Adventure Magazine Cover, June 20, 1925 — page 194: what you’re looking at

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

176 “At least,” he said contemptuously, “I have done my best to make a man of you. You are not so pretty as you were—no. But soon, this will be ended and you will go back to Lourenco Marques and forget all that I have taught you.” “You have taught me nothing,” D’Andra said sullenly. ‘You have treated me as if I were a nigger. You have made me work with my hands ” Gonzales laughed. “Let that pass. You, on your part, have been like a fool. You disobeyed my com- mands. Twice you nearly ruined our mis- sion by that blatting tongue of yours. And so I had to punish you. I could not sjam- bok you as I do the niggers. You cry too easily! But soon all this *will be over. There is no need now for caution. We are in an impregnable position. You will be promoted to a high position and——”’ “And I shall not forget to make you pay for the misery you have caused me,” D’Andra said wrathfully. * ! Stop snivelling and drink to success. The trench works are finished— we have enough provisions to last a long siege should the English try to oust us be- fore the diplomats are through with their wordy war. Copies of the concession are on the way to the two governments and a messenger goes tomorrow from Macombe asking our government to assume a pro- tectorate over his country.” He laughed brutally. “My little arguments which I used to persuade Macombe were excellent, weren’t they? A nail torn off is very powerful as a persuader—that is an excellent argument— and one has always twenty such arguments at one’s disposal. Presented slowly, the arguments are unanswerable. It is rarely necessary to advance more than five of them. Macombe—” he laughed again— ‘was obstinate.” D’Andra shivered. “Vou are a beast, Gonzales. you have treated me—_’”’ “Still whining about yourself, eh? Bah! Another word and I will treat you as I treated Macombe.”’ He drank again. “‘You have nothing to whine about. I permit you to have all the glory; I allow you to take charge of the concession and——”’ “My ! What’s that?” leaped to his feet. Gonzales laughed. The way D’ Andra Adventure “Tt’s only an elephant trumpeting, fool. They will make good hunting for me. The ivory they carry will pay me well for the trouble of this expedition. That is all the concession I want.” : A mass of clouds veiled the moon. “Tomorrow,” he continued, “we will cut down the mealie patches. An army could hide there. Still—’’ he shrugged his shoul- ders—‘“‘before it got to us it would have to cross that bare land where there is no cover —but which we could cover with a leaden mantel of death.” The clouds passed but others were coming up fast. The two men could see huge, gray forms in the mealie patch. They moved like the flickering fantasies of a nightmare; the air was filled with strange, gargantuan noises. “The tuskers are feeding well,’’ Gonzales chuckled. ‘“‘Maybe I won’t have to bother about cutting down the mealies after all.” More clouds drifted across the moon, when they had passed and all was light again, the two could see three—four—five elephants standing before the mealie patch. They were swaying their heads uncertainly, their enormous ears were spread out wide, their trunks curved upward. : “Get me my rifle,’ Gonzales ordered curtly. “I’m going to give them a warning to steer clear of here.” But before D’Andra could move a terrific din arose—a clamor of shouting voices, the beating of tin cans—the firing of guns. One of the elephants at the edge of the clearing trumpeted loudly and was an- swered by the bugling of others. And then, with surprising suddenness, the five big bulls charged forward, followed by the gray, devastating avalanche of the rest of the herd—the earth shook to their pon- derous tread. ‘‘_____!??, Gonzales roared to the soldiers in the trenches. ‘‘Fire—before they are on us.” But his voice was unheard in the con- fusion. Here and there a soldier fired into the on- rushing horde and then, yelling with fear, threw away his rifle and joined in the head- long flight of his comrades. “‘____!” Gonzales roared again. “My rifle, D’Andra.”’ But that man had van- ished. Gonzales turned to enter his tent, intend- ing to get his rifle, then he realized that he COMIGDIOOKSEEO