’s action. ‘Fla’ done, Nell,” snapped Davies, seeing nothing could be done for the Spaniard. “°Tis beyond help now, though I wish ye had not missed Swan, the butcherin’ hound.” He met Swan’s glaring eye as he spoke, and then turned on his heel and led the march without another word. aay march the muttered oaths and be- i wildered comments on his unac- countable sympathy with the attempted killing of Swan, who had done only what any decent pirate should have done, were not confined to any one party alone, but entered into the low chatter of every man except perhaps Goliath and Steve Carr, with a very few men of the Cadiz. L’Es- cuyler in particular showed a sort of sneer- ing elation, for he saw clearly that the usurper to the command that was his by right would have to show something very compelling in order to offset his amazing exhibition of soft-heartedness. The thing which puzzled John Cook, and the Frenchman too, was the queer behavior of Nell Clark. Cook had known her to be much less solicitous of an enemy’s safety; the Frenchman knew her only. by reputation, plus whatever opinion he had formed concerning her while in his ship. The last six furlongs of the march proved almost too long. Little side quarrels sim- mered throughout every fathom of the way, and Swan’s men, who had started out as the crew of the true leader of the entire venture, grew mutinous and blatant as the heedless chatter of the others around them became more and more inharmonious. Steel had been drawn a dozen times, and blood let as often, when Davies at last halted abruptly on the edge of the jungle and raised his hand. BUT for the renvainder of the jungle “L’Escuyler and Cook,” he cried sharply,. “T leave to you the seaward forts. ‘Take 65 ’em in rear and ye should have ’em in hand by sundown. Swan, take all your crew and drive through the city in broad line, keep- ing non-combatants to their houses. We shall meet, wi? what fortune happens, on the seashore in an hour. Forward! And let there be no butchery o’ citizens, or ye reckon with me.” ‘“‘And what are ye doin’ in this fine ven- ture?”’ sneered a man of Cook’s crew. Goliath seized the man by the neck in his two huge hands and lifted him from the ground, holding him there while he looked at Davies for orders. “T?” laughed Davies without anger. “TI make the attack on the front o’ the forts, my lad. Let him go, Goliath.” Goliath let go one hand-grip, shifted it to the man’s belt and hove him bodily headlong after his fellows. Then when the band had disappeared into the outskirts of the rambling town Davies called his own men together with a whistle and led them at the double through the jungle to the shore. Here he halted them until he heard scattering shots fired behind the fort, and a great gun to seaward boomed out the vain alarm. : ‘See, lads,” he cried, “‘they take fright. Already they are ‘shifting the great guns from seaward to the landward side. Patience a moment, then iy Pandemonium burst loose in the town behind the fort. A medley of shots of many degrees of weight shattered the late after- noon silence, and the few great guns already moved thundered forth their answer. The men behind Steve Carr and Goliath licked their chops as they rammed home pistol-balls, taut-strung good old yew bows, and waited upon their leader’s word. At least Davies’ own men were with him to the uttermost gasp now the action had begun. “Now lads!” Davies uttered in quiet, penetrating tones. ‘Give quarter where tis asked, trouble no citizens unless they fight wi’ the soldiery, and, if ye want to share in the true treasure we all came for, do no wanton destruction. Remember, I ha’ told ye, ye’re true mariners and no pirates up to now. Ye’re at war wi’ the Don, but ye ha’ no traffic wi’ butchers o’ women and babies, nor robbin’ o’ altars. Ready?’ “Aye! Huzza f’r Ed Davies an’ Mis- tress Nell. Satan seize John Cook an’ th’ dropsical frog!” roared the ribald crew. comicbook (C@