Adventure Magazine Cover — page 27: what you’re looking at

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

Tupahn the Thunderstorm “The Storm roars loud,” he said in a thin but firm voice? “but the Storm strikes straight. The Bat is chief. None but the Bat rules while the Bat lives. Tupahn and his men are welcome. They shall have what is theirs. A feast shall be made for them.” There was no question that he still was chief. Old and weak, but all the more jealous of his power because of his age, he would not let the pajé make all his decisions for him. I gave that angry but silent medi- cine-man a nasty grin and began looking around again for the senhorita. But the next words of the Bat struck like a blow. “But Tupahn seeks his woman in the wrong place. No white woman has come here.”’ For a moment we stood like staring fools, shocked dumb. Then the thought came to me that the old man lied. But, studying his face, I doubted it. It was an honest old face, and his tone had the ring of truth. And, as has been said, we had found no white girl there. Again I looked at those red spear-points, and I spoke out harshly. “Then what have the men of Andirah done with her? She was taken by them from the place where the man was killed. We have followed the trail and we know. Are the men of the Bat like that Black Hawk who ruled them—destroyers of women?” Senhor Tom growled. His right hand lifted to the butt of his revolver. But Pedro’s hand closed over his, holding it down. “Tupahn is wrong,” evenly. ‘The man of Tupahn is wrong also. No man of the Bat ever followed Black Hawk. No man of the Bat hurts women. No woman has been _ brought here. “The men of the Bat found at the water two men. One was a man of Black Hawk. That man had done evil to the people of Andirah in time gone by. For that evil he was killed today by the men of Andirah. “The other man was brought here. It was his trail which came to this maloca. Tupahn has followed the wrong trail.”’ Numbly we stood there after the chief’s words ended. The Bat, honest as ever, looked straight at us. The priest and the other Tucunas stood wooden-faced. There was no sound but the soft hiss of firewood cooking the chief’s dinner. the chief answered ~- Then Senhor Tom made a choking noise. “God!” he muttered: ‘Two men! They carried her down the creek—and last night while they drifted He could not finish. We knew his thought: that before dawn the girl had been mur- dered—after those two brutes had their way. I felt sick. Then I burned with sudden fury. “Where is that other man?” I snarled. “Give him to us! Heis ourenemy. A foul, murdering dog who belongs to us. If he still lives, bring him here!’ Andirah sat a moment considering. While he hesitated the pazé growled again. ‘“‘Andirah, chief of the people of the Bat, does what he will with his own prisoners. He takes no command from any man.” The priest had turned Senhor Tom’s own weapon against us. As before, the old chief was quick to assert his power when re- minded of it. ‘“‘The man is the prisoner of the Bat,’ he agreed. ‘“The Bat will deal with him at his own time. Tupahn shall have what is his. The Bat also shall keep what is his. Tupahn must hunt his woman in the forest. She is not here.” “Bring that man here!” roared Senhor Tom. But the chief repeated stubbornly. ‘“‘The man is the prisoner of the Bat.” He was right. His men, not we, had caught that captive. And I saw that Andirah was growing angry and some of his men looked grim. To stay longer would be worse than useless. So again I told Senhor Tom how matters stood. He gritted his teeth, but kept his head. 3 “Tupahn goes,” he said shortly. As if giving us a silent command, he waved a hand outward toward the chief. We strode forward and gathered up our belongings. The rifle and machete of the dead man we threw aside, though we ached to take the gun also. But that gun was not oie, ours, and every Indian was watching. Be-' sides, we were supposed to have left our own guns outside. Yet we got that gun after all. As we three turned away the Bat’s good nature returned. “Tupahn will not stay to feast with Andirah?” he asked. ‘Then let Tupahn take as a gift the gun that shot him.” comichbook (E(@)