Adventure Magazine Cover, October 1911 — page 119: what you’re looking at

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

F. eee ©! OSGRAVE ORR was one of those young men to whom something a #§ unusual happens with amazing Qs exam al frequency. I believe that most of us lead lives remarkable solely for the sameness of events which make them. We arise and breakfast and go about our em- ployment, day by day. And one day is the echo of another. Somehow, the things that are in the stories do not happen to most of us. They do, however, to men like Orr. He had been shipwrecked; he had made a bonanza mining find; he possessed a life- saving medal, issued by the Government. Thugs once held him up and robbed him; he had come alive out of an overturned railway coach that was afire. A group of bewhiskered Russian anarchists were about to shoot him; on one occasion, because they suspected him of having betrayed them. And so it went on in his life—adventure, experience, dramatic, pathetic and humor- ous incident without end. At least once a fortnight he could be counted on to relate a strange tale. His nature was venturesome; he was quick to act, resourceful, daring—the kind of man to risk an issue on a small chance. That was Orr. One evening he dropped in on me for a chat. There was something in his manner that suggested a story. He was a bit ner- vous and full of talk. Repression came into the atmosphere as soon as he entered the room. I began the conversation. “Well?” I questioned. He laughed. ‘‘You can smell a story a mile away,” he said. “I didn’t know I was so transparent.” ‘“Why not begin?” I suggested. use an idea just now.” Again he laughed. ‘“I’d hate to make my living your way,” he assured me. “If you run out of ideas, then you take your place in the bread-line. Isn’t it like that?” I nodded assent. He went on: “Can you make a story out of a drunken cop?” “That depends,” said I. ‘“‘A cop with the loveliest souse you ever saw? And does the fact that he’s a friend of mine make any difference?” Orr spoke quizzingly. He was a natural story-teller and he knew that he was arousing my curi- *T can 1065 cComicloooks = C©