Adventure, November 1915 — page 49: what you’re looking at

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

The Gold Lust Addams reflected. Privacy was still an important factor. The woman might tell, not all she knew, but enough to encumber them in a net of official and public annoy- ance, There was no chance of any of her friends returning. It had probably been ar- ranged that at the end of the two weeks sug- gested by Tuan Yuck she should disappear, leaving Peggy to escape and ee them as best she could. The vital thing to do now was to see Peggy domiciled at the hotel with the Bel- monts, get the Wavecrest in commission and start to overhaul the Lez Lehua. But he was determined not to leave the woman in Hon- olulu, still able to work injury upon Peggy. He looked at his watch. It was three o’clock. “What time does the first train leave for Pearl Harbor, Ah Sing?” he asked. “Seven o’clock.” —_- “Then you come with me. Selim, stay here and watch this woman until some one relieves you. I'll get some food to you. Can you manage her?” The Arab showed his teeth and produced a dagger from the girdle he wore instead of a belt. “She stay,”’ he said briefly. “Betteh you tie,” said Ah Sing. “Betteh mebbe you cut um throat, put um all same in coffin.” He pointed suggestively to the stone cas- ket. The woman shrank back. “Vou can tie her if you want to, Addams. He was largely callous about the treat- ment of one who had played jailer to Peggy in such a place and, in all probability, had subjected her to at least the indignity of cutting off the lock of hair which had brought about his capitulation. He wished that she had been a man upon whom he could have executed summary vengeance. He left the tomb and hurried up the pas- sage through the trap. As he reached the carriage in which Winton had placed his sister, Ah Sing caught up with him and mounted the box. On the way back to the hotel, Peggy at- tempted to make light of her adventures. She had been unconscious, she said, or practically so, until she had found herself in the tomb with Henley’s sister barring the way out. She held a dim recollection of having been carried along a passage, but had no remembrance of being questioned. or ” said 47 of her hair having been cut, until her brother told her of the occurrence. Winton would have proceeded with a de- scription of their own imprisonment had not Addams placed a compelling hand on his knee, being in no mind to allow the already overwrought Ea to listen to anything of the sort. “Tt’s all right now, Peggy,” he assured her. ‘How do you feel? That’s the main thing. Jim and J are all right.” “T’ll be fine after I’ve rested,” said the girl pluckily. “We'll all turn in and get what rest we can,” said Addams. ‘“Tomorrow, or rath- er, later today, we'll get under way and beat them at their own game.” “But I want to hear all about it,’ the girl persisted. “What has happened?” “Strict orders of the leader of the expedi- tion,’”? said Addams, lightly but firmly. “No explanations, no discussions, till we’ve all had some sleep. I confess I’m about played out.” Peggy, weak and a little nauseated from the drug, leaned back in drowsy relaxation until the carriage halted outside the cottage. Addams and her brother helped her up the steps into her own room where she thanked them with tired eyes. ‘Sleep as long as you can, Peggy,” said Addams. ‘One of us will be on hand in the morning. Good night.” “Good night,” answered the girl as they left her. In their own room, with Ah Sing in attend- ance, Addams sank wearily into a chair. “T’ll have to get some liniment rubbed into my shoulders,” he said. “I feel as if they’d been sewed together.” “T fix that,” said Ah Sing. ‘You sabby lomi-lomi?”’ Under his direction Addams lay face down on the bed stripped from the waist up, while the Chinaman kneaded and pulled at the swollen muscles in the Hawaiian mas- sage. The pain at first was intense, and Addams bit at the counterpane to muzzle his involuntary protests. For fifteen minutes the Oriental pinched and snapped and rubbed, dislocating and relocating the blades and soothing the bruised muscles until the fibers were supple once more. At last, the sweat rolling from his face, he stopped. ‘“‘Tomollow, next day, mebbe one time more, I fix,” he said. ‘“Then you all li’.” CORMICLOOOKS (E©) ——- we i, SE oe Se a" we eee =