Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 3 — page 194: what you’re looking at

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

476 ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. the villagers as a dance-ground, when the girl leaped thoughtful-like into his vision, flashing from nowhere, it seemed, and came . like a night-breeze across that silvered car- pet, her arms tossing, her glorious hair flying. And for a thought indeed Arnold took her in the brief instant before he heard the scudding of her little feet upon the hard sand, the clash of her bracelets, her pant- ing breath, and then a shrill, glad cry with a note of terror in it: “‘ Ah-meer-e-can!”’ Even in that moment of confusion Jim saw and.wondered at an indefinite shape which raced shadowlike beside her. He snapped to his feet, his cry of sur- prise turning to alarm and warning. For the voice of Nee-Nah was echoed by a savage yell; and out of the dusk and into the moonlight behind her bounded two dark figures of Aguaruna sentinels with lifted spears. But the girl was fleet as.an antelope. Forty feet ahead of her nearest pursuer she crossed the threshold of Jim’s malocca. Almost invisible, except for the glint of - light on the copper blade of his ax, Jaqui of the house of Hualla entered with her. As they darted past him, Jim saw the foremost savage pause with squared shoul- ders and his arm go up and back. Jim groaned. Weaponless as he was, he filled the doorway with his body to.shield the girl he loved. His life had surely been spilt by the flying danger which came hissing to- ward him, but that haste and excitement spoiled the spearman’s aim. A lance of passba palm, its point fire- tempered to the hardness of steel, missed the white man’s neck by narrow inches and stuck quivering between the canes of the matocca wall at the side of the doorway. Uttering another fiendish yell, the Aguar- una caught his stone- tipped club from his girdle and came charging on. Again his impetuosity saved Arnold, the second sen- tinel not daring to cast his lance for fear of hitting his comrade. . Jim tore the spear from the wall and received the daring warrior with a thrust so fierce that its needle-point stood out behind his shoulders. The falling body Digitized by (Go ogle a _— wrenched the haft away, and once more Jim stood weaponless. The other sentry, undismayed by the fate of the first, bounded across the grass, screeching as he came. Something was poked under Arnold’s armpit from behifid. . TERETE: can! Make thunder-fire! Moonlight gleamed coldly on the blue steel barrel of Jim’s own automatic in-Nee- Nah’s small brown hand. With a shout of triumph he seized and swung it forward and death leaped forth from its spitting fire. Ten feet away from the doorway the Aguaruna met the steel messenger, flung his arms wide as if to embrace. it, and pitched heavily upon his face. “ Bueno! the senor has a gun! 2 growled the deep voice of Tom4s in Jim’s ear: ““ Now will there be fighting. Harken to the diabolos howl.” | Near the gate sentries were rushing to) and fro, shouting excitedly to know what: had happened. Every malocca in the big compound wes vomiting bewildered fight-) ing men. ‘“ Come on, you devils!” said Jim grimly,’ patting the extra cartridge-clips in his pocket. ‘‘ Twenty-two of you will never eat monkey meat again if this moonlight holds out.”’ “But who are these others who have come, senor?’? Tomas asked. ‘“ Almost had I fallen upon them, waking suddenly from my sleep and finding them here. Then I saw the sefior and heard him shoot, and I knew that they must be friends.” At that moment Jaqui approached the doorway, and the Aymara glimpsed him. “‘ Santos Dis! another momia—if it is not the same one!”’ Tomas shrank away; and despite Amold’s explanation, he took care to give the Paititian a wide berth. Catching sight of Nee-Nah, the big Indian muttered: “It is plain to see why the young sezor was so cold to Lanao.” While Jim watched the compound with pistol ready, Tomas fetched the beds from the interior of the malocca and built a barricade across the doorway. Before he closed it, he ran out and took the weapons from the slain men. Their two war-clubs he lashed together with sipos so as to HIO S mel UNG FOU JOOKSALO s im