Adventure Magazine Cover — page 53: what you’re looking at

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

Prisoners of War 51= Caswallon shrugged his shoulders hope- lessly. His blundering, good-natured, gen- tlemanly sense of statecraft pulled him one way, his affection for his wife another. “Fflur is forever positive,” he grumbled, taking Tros by the shoulder. “But what would you do? Half my kingdom favors listening to Cesar. Shall I ride it over them?”’ Tros threw his hands behind him, legs apart, as if he stood deciding issues on his own poop. “Let us hear Fflur. What says| Fflur?”’ he answered. “Lud! I have been hearing Fflur since——”’ Fflur interrupted. She went to Cas- wallon’s side and held his hand, then burst into speech as if a ten-day dam were down, word galloping on word with sobs between: “He is the best king Britain ever had! Bravest of them all! Generous—too just to every one except himself! They take advantage. Kindness is weakness in a king. He should rule, and he won't! I told him when to kill Skell, but he did not even hunt him out of Britain! Now Skell is back again. They say Caswallon’s friends are hunting him. Orwic bade them = “T thought of that!” said Tros. “Ves, but it is your fault Skell is living, Tros—yours! You should have killed him when you had the chance! What kind of friend do you call yourself, if you can’t slay Caswallon’s enemies! Now Orwic says Skell has escaped them. Do you know what that means?” She paused for breath; mastered a sob- shaken voice, and forced herself to speak with the slow, measured emphasis of tragedy: “Skell will go—has gone to Black Glend- wyr’s place. Glendwyr craves Caswallon’s shoes! Glendwyr leads the cowards who would live by Cesar’s leave! Skell will urge Glendwyr to revolt! He will speak of that Gaulish woman; he will lie about her; he will magnify her rank; he will tempt Glendwyr to win Cesar’s good will by be- friending her and overthrowing you!”’ She almost struck her husband, she was so bent on compelling him to understand his danger. “Glendwyr will say you let the Northmen burn three villages. He will say you sent Tros against Cesar, to irritate him when you should have sought peace. Father of my sons, Glendwyr will be in arms by to- morrow, ‘with all the malcontents! _I know it! I know it!” “Pray Lud he is!” Caswallon answered. “What have you done to be ready for him?” Fflur retorted. “Glendwyr has been brewing treason all these months! Did he help us against Cesar on the beach? Not he! He saved his men to use them against you! Who helped this woman to reach Lunden with such speed? Skell? Whence should Skell get relays of swift horses? I tell you, Glendwyr did it!” “How do you know that?” Caswallon — asked, frowning. ‘A druid said so.” “Lud rot the druids! They carry tales like kitchen-wenches!”’ “The same druid told me that the wo- man came to Lunden in Glendwyr’s char- iot,”’ Fflur went on, tight-lipped with anger, her eyes blazing. “Why didn’t you tell me that before?” “T did. You didn’t listen. You were in love with her dark eyes! You said no woman should be refused a hearing and you refused to hear me!”’ “Mother of my sons, Lud knows my ears are full of your rebukes!’ Caswallon an- swered, comically sorry for himself. “Peace, will you! Silence! Let us hear Orwic.” Orwic looked bored and smiled wanly, as usual when there was reason to be deadly serious, stroking his mustache as if good grooming were nine points of any problem. ‘“‘They’ve looted Skell’s house. I think they’ll burn it. Skell was gone, though, and they can’t find him. Fifty or sixty others have gone, too. I daresay Fflur is right: They may have followed Skell to Glendwyr’s place. But that needn’t spoil the funeral. Glendwyr lives too far away to interrupt that.” “By Lud! He shall not interrupt it!” Caswallon exclaimed; and Fflur sighed, as if it were no use trying to make her husband recognize danger. She turned away and left them, making for the room where Tros had installed Hel- ma and all his Northmen with the woman from Gaul under their close. surveillance. There was presently much talk from be- yond the wrinkled leather curtain, while Caswallon, Tros and Orwic stood face to face considering what next to say to one another. They three stood in silence for a ~ long time. comicbooks.com (@)