Argosy and Railroad Man's Magazine — page 72: what you’re looking at

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

414 : ARGOSY AND RAILROAD MAN’S MAGAZINE, a heave he hoisted the weight on to his wide shoulder and staggered to his feet. “Come on,” he grunted, and he stepped heavily out toward the central group of buildings. The ape shuffled and swung be- side him. In a Hindu temple there are always a -number of niches: and lesser shrines built into and out from the jutting angles of the outer wall. Smoky chirag lamps burned before most of these; but the danger of light never entered Smith’s mind. Priests could be seen further out toward the main entrance, but round to the rear nobody paid any attention to the two dimly lit figures. Smith passed one or two minor shrines with scorn. Then a more preten- tious one faced him. Before this was a little court paved with red bricks, and within, through the dimness loomed a grotesque idol. Smith was satisfied. ‘Ho, I guess this is it,” he grunted. * Any’ow, it ‘ll do.” And he dumped his bundle to the pavement and rolled it in through the doorway. He stood in the entrance and stared emptily at the pot- bellied deity. _“ Funny. lookin’ duck. Arms an’ legs like a blinkin’ centiped. If I ’ad that a many re Smith’s cogitation was:suddenly cut short by a howl of astonished rage. A group of priests in silent bare feet had come round the corner and stood looking at the desecra- tion with fanatical horror. Smith had long ago absorbed the axiom that the most efficient defense was_offense. With an instant’s glare to take in the situa- tion he rushed at the crowd and essayed to crush them all at once. In a second he was the center of a clawing, shouting mael- strom of whirling arms, legs, and robes. The ape leaped up and down on all fours and whooped with excitement. Smith, with wide-spread legs, stood like a huge bear which the hounds were trying to pull down. Every now and then a mighty buffet of his got home, and there was one less priest to ‘claw at him. But more came running from around the corner and immediately added their yells and efforts to the original pack. The crowd in their clinging robes hampered one an- ration. other; but presently a knife flickered in the smoky light, and then another. Smith seized a lean priest of small stature by the neck and thrust him, choking this way and that as a shield, while he swung a right arm like a derrick-beam. Wherever it fell there fell also a priest. The mob surged against that defense like billows. = Then a man with a copper-bound Jathi, or quarter staff, of bamboo forced his way to the center and swung at Smith. The hard-beset giant lifted his shield to the blow and crouched swiftly under it, and the man went down limp. Smith grabbed into the crowd for another shield, while the lathial struck again. This time the blow fell on the shoulder of the leaping ape. From such as saw it a gasp of horror went up; and from Smith a shout of exhila- For in an instant he had an ally who was worth ten men. With a coughing shriek of rage the great ape leaped out at the crowd, tearing hands and clutching feet and frightful crushing jaws. Smith whooped with the creature and smashed a knotty bunch of knuckles at the chest of the man with the staff. The blow would have staved in a barrel. The man’s knees crumpled and he went down clutching at two of his fellows. Instantly Smith snatched at the staff and whirled it up with.a shout. He held it in the middle in one immense hand, and plied both ends after the good old method of his far back ancestors. In a very few minutes he stood alone in the center of a respected circle, and stepped on groaning bodies as he fought forward. A little distance off the frenzied ape, at whom none dared to strike back, was a clawing, shrieking demon of venom and fight, a swift-leaping menace to which none of the priests, fanatic though they were, cared to turn their backs. In this Heaven-sent respite a gleam of sanity came to Smith. As usual he acted on it without a second’s consideration. With a fal shout he rushed at two priests who still faced him rather than the ape, bowled them over like ninepins, and then, shame- lessly leaving the giant monkey to finish the fight into which he had led it, he turned and dashed off into the darkness. — comicbooks:com