Adventure Magazine Cover, December 18, 1919 — page 144: what you’re looking at

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

SOS 130 layout costs me money and I only lets Bosco eat snakes after you has paid one _ dollar per each to see the feeding. Sabe?” “If we furnishes the eatables?” asks Yuma. “You can’t noways furnish what you don’t own, Yuma,” states Magpie. “‘That snake is part and parcel of nature, and you can’t own one unless you raises same from your own stock. Sabe? That snake don’t belong to nobody, so you might as well give it to me.” “This snake?” asks Yuma, holding up the sack. “This belongs to ” Alci- biades has edged over close and. when Yuma holds up the sack, he just reaches over, wraps his trunk around it and yanks it away. Alcibiades begins swing- ing that sack back and forth, playful- like. “Leok out!” yelps Magpie. “He's going to throw it at somebody?” Wick was wise enough to gallop straight away, but Yuma and Big-Foot seemed to think that height was salva- tion. They bounces straight for Cleo- patra’s cage, being as that’s the highest thing at hand, and they begins to claw their way right up the bars. That cage wasn’t built for no ‘such a stunt, and when they’re about half- way up the side Cleopatra lets out a woful wail and slams herself up against the bars. The cage sways for a second and then over she comes off the wagon, and two perfectly unreliable horse-thieves and a antiquated tiger bite the dust to- gether, with the horse-thieves under-~ neath. _ Allah was almost in the way of the crash and the next thing we know our shipwreck of the desert gets the stam- pede fever, too, knocks me and Magpie flat into a tangle of canvas and poles, and away he went into the desert. His two humps weave in different directions as he gades away, and it reminds me of two drunken punchers riding double. Bosco took a high-dive the other way, and I sees him setting there on the ground, investigating some cactus he dove into. Me and Magpie gets our breath and sets there looking at each other, when here comes Judge Steele, Pete Gonyer, Art Miller, Doughgod Smith and Old Tes OS oe a ORT Oe Tee a ee - Adventure Testament. They groups near us and the judge clears his throat. ~ “Magpie Simpkins, Ike Harper et al.: We, the sober and industrious citizens of Piperock, has gathered in serious con- clave this day and date and has adjudi- cated that we will not have the glorious morrow sullied or marred by a circus or circuses. “In the name of the parties responsible for Old Home Week, I hereby delivers this here ultimatum: Get your danged circus hence! We are not empowered to arrest you and have no jail to lock you in if we were, but we still got ropes and willing hands. We've got enough to cope with tomorrow without dry nursing deni- zens of the jungles. For once in its glo- rious existence Piperock is playing safe. Sabe? This here is our final “My !” interrupts Pete. ‘Looky!’ The tiger cage begins to rise up and them ultimatumers backs into a compact body and pulls. their guns. Then out. comes the remains of Big-Foot. His hat is smashed ‘down over his eyes but he don’t care where he goes, Then out comes Yuma. He don’t seem to see us. He tips his hat over one eye, does a few fancy jig steps and then- reaches in under that cage. Then he straightens up and away he goes, drag- ging Cleopatra by the skin of her neck. Cleo has had the shock of her old age but she’s still alive. She spits and slaps, but Yuma goes merrily on his way ahead of a cloud of dust made by a grandma tiger which is digging deep into her soul for sounds to tell us how exasperated she is. This conclave of indignant citizens stands there and gawps at the free show, until— Swish! Alcibiades whales away with that sack ‘and hits the old judge right in the back of his neck. He lands on his hands and knees but skids back to his feet. “Who hit me?” he wails. “Who threw that ?”’ Z-8-2-8-8-2-2ee ! The string had come off the sack and right at their feet coiled the rattler, in- dignant as thunder over things in general. 3 ‘“ Ah-h-h-h-h-h! Wow!” yelps Dough- god. 7 |