Adventure Magazine Cover — page 26: what you’re looking at

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

20 enough; to offer violence to the Emperor’s daughter would make things too hot for them altogether. Pursuit was inevitable. They had cap- tured a great prize. At one stroke they had done as much as many men of their calling had achieved in all their career. Avary saw himself going home a rich man—to America perhaps—settling where he was unknown. Horton was right. —— fly away with the woman; it was time to be sure of his own shares. There had been an agreement that it was every crew for itself, to be divided later according to the rule of each ship, in shares apportioned by the captains, approved by the quartermasters, diced for by the men. The bullies from the sloops were wasting no time gathering their harvest. Some one touched Avary on the elbow. He turned to see one of the women of the ranee’s train, her face veiled, offering him a casket of ebony inlaid with pearl, the lid of which she held open. Inside was a daz- zling iridescence of jewels. Avary took it and the woman fled. Horton had gone off on his own collecting. Avary poured the gems into his palm and stowed them in his breeches pockets, tossing the casket aside. He motioned to the sur- rendered rajas to take guard across the cabin door. For whatever reason the gems had reached him, he took them as a salve to his pride. In his heart he knew himself glad not to have forced an issue with the ranee. mn TO SUCH crude appraisers the * wealth of the Mogul’s ship was in- calculable. Diamonds, rubies and other gems, bar-gold and silver, besides those metals wondrously wrought in the offerings for the shrine of Mohammed. Ivory, rich silks woven, raw silks, carpets, valuable spices—most of which they left or threw wantonly overboard—it made a goodly showing. five thousand pounds sterling a share. The loot was brought to the foot of the mainmast of each vessel and there stowed in chests under the eyes of the crews’ repre- sentatives. Flight was the main thing be- fore an irresistible force should assemble against them. They left the dhow winging back toward India, bereft of all its precious merchan- dise, bearing some killed and many wounded Roughly it might bring. Adventure in its defense. The pirates would soon be identified with the crews that had landed at Karachi and made inquiries. The hue and cry would be up. There was no. sense in staying to await trouble. When the dhow was hull down Fulke and Neill came aboard The Duke for a captains’ carouse of celebration. Before the limits of sobriety were reached Avary set forth the plan his cheating, greedy brain devised. Every man was supposed, without fail and on grievous penalty, to bestow in the mutual treasure-heap all his gleanings. Without doubt there were many who held out small trinkets. Avary had disclosed nothing of the gems from the casket. But he could not keep the thought out of his mind that if the present shares were worth five thousand pounds they would have been three times that amount if the sloops had not been with them. — In his specious way he flattered the sloops’ commanders and complimented them on their bearing, their bravery, their resource and their worth as companions so that they vowed him—their wits diluted by wine— the prince of good fellows. They even com- plimented him on the tactics he had shown in the fight, swearing them worthy of the great Morgan—since they had turned out so well. Worse for themselves, they believed what they said. His was the ‘master mind.” Avary, using his own liquor wisely, baited them along. ‘Now, look you,” he said at last, judging the moment ripe. “There is instant necessi- ty for securing all this property that we have acquired in some safe place—ashore—where it can not be sunk nor easily overhauled and where it may be more easily guarded. And the greatest difficulty lies in getting it ashore; for if either of your sloops should be attacked alone you could make but © slight resistance, you must either be sunk or taken with all your booty aboard. “For my part, I think my ship so strong, so well manned and so swift sailing that I do not deem it possible for any other to take or overcome us. Let us seal up this treasure of ours, you keeping your keys, placing it all upon my ship. Then if we are forced by stress or storm to quit company we will appoint a rendezvous. “Let us make it the bay where I found you on the beach. The king is friendly— we will make him more so. There we will build us a fort and leave always a guard CORmNICLOOOKS (C@)