Adventure Magazine Cover — page 136: what you’re looking at

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

~ men has smoked. troubled. He suspected that his offer to trade was refused. Determined to know the worst he insisted: “Why smoke a pipe? It will not bring back the lost medicine.” {[ “What man knows what medicine will dor’ countered Red Crow. “The medi- cine-pipe is very angry. Four bad things have come te the Uncompahgre men since three white men came to thiscamp. There are the medicine-ponies ridden by white men. A Ute man can not ride nor strike one. There is the father of Red Crow, dead — a bad spirit came here with a white » «There i is an angry medicine-pipe a white Now the stone-medicine is gone. They say a white man stole it after smoking the medicine-pipe. If the voices we hear are not lies then Ta-vi will give us some fire to burn the white man until he tells where the stone-medicine is hidden. Light the pipe and bring it to the head of the circle!” The Rabbit whispered first to Ellis and then te Euclid, “It looks bad. A medi- ciné-man among them hopes to win great honor by this test. We must smoke.” An old man, grotesquely painted and shaking antelope hoofs for a rattle, brought a lighted pipe to the chief and indulged in some mummery as he handed it over. Then he held the rattle with two hands and took his position in the circle. This was the ambitious medicine-man the Rabbit had Suspected as being the instigator of the novel test. Red Crow puffed four times at the adul- terated tobacco and filled his lungs with smoke and exhaled it slowly from nose and mouth after passing the pipe to the man on his left. Im silence each Ute in turn sucked several times at the stem and permitted the smoke to issue lazily from mouth and nose. The pipe reached Goss, whose fastidious nature rebelled. He made a wry face, but took his four puffs before passing it to Lomsom. The pipe traveled to Ellis, and he was greatly relieved to observe the to- bacco would last until beyond his two friends. ‘The Rabbit smoked leisurely and Euclid smoked impatiently, and muttered: “Yyve proven there’s no such thing as chance. And I know there’s nothing in this silly idea of medicine.” “Smoke, but keep still,’ warned the Rab- bit under his breath. Adventure The was burning strongly when it © reached the end.of the circle, the man sitting on Red Crow’s right. The ‘white men with difficulty concealed their relief. The pipe had not gone out. But the Rabbit worried them anew by informing— ‘Now it comes back.” The prisoners had assumed the test was ended once the circle was traversed by the pipe. Nor did the last man to smoke pass it to Red Crow to begin another round, but started it back from left to right. Each warrior now puffed more strongly and the concoction of willow bark and a meager amount of tobacco was being rapidly con- sumed. With practised eye the Rabbit measured the contents of the bowl by the warrior’s haste in expelling it. The smoke was almost white and very hot. As the pipe neared Euclid the smoking was more furious and the-stem was snatched quickly. With stony gaze the Rabbit saw the smoking bowl swiftly come along the line. Euclid, perhaps, doubted his ex- pressed disbelief in chance, for his hand trembled when he took the pipe and he spilled some ashes. A low hissing sound ran around the circle and every copper face was turned on the nervous smoker in fero- cious expectation. He puffed rapidly and handed it to the Rabbit. The latter saw the tobacco was all but consumed and began inhaling slowly; for now his medicine was telling him how to baffle the Utes. The pipe should go out in his hands. He drew in strongly to exhaust the fire. Ellis thwarted his ingenious purpose ‘by ex- citedly snatching the pipe. The Rabbit suppressed a groan and muttered—‘“‘Hurry! Hurry!’ Ellis inhaled a mouthful of smoke. The second time he inhaled theré was no smoke. He held the pipe before him and stared at it dully. As one man, the circle of Utes shouted. Red Crow leaped to his feet and cried: “The medicine-pipe speaks through this pipe. The stolen stone-medicine sends its voice to tell us the thief. That white man there stole the medicine. Walking Dead Man, our medicine is very strong. Open your ears to hear what the Uncompahgre men will do. If the white man holding the dead-pipe will tell where the stone-medicine is we will give you two white men to take away. That man and that man.”’ He pointed to the gambler and Euclid. Gomicbooks:com