Adventure Magazine Cover — page 133: what you’re looking at

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

132 indissolubly with the expansion of its trade, the crushing of its rivals and the mastery of new routes into the East, such as gave to Venice the monopoly of the great salt indus- try. The methods of the council were se- cretive and cruel, but Venetian judges winked at this, so long as the trade-routes were held, concessions secured and enemies weakened. Of these enemies Genoa was then the most pressing. A few years before the army and fleet of Genoa had almost crushed the city of the lagoons—Venice being freed only by the dogged courage of Pisani and the in- trepidity of Carlo Zeno. Since then Genoa had used every means to extend its trade to the eastward, away from the immediate power of the Venetian galleys. Both cities had vied in making agree- ments with the on-sweeping Osmanli Em- pire which was even then extending from Anatolia into the mainland of Europe. But behind the armies of Bayezid were the spices, silks and jewels of India, Persia and China—veritable Golcondas to the trading- cities which paid fat tribute for the privilege of plying the Black Sea and tapping the Damascus and Aleppo caravan-routes. So much Michael Bearn knew. Standing close to the wall of the whisper- ing chamber, he found that the two holes fitted his eyes and that he could see a long table covered with papers and globe-maps behind which sat a dozen masked men and before which stood the carefully groomed form of Ruy de Gonzales Clavijo. The council was in sectet session. A masked attendant clad in the manner of those who had ushered Bembo and Michael to the place stood by the closed door. Mi- chael, studying the forms of the men behind the long table, singled out one in the cen- ter as Contarini and at the first words: knew that he was right. The voices rang clearly in his ear, con- ducted by a cleverly contrived gallery that ran from the shadows over the table to the wall above Michael’s head. ““Signor,’’ began the man in the center of the councilors. ‘You were summoned to speak the truth. Do not fail.” Clavijo glanced at the speaker swiftly, and measured the ring of masked faces. His brow was moist and his plump cheeks were flushed. “This evening—” he responded. “This evening,’ Contarini took him up, Adventure -_ “vou babbled much nonsense and some news. Signor, we are concerned now with the trade of Venice. Frequently we have heard of a Tatar or Cathayan potentate beyond the Sarai Sea. We wish to learn if it was his court you visited.”’ At this Clavijo nodded understandingly. He looked serious, now that he had weighed the mood of these men. “Aye, signor. Last night, I was about to ‘remark, I spoke mainly of fabulous gems and garments and such like, for the pleasuring of the ladies. But now I place the poor fruits of my journey at your service. Ques- tion me, therefore, at your will.” “Exactly where lies this city?” ““As you have said, beyond the Sarai Sea, a journey of a week.by horse, until you come to the foot of the Ettag * Mountains, called by the natives the Golden Mountains. The way lies over the desert floor and is perilous indeed.” “So, one may go by sea to Trebizond, where we have a bailio and thence—” Con- tarini consulted a map—‘‘by caravan across the land of the tribes. Karabak, it is writ- ten here?”’ ye = “Aye, my lord. Marvelous it is to know © that in that land there is a pillar of everlast- ing fire, rising from the ground with a blue flame——” “Naphtha!” broke in a councilor. “Near to Batum. No miracle about that.” Michael studied the eyes of the question- ers, greatly interested, much to Bembo’s _ surprize. “Not in the least,’’ assented Clavijo gravely. ‘Yet there also I beheld the holy mountain of Ararat where first the blessed ark came to land after the Flood. And be- yond there, my lords—beyond there lie the | fields of solid salt, at the foot of the Sarai Sea, which signifies in Cathayan—Sea of Salt.” ' The councilors looked up at this, for the monopoly of the salt-trade was one of the greatest avenues of profit to Venice. “That is good!’ Contarini made a note and Clavijo smiled. ‘‘Now, what of your statement that this Cham of Cathay is | aged beyond human years and a magician?” “My lord, does he not dwell in this para- dise of Cathay and was not the holy garden of Eden also a paradise? Have we not the_ testimony of the Bible itself that therein is no such thing as human age? Was not the * The Akh-tagh. COMMCIOO SoCo