Adventure Magazine Cover — page 36: what you’re looking at

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

30 Togrukh’s eyes brightened and he cracked his whip, glancing around to make certain that the Cossacks had heard. Meanwhile the galley gained speed again, for Ayub and Michael had caught up the steering-sweeps. ‘There was now no seaman on El Riman, and a distant shout from the corsair announced that Balaban had lost no time in making known the identity of the fleeing galley. He had chosen well the moment to make his hazard, for he would be honored for boldness in escaping from the Nazarenes, as well as for the news he brought. Ayub glared back resentfully. ‘That fellow has turned his coat so often, alone knows which is the lining and which the color. May he burn!” “We have not done with him,” responded Demid. ‘A barb is in him that will goad him against us.” ‘See the Turk reins in, and slows froma gallop to a trot. He seeks to tire out our men at the oars, knowing that we can not hide our trail from him.” So said Ayub, and in fact the pursuer set- tled down to a long stroke that kept him about a mile distant. Aware by now of the exact strength of the men he was following and their lack of seamanship, he could afford to choose his own time to attack. El Riman had drawn closer inshore, but the coast was rocky and bare of cover. They searched it with their eyes, rounding a cliff-like head- land, but saw no place for a landing. It was Michael who first noticed that around the headland the shore fell away and the mouth of a river showed. Withacry he swung hard upon his sweep, motioning for Ayub to do the same, and the prow of El Riman entered the shadows between the hills. The river was not wide, but it was deep and tortuous, between shelving clay banks. No landing place offered, and Demid gave order to cast over anything that would lighten the galley—water-butts, anchor, and such of the stores as were on deck. Some of the warriors walked among the benches thrusting biscuits soaked in wine into the mouths of the rowers, while others saddled the ponies—to the amazement of the slaves—and filled the saddle-bags hastily. “The saints grant us a place to land,” muttered Ayub, ‘“‘before the Turk comes Uu 39 But by the time they had passed through Adventure the range of hills on the coast and were ap- proaching open country darkness had fal- len, and the pursuers were within gun-shot. El' Riman limped along while Ayub and Michael strained their sight ahead, making out the channel by the break in the trees that lined each bank. So the race had been lost, and they were forced to listen to the mocking shouts of the pursuers who were clearly to be seen under lighted flares and torches, set in place on the corsair’s rail. ‘They are taking their daggers in their teeth, father,’ Togrukh pointed out. ‘They are ready to attack.” Demid’s indecision vanished at the pros- pect of action. Making sure that his lead- ers understood what they were to do, he ex- plained that El Ryman must be run to shore —beached, so that one side should be toward the river. Meanwhile Ayub was to issue to the Chrisitan captives the weapons taken from the janizaries, and the starboard rail was to be cut away in one place, to allow the ponies to jump from the deck and make their way ashore. The defense of the poop he entrusted to Togrukh with a dozen of the Cossacks who had arquebuses and pistols. “Can you beach the galley?” he asked the cavalier quietly. “TI think so, if you will take the other sweep and do as I do.” Michael leaned forward to peer into the dark lane of the river. Behind them, the corsair was coming up quickly, her beak cutting into the wake of their galley—so swiftly that already the glare of the torches shone on the water. ‘This light enabled Michael to make out a short sand-bar and the glint of rushes along the shore to the right. Where rushes grew he knew the bank must be muddy and low. ‘Weigh starboard oars!” he barked, and thrust his back against the steering oar. Demid followed his example. “Pull, all!’ he commanded, moving his sweep over sharply. El Riman glided in, diagonally, toward the rushes, and Michael, glancing over his shoulder, saw the corsair duplicate the maneuver. “Weigh, all!’ Once more he leaned his weight on the steering-oar, bringing the drifting galley parallel to the shore, and braced himself for the shock. The beak of El Riman plowed COmiclboolks CO