Adventure, July 1, 1928 — page 172: what you’re looking at

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

166: Charles glanced: at his: cousin quickly. “John,” said he, in a serious voice, “I take my gospel oath I’ve played the game—or tried to.” He threw out his. hands with a hopeless gesture. ‘How could I help being sorry for her?’ he asked. “What could I do but help her all I could? And if you want the truth, John, you shall have it: It’s neither my fault nor hers that we’re in love.” ““I guessed that,” said Eade, in a quiet voice. “Bad business, Charles! These things always are.” Cartwright rounded upon him angrily. “Don’t preach to me!’ he almost shouted. “I’ve done nothing I’m ashamed of. You'll admit that yourself, when you know the truth. You and I have got other things to discuss now, be- sides morality. Scala went on board the Chauve-Souris and saw Quental. Darned lucky for Quental he didn’t kill him—he would have done, if this had been Singan. But he knows we've got police and law courts here, and he never does anything on impulse; and besides, there was a fat German on board who took a kind of bovine interest in what was going on. “Well”? Charles continued, after a pause for breath, ‘Scala questioned Quental; and.as the little Portuguese was scared stiff at the very sight of him, for once in his life he couldn’t tell a lie. Scala got the whole truth about what had happened in the night, how Liu Tang had been captured and escaped, and how madame had vanished. Quental saw Le Camus through the windows of the saloon on the launch. He said the old man looked more haggard and ill than ever, utterly broken and dejected.” “And where’s the launch now?” Eade asked. “That’s just the trouble,” said Cart- wright. “Scala went up-stream, but no one at our offices saw him pass. Nor did Quental see him on his way up to Nolak. That means that he’s turned into one of the backwaters—there ’re lots of small tributaries that flow through the jungle, and that launch only draws a few feet of water: Scala’s hiding somewhere; and CHARLES GILSON somehow or other Eugene Pai knows it and has gone to find him.” Eade uttered an exclamation of aston- ishment. : “You can’t know that for a certainty!” he cried. *“T do,” said Charles. ‘For the simple reason that Pai left here nearly four hours before Quental arrived; and Quen- tal, who was on the bridge all the way up the river, is ready to swear that nobody passed him.” John Eade tried to think. Within the last few hours so many things had hap- pened that it was as if there was some- thing in the atmosphere that made it difficult for a man to breathe. : “If this fellow, Scala, has gone straight to some hiding place in the jungle,” said he, “‘it looks as if the whole plan was pre- arranged. And the chances are,” he ‘added, “that where Scala is, there too will be Liu Tang.” “It’s on the cards,” said Charles. “And if so, they’re waiting for something— waiting until it’s dark.” CHAPTER VI. WHAT HAPPENED IN SINGAN Dre that night in Cartwright’s bungalow was a surprisingly pleasant meal, in the circum- stances. The two cousins, who had not seen each other for years, had plenty of news to exchange. Eade had entirely got over his touch of fever. He had no doubt caught a chill on board the Chawve- Souris in the misty river valley; but his temperature could never have been very high, and in the heat of the day he had sweated the fever out of him. John Eade was not a man who was accustomed to finding himself ina position of considerable danger. He was one; however, who was susceptible to both at- mosphere and environment; and that evening he could not but be conscious of the novelty of the situation. Though, to all intents and purposes:his cousin was the same boy whom he had known’ years comicloooks.com