Adventure Magazine Cover, June 20, 1925 — page 182: what you’re looking at

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

164 “Yes,” Miles assented gravely. “For one thing we want to know how it is you got our messages so quickly? We only sent for you last night, it’s a three-day trip to your post—yet here you are. And yet they say the age of miracles is past!”’ “That’s right, my boy,” Isaacs chimed in. “Just at the very moment when we vant to see your oogly face most, you turn up— an’ actually you vasn’t due to patrol this section for another monther, yet. Sure! The missioner’s right. It’s a bloomin’ miracle.”’ Dixon looked slightly bewildered. “Well, of course,” he began, “if you two have gone nutty I suppose it’s my duty first to look after you. The Portuguese crowd’ll have to wait.” _ He dismounted and climbed deliberately up the steps. “Well!” he roared suddenly. “Have you two ducks been fighting? I bet you have; thought you were playing this David and Jonathan stuff too hard. You blamed fools! My, Big Un, the missioner made a mess of your eye—and why are you so dirty and solemn, anyway?” “Never mind about that, Dixon,” Miles said impatiently. ‘‘We haven’t been fight- ing, you can be assured of that. But did we understand you to say you were after the Portuguese expedition?” Dixon nodded. “Ves. They can’t read right. They’ve got a letter from the Colonial Office giving them safe conduct with instructions to the police to render them all the assistance they may, require—and all that. But they seem to think that that’s giving them permission to raise merry ———, pardon, reverend—all up the line. “Complaints have been coming in from all the kraals they’ve visited on the way up. And the complaints include everything from wholesale pilfering of natives’ stores to violent assault. —-— knows what all they’ve been doing; a few more blighters like them in the country and we’d have a rebellion on our hands. I’ve been away on patrol so I didn’t know what was going on—only got back a few days ago and found a swarm of natives waiting outside my camp full of complaints. Didn’t stop to hear them all because rumors had reached head- quarters of what these , pardon, reve- rend, were doing, and there was a nice little letter from the C. O. asking what the blankety-biank I was doing and to get Adventure after the dagoes right away or he’d put me on the peg. And so I did. Haven't lost much time on the road either. Say, where are they now anyway. ‘Tomasi—seems you were wise, Big ’Un and tipped the old headman to send his women and stuff out of the way—weil, he told me they spent the night here.”’ : “They left about an hour ago. They’re going to Misongwe to go through the iormal!- ity of asking Macombe’s permission to dig. {i he don’t give it—they’re going to dig anyway.” Dixon looked at Miles quizzically, won- dering at the simpering sweetness of the man’s voice—usually it was very harsh and nasal. He didn’t know that Mules was unconsciously aping the mannerisms of the effeminate D’Andra. “So that’s the way of it, is it?’ Dixon said quietly. “But they’ll have to go through the formality of asking my per- mission first—and this, too.’’ He patted his revolver. _ MILES and Isaacs looked at each | other in relief. They felt that the menace which hovered over - the district in which they worked —each in his own peculiar way—for the happiness of the people would soon be liited. Having a hearty respect for the forces of law and order themselves, they credited other people with the same respect. At least Miles did. Isaacs perhaps, was not quite so confident in the submission of the man Gonzales to authority and he put his trust more in the forceful personality, the courage and the knowledge that Dixon had of the country rather than in the uni- form he wore. “Well—,” Dixon turned to leave—, “if you fellows are all right now, Vl trek on. I want to have a word with ‘the man with the whip, as the natives call him, before he uses his sjambok on any more of our peo- ple.”’ “No, vait,’’ Isaacs urged. ‘There ain’t no need for such a bloomin’ hurry. They don’t go near any kraals on the way to Misongwe—and they von’t get there till sundown. So you vait an’ have skoff with us and talk a bit. You can easily catch up with ’em.”’ “All right,” Dixon agreed. ‘‘Might as well. I’m ———, your pardon, reverend, hungry. Call one of your bright hopefuls COMIGDIOOKSEEO