Adventure, December 1914 — page 79: what you’re looking at

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

The Lancing of the Whale Russian major’s sword missed Dick by the breadth of a breath of air. “Ping!” came a shot from Andry’s gun, in proof that a Scot’s clan-loyalty is wide awake. “Ping-ping!’ But the charger plunged, and the shots went wide; and then Dick was between Andry and the Russian, so the shooting ceased. Dick seemed to be half paralyzed—as if the loss of his charger had bewildered him—for he stood with his sword-point down and seemed to wait for the inevitable end. Some of the Persians saw his plight, but none rode to his assistance; they had heard too much about his being Iskander reincarnated; this seemed like anticlimax, and it struck them useless. Only Andry, squinting down the barrel of his hot machine-gun, read the signs rightly and exulted. He had seen Dick fight in the old days on the Isle of Arran, when the bigger boys from other villages had come to make him prove his title to be leader or re- linquish it for good. He knew Dick’s trick of waiting, and in thirty seconds more he slapped the gun as if it were an understand- ing thing. “I told ye so!”’ he murmured confiden- tially. The Cossack major grew a little over- confident—a little bit too rash. Seeing Dick’s drooped head and lowered sword- point, he imagined Dick was hurt. He re- called the offer of five thousand roubles for’ Dick Anthony alive or dead; and he con- sidered that a dead Dick Anthony, from personal experience and all accounts, would be easier to take to Astrabad than a live one. ‘‘Surrender!”’ he yelled; but he gave Dick no opportunity to yield. Instead, he rode in with a rush, to make an end; and Dick seemed to wait for him with almost resigna- tion. What actually happened then was too quick for any one who witnessed it to de- scribe correctly afterward. The major rode point-first, and there were some who swore that Dick’s point rose in the nick of time and turned his upward. But most said that Dick ignored his sword completely, and it is certain Dick did not stand too long; nor, when he moved at last, did he take the officer on the side expected. He sprang, if a man may be said to spring whose movement is too quick to see, crossed the horse in front, and seized the major’s leg. He could have killed him then and v7 there, for the horse raced on and Dick’s grip was unbreakable; held as he was witha leg nearly torn out by the roots, the major could not bring his sword-arm into play. He kicked, but suddenly Dick sprang again; and this time the major shat clear out of the saddle on the off side, landing on his head and shoulder. The next thing that the Russian knew was that Dick’s foot was on him, and a clay- more’s two-edged point was at his throat. “Did you mention the word ‘surrender’?”’ Dick inquired. “No!” swore the Russian from between set teeth. “Tl put it differently. render?” ““Sacré cochon! in the world!” The Russian spoke in French, and Dick answered him in French with that eloquent smile of his that seemed to light up his whole face. ‘*Will you surrender your guns and men?” he asked. “T surrender nothing!” ‘“‘What a rotten poor chooser you must be!”” laughed Dick. ‘“‘Here — you— and you!” He called up half a dozen men and or- dered one of them to snatch the major’s sword away. ‘“Now, bind him hand and foot!” He looked once keenly at all six of them, memorizing faces; each knew that he could pick all six again out of a thousand, should he wish to. “T hold you six answerable for him!”’ He had time to look around him then, and Will you sur- Is urrender to no outlaw -in a second his calm humor left him. His eyes blazed again and his lips became a straight, hard line. His Persians were butchering their Cossack prisoners! Doz- ens lay dead amid the gun-wheels and under the legs of horses. Fifty more were lined up, ready to be shot, and he was just in time to fling himself in front of them, and stop the volley that would have turned his bat- tle-fleld to a shambles and his victory to a crime. He cursed them. He called them canni- bals. He mounted the captive major’s horse and rode among them flogging them with a broken rein. He swore they de- served to have Cossacks ruling them. He swore he would never lead another Persian, or strike another blow for a country that NOOK C©