Adventure Magazine Cover — page 25: what you’re looking at

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

Plunder The eunuch to the right fell with a ball be- tween his eyes. The second Avary shot through the top of his head as the man stooped and smote sidewise, scything at Avary’s knees, the pirate leaping nimbly to avoid the stroke. | Curtains of heavy silk partly veiled the door to the inside cabin. He swept these aside, broke the bolt with a kick and strode in. There were several women crouching and kneeling about a central figure, but Avary saw only the one who stood dominant, regal, from whom emanated such a force that Avary felt his own mean spirit shriveling before the inherent majesty of the ranee who outfaced him. A veil of silver tissue covered the lower part of her face; a band of it was drawn across her crescent brows. She was supremely beautiful. The eyes held Avary; they seemed to grow luminous, absorbing all space. In them was somewhat of horror but nothing of fear. They were deep wells of disdain and of pur- pose, regarding him as something to be despised, the meanest of all living things that held power to kill or to force death. That was all he might ever do to a woman like this—daughter of the Great Mogul— reigning princess in her own right. Once he had captured a wild bird in his youth and watched it die on its perch, its eyes fearless, implacable, untamed to the end. There was no common speech between them; neither knew the other’s language. But emotion was bared, and Avary knew himself for an ugly, mean thing in her eyes while he saw her He drew a bloody hand across his eyes to wipe off the sense of compulsion her eyes gave him. He saw then that she grasped a jeweled knife, the point resting between her breasts. She made no gesture, but he knew that a step forward from him meant death for hcr rather than the smirch of his touch. No matter how he had found and captured her, she would have thought only of self destruction once he had held her. A dull rage fought with his will’s sur- render to her inherent superiority. He strove to lash himself to forceful, arrogant action as became a conqueror, to meet her scorn with brutality. But his forces were at the ebb; the excitement of wine and fight were dying down. He had a most em- phatic, bewildering sensation of actually dwindling in size under the serene scorn of the ranee’s steady gaze. Thus taken aback he stood irresolute when Horton rushed in and caught him by the arm. “Come away, man! Leave the women alone. The fat’s i’ the fire. There’s a dhow been hove-to watching the whole thing. She’s gone now on the wind. I but caught glimpse of her sail-tips. We’d never over- haul her. She’ll have the Mogul’s fleet— aye, and the East. India fleet, too, scouring the seas after us. Injure any of those women—yon’s the Mogul’s daughter, I take it—and the hue and cry’ll reach home to England. We trade in India by the Mogul’s good will. “Come on. Fulke and Neill are gathering the best of the loot. There’s enough to set us up for the rest of our lives. But we want to clean up and get clear.” He tugged at Avary’s arm, and the latter shook him off. The spell of the ranee was dissolving. “T’ll take her aboard,’ he muttered. . her for a jade; I’ll take that look out of her eyes! I’ ee “You'll do naught of the sort. A woman aboard? To bring us all the bad luck of the seas. The crew would never stand for ’t. Think you Neill and Fulke would let you keep her? D’ye think to make peace with the Mogul because you ravish his daughter? Come out, you fool!” Through the door came some of the crew, their booty tucked in the fold of one arm, seeking more. Horton drove them back. “Out—out! alone.” He forced Avary along with him. The captain looked over his shoulder once at the ranee standing like a statue, save for her glowing eyes, the knife still threatening her bosom. He shook his shoulders, shrug- ging away a situation he could not control. “Who first saw this dhow?” he asked Horton as the mate pointed out two tiny flecks that faded away into the horizon haze. “The quartermaster soon after we board- ed. Then forgot about it. She was stand- ing up then. They’ve seen the whole affair. Tis for us to gut this fat fish we have.caught and clear south.” Avary nodded. Horton spoke sooth. The Mogul would be likely to appeal to the East India Company, threaten to repeal its charter and privileges if such an outrage were not_redressed. To spoil the ship was The women are to be left COMmMiCoooks 19 (C@