Adventure Magazine Cover — page 187: what you’re looking at

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

The Mahogany Garden attack, drove his fist with terrific force squarely in the center of the repulsive face, hurling him back on the son so that both staggered into the midst of the mozos. Don Felipe slipped to the ground, bathed in blood. Trying to get out the pistol as he ran, Haskell made for the nearest horse, the mozos now Close on his heels, and, through surprise, he had gained enough lead to leap into the saddle, strike the other horses right and left and send them stampeding. He galloped through the village, shouting to the third boat to put away and make haste to the camp. Relieved from the fear of Don Felipe’s carbine, the men pulled away with a will, and Haskell turned to note the stage of the pursuit. One of the mozos was ahorse and another was coming on with speed afoot. Drawing the carbine and making sure of the charge, he checked his horse and fired once—twice—thrice. The first shot stopped the runner in a pile in the dust. At the third the mounted mozo reeled in the saddle and the American rode on. He could not go down the beach to the camp. He could only follow the road toward the hacienda until he found a good spot to enter for a détour that would bring him out on the northern edge of the dried marsh, which he could follow back to camp. CHAPTER IX A PRISONER [° WAS very nearly dark when he reach- ed the path he had followed with Juan and Nufiez Paola the previous month, and as he turned toward the sea he moved with care. Twice the horse shied and Has- kell thought he saw dim blurs of white off among the trees. Once he drew rein and thought of tethering his horse and proceed- ing on foot on account of the sound of the horse’s hoofs, Sut, laughing at himself for fearing any enemy in this quarter, he started to ride on. From out the growth on every hand appeared a dozen white shapes, two steel rifle-barrels were thrust in his face and strong hands were laid on his horse’s bits! Haskell laughed bitterly. “Good evening, amigos. What does this mean?”’ he asked. “Buenas tardes, Sefior Haskell,” said a familiar voice. “‘ We were told not to shoot 7ol you, but you are riding one of Don Felipe’s horses, and in the dark many things might happen.” The speaker felt carefully as he spoke for arms other than the pistol and carbine and then turned the horse in the trail. “Who are you?” cried Haskell. ‘‘Why do you hold me up this way if you are ene- mies of Don Felipe? I have just escaped from him in the village. He nearly got me. Where are you taking me?” ‘The fool seeks information of the igno- rant, sefior; the wise man takes counsel with his own eyes and ears.” The triteness of the proverb struck an odd note. It precipitated Haskell’s own philosophical resignation to this new and as- tounding development and he drew out a cigar, lighted it and in silence allowed him- self to be led inland without further protest. For a half-hour they marched with surpris- ingly little noise, and then encountered an- other body of men, at least twenty in num- ber, moving in the opposite direction and apparently well armed. A signal word was exchanged and the two parties passed. Another hour of silence, then the man leading the horse.turned aside by a ceitain white, barkless tree, and after a few minutw’ difficult passage through the dense growth, two men parting the way before the horse, they came into an open space and Haskell smelled fresh wood-smoke but could see no fire. There was also the sound of running water, but there was no stream nor a de- pressed channel for one. The man in advance sounded the peculiar note of the canillan bird twice, and it seemed to be answered from directly below them. A flaming torch appeared, almost under their feet. A naked Maya boy carried it, and Haskell saw they were on the edge of a great hole forty feet deep and at least one hundred across. The boy had stepped forth from a sort of cave at the bottom. By the light of the torch the horse was led down a winding trail from shelf to shelf of the sides and when the lower level was reached, Has- kell was asked to dismount and saw the horse led away to a second hole in the earth. “Enter, sefior,’ said the familiar voice, and now by the light of the torch the engi- neer saw that the leader of his captors was "Nacion from the hacienda. His heart sank within until he noted that the other men were of a far wilder type than the mozos of the hacienda. econmnicoooks (C@ S|