Argosy, Vol. 123, No. 2 — page 57: what you’re looking at

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

THE MASTER OF MAGIC. pressing the doomed man down. Shudder- ing, Tah-né sank to the bottom of the canoe and covered her face with her hands, and as the swift current carried her down the light faded from the sky, all grew dark with the blackness of the midnight forest, and from the bank she had just left there rose and swelled and resounded through the night the deep, earth-shaking roar of the savage beast, the triumphant roar of the lion that has made his kill. All through the rest of the night Tah-né huddled in the bottom of the canoe, swept downward by the stream, her hands pressed to her ears in vain effort to shut out that terrible roar—she had not hated Ku-sen; rather had she liked him, so far as one might like an enemy, and before her eyes still swam that awful picture. But when morning came she roused her-’ self, took the paddle, and began to drive the canoe, pondering the while as to the next step that lay before her. To find Nan-a-ta—that was. the problem. But how? Even had he not left the river, even was he still journeying down the current, in all likelihood she could not overtake him by day, and at night she might easily pass his camp in the darkness. While turning this over in her mind she was startled by a faint shout, a hail from the farther shore, and looked about, to see two men standing on the bank making the peace sign. - She turned the prow of the canoe toward them, and as she drew nearer she knew them for Ban and Su, friends to Nan-a-ta, and leaders with Men-ah, of the insurrec- tion against Tsu-ven. She ran the canoe quickly to where they ‘stood, and explanations followed. Ban and Su had escaped the rout. by swimming, and were on their way to seek Nan-a-ta; they had slain a bison and had food, and when Tah-né had eaten the three climbed into the canoe and continued the search. How the search ended has been told, and as Nan-a-ta: heard what had been done among the Ta-an in his absence he clasped Tah-né once more. in his arms, grasping again the hands of Ban and Su, telling them of the vow he had sworn. And they, learn- ing that the chieftain whom they loved 191 meant in very truth to return once more to the Ta-an, to take his rightful place, knelt before him and renewed their vows of alle- -giance to the son of A-ta. ‘Rouse we now,” said Nan-a-ta. ‘‘ Ere long will the warriors of Tsu-ven be on our track. The canoe of Tah-né is the better; take we thatjidestroying the other.” And the old canoe was quickly filled with leaves and twigs and sticks, set afire, and abandoned. to the river, while the eight fugitives set out down-stream, driving their craft with all four of the paddles from the two canoes. CHAPTER V. THE RETURN. FOR some days the fugitives hastened down the river, striving to elude the pursuit they knew would follow when Tsu- ven discovered the flight of Tah-né. Nan- a-ta urged his paddlers ever to. greater haste, partly that they might not be over- taken, partly that a home might be found ere winter caught them. As they proceeded they found the water growing ever blacker and blacker with the decaying leaves and wood swept down from the hills in the lesser streams, till before long the river, crystal-clear in summer, had become so dark that the blades of the pad- — dles could not be seen to their full depth, and the water, lifted in the hand to drink, showed deeply tinged with yellow. By this token, and by other signs, Nan- a-ta knew that the long cold was drawing nigh, and he feared that the snow would find then houseless. After three days of travel the « canoe came to the junction of the great river and the lesser river, where the two flowed together ‘to form one mighty stream, and the leader felt that safety was at hand. No sign had- been seen or heard of the warriors of Tsu- ven, despite the anxious search of the sky -each morning and evening for some betray- ing wisp of smoke from a cooking fire. This, to be sure, was no certain proof, for Nan-a-ta’s men were crafty enough ta choose dry wood that burned without smoke for their own small fire, and it might COmicloo S C@