Adventure Magazine Cover — page 70: what you’re looking at

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

60 up in the air. one of us can stand!” Heddon looked about, toward old Wate- man, menacingly grim up in the bows; at young Raeburn, by the mast, with rifle half-raised; along the deck to where the women stood, silent and afraid, with Oxen- ham by them, staring wildly, incredulous, bewildered. “What do you say, Will Heddon?” “Don’t beinarush. We’re all becalmed. There’s lots of.time. And the woman should have something to say.” He called to Margaret— “Miss Bennings?”’ She had been turned toward him, listen- ing; and now came readily, but slowly and stood near, looking at him intently. Her face was pale, as if she stood in moonlight instead of the sun. “‘You’ve heard.’”’ Heddon’s voice dropped. He could not be overheard on the deck of the Loftus Mark. “TI have heard,” she said quietly, but there was an anguished glimmer of distrust in her eyes. She was afraid of Heddon, afraid of what he might now do. ‘There were twenty-some evil looking men on the Loftus Mark, and the piratical Spaniard was much the larger man than Heddon. She had begun to think that she understood Heddon; but now she was not sure, and was afraid. “He can take you anyhow,” said Heddon, glaring at her but angered with himself. It was his folly that had brought this about. “He may keep his word, if he loses. There are times when he has kept it. But he knows pretty well no man can beat him off his feet without a club. I suppose I'll have to try it. You see, there’s nothing else can be done. A word from him and his men would be all over this deck. If we had the luck to knock over half of them there’d still be twice as many left as we. I wish I’d never heard of you!” “You want me to go to—to him, now?” she asked in a low voice, trembling as if with chills. There was a distrustful look in her eyes, a look in which fear and disap- pointment mingled. She had begun to think of him as a man who had no fear. McGree, as he paused in drinking from the mouth of a bottle one of his men, the negro Dott, had brought to him, looked across and shouted— “What about it, Will Heddon?” “The fight to last as long as . @ Adventure “What about it?” Heddon repeated to her. “If I lose, will you go?” She answered bitterly: ‘I will go now, if you say. But that beach woman of Lianfo found a way to—I can escape as she did. You wanted to see me what you called punished. You should be satisfied!” “Well, I’m not,” Heddon said surlily. “I was a blasted fool. I’ve had to pull you out of the water. Now I’ve got to fight a man that couldn’t be killed with an ax. I wish I’d let you alone. You’d have married old Jeffries. That would have been punish- ment enough.” She flushed, her eyes grew bright, angrily: “Why didn’t you let me drown? Why don’t you giveme tohim? Why didn’tyou kill me there on Lianfo? If I am such a terrible woman, why—why—you said you were going to give me to some brute at Kulico—I won’t let you fight for me! I'll go now! I detest you! I hate you! I hate all men! I don’t care what becomes of me! Pll go now!” She turned quickly, angered, furious in her despair, filled with a kind of suicidal recklessness, and called— “Salvador McGree, I will come to——” Heddon swore, and with a swinging stride reached her side. .He caught her shoulder, drew her slightly back and pushed her aside, nearly off her feet. He shouted: “Tf you win, she’ll come, McGree! But you don’t put foot on this deck till you have the right! I'll meet you on your own deck— Stand from under, McGree!’’ Heddon sprang to the rail of the Gloria and recklessly leaped across to the deck of the Loftus Mark. THE crew of the Loftus Mark scat- fe | tered itself in a wide circle, squat- Seams ting and crouching. All the men were on deck. Pipes grew cold in half- raised hands that paused on the way to open mouths. It was a dark-faced crew, mostly natives, partly half-breed, three whites and a negro. Their eyes were gleam- ingly eager, and slow lingering glances were turned toward the Gloria where her few people stared. Margaret, with a forearm to forehead, leaned weakly against the rail. She did not want to watch, yet could not keep from watching. If she tried to close her eyes to shut out what she saw, they would come open, wide open. Excitement and fright DOOLK 1@)