Adventure Magazine Cover — page 76: what you’re looking at

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

74 “Why not!” said the Hillman. “Did I not ride under a te-rain, like a leech on the belly of a horse, more hours and miles than an eagle knows of? Did I not eat dust— and nothing else? Did I not follow that rat Tin Lal to this place? Did I not— pretending to admire the cobra in the window—see him with my own eyes sell- the green stone to this little lover of snakes? “I said too much. I did too little. I should have slain them both! But I feared, because I am a stranger in the city and there were many people. “Moreover, I had already slain a man— a Hindu, who drove an iron car and broke the wheel of the cart I rode in. I slew him with a spoke from the broken wheel. And it seemed to me that if I should slay another man too soon thereafter, it might fare ill with me, since the gods grow weary of protecting a man too often. “So I returned four days later, thinking the gods might have forgotten the previous - affair. They owe me many favors. I have treated the gods handsomely. “And when this little rat of a jeweler swore he no longer had the stone, I threat- ened him. I would have slain him if I thought he really had it, but it seemed to me he told the truth. And he promised to get the stone back from some one to whom he had entrusted it. And I, vowing I would sever him in halves unless he should keep faith, went and told Tsiang Sam- dup, who came here accordingly, I fol- lowing to protect the old man. I suppose Tsiang Samdup now has the stone. Is that so?” “He shall have it,” said Ommony. “T think thou art ot a liar,’’ said the Hillman, looking straight into Ommony’s eyes. ‘Now, I am a liar. If I should have said that to thee, it would only be a fool who would believe me, and a fool is nothing to be patient with. But I am not a fool, and I believe thee—or I would plunge this knife into thy liver! Who taught thee to speak my language?” Ommony saw fit not to answer that. “Ts it not enough for thee that I can speak it? Where can I find the holy Lama Tsiang Samdup?” “Oh, as to that, he is not particularly holy—although others seem to think he is; but I am from Spiti, where we study devils and consider nonsense all this talk about Adventure purity and self-abnegation and Nirvana. Who wants to go to Nirvana? What a miserable place—just nothing! “‘Besides, I know better. I have studied these things. It is very simple. Knife a man in the bowels, as the Gurkhas do with a kookerie, or as I do as a rule, and he goes to hell for a while; he has a chance; by and by he comes to life again. Cut his throat, however, and he dwells between earth and heaven; he will come and haunt thee, having nothing else to do, and that is very bad. Hit him here—”he laid a finger on his fore- head, just above the nose—‘“‘and he is dead. That should only be done to men who are very bad indeed. And that is the whole secret of religion.” Ommony looked serious. “T would like to talk to you about reli- gion a “Oh, I could teach you the whole of it in a very short time.” ‘“‘_but meanwhile I would like to know where the holy Lama Tsiang Samdup is staying.”’ “T don’t know,” said the Hillman. “You are lying,” said Ommony. “Is that not so?” “Of course. Did you think I would tell you the truth?” : “No. That hardly occurred to me. Well _ Diana came in, waving her long tail slowly. She flopped on the floor beside Ommony, and there was silence for about a minute while the Hillman stared at her and she returned the gaze with interest. Finally her lip curled, showing a prodigious yellow fang, and Ommony. laid a hand on her head to silence a thunderous growl. ‘“‘That is an incarnation of a devil!” said the Hillman. “In my country we keep dogs as big as her to eat corpses. Devils, as a rule, are very evil, but I think that one—”’ he nodded at the dog—‘“is worse than others. Well—I go. Say to that fool at the door that he should not offend me with his little stick, for it may be he desires to live. I am glad I met thee, Ommonee.”’ He waved his hand, smiled like a Chinese cherub and walked out, ignoring Chutter Chand as utterly as if he had never seen him; and at the door he smiled at the police- man as the sun smiles on manure. The policeman did his best, but could not keep himself from grinning back. MICLOOOK \ C@ inn