Adventure Magazine Cover — page 100: what you’re looking at

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

Adventure Then, accompanied by much laughter, _ those hired bravos called upon their Indians — * ae — to invade the rubber shed and load all their victim’s tagua into the waiting hold of the steamer. When every last nut had been removed, they took the Pelloroxo’s pistols away from him, retreated onto the steamer, and withdrew the gang plank. Then an In- dian was ordered to loosen his bonds and they, from their safety, shouted to him with jeers that it would be good for his health to keep out of sight and rifle shot. A good coup and perfectly successful. _ The Pelloroxo was left with no alternative but to obey. One can not single-handed climb the side of an iron steamer against rifle fire. And some of those fellows from the security of the steamer deck would surely have fired had he attempted any such msanity. So the Pelloroxo showed wisdom in. going away from there and retiring to his own baieléo to plan whatever he might. AND then I arrived. The Pel- loroxo was, of course, raging. As was I also as soon as I heard the full tale. But while I was furious and unable to contain myself, his was a colder anger. He sat with a hard face and natrow eyes and asked me first: “What is now the custom? What may be done without antagonizing yet further _ the whole community? And tell me; just how far is this place from the law? It seems to me very far indeed.” And I said: “Death of a thousand saints! It is six long days steamer journey from the law— and that is far enough. What may be done is to collect all our Indians and to make a War upon him and all the rest of this bribed community who are your enemies already, What are they? A city man and some fifty bateleros. They are nothing. We can summon half a thousand.” But his was the cooler judgment. “No,” he said. “It is a bad thing to try and do business in the middle of an enemy community. And besides, they are not nearly so many. For—’ he smiled with tight lips and tapped me with emphasis on the knee—“‘look you, my friend. His own cunning has turned against him. For of the fifty bateleros> how many of them are any the better off? He has filled up the hold with my tague nuts and they are left still without eargo space for their product. Our enemies then are not fifty, but six; the half dozen who have profited by his pay.” “Valgame Deusl’’ I swore. For it was true. Those deserted ones would af least be neutral. ‘“‘Entdo, it is enough,” I said. “We are two; and with your dbateléo crew and mine we have twelve men. Sufficient. We will start a private war immediately. We can not go down to the open river bank against their rifles. But from the shelter of the jungle we can pick them off at our ease and with perfect security bring them to terms.” But again he shook his head. “Not so good, amigo. I have been think- ing this thing over this few hours ahead of you—and this bushwhacking does not ap- peal to me. In any case, what we do we must do quickly. For consider. They have nothing to wait for now. The captain will soon get up steam, and they will be gone, laughing at our helplessness.” ‘‘“____!” That was so. I was taken aback. “Carramba, what then?” He leaned over toward me and lowered his voice; for other bateldos were tied up near us; and, neutral or no, who knows who might carry a tale? “In these hours I have been thinking of a plan,” he told me with caution, “and that is why I asked you how far was this place from the law. Consider then. You know how the current swings from this place?” Assuredly I knew. It was a stiff four- mile current, and it swung round the shoul- der of that landing place and cut diagonally across the wide breadth of the river, where it split some two miles down over the sand spit at the head of Peccary Island. Many a time have I been put to it, driving my men to hard paddling, to avoid being washed ashore there. The Pelloroxo fixed his gaze upon me with narrow eyes. “What would happen?” said he. “If we were to cut the steamer’s cable before they could get up steam?” I caught at my breath; for I could foresee sta result. But im the next instant I told “You can never cut it. They would fill you with rifle balls from the deck before you could swing a machete once.” He shrugged and grinned at last like he was wont. “With a machete, never,” he agreed. “But with a rifle?” “Sanctissimas! Can you?” I demanded. Gomicbooks.com