Adventure Magazine Cover, December 18, 1919 — page 89: what you’re looking at

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

The Seven Cities of Cibola it finally by cutting through the tongue itself. The man promptly fainted and fell back in Andres’ arms. small flask of toguwila from his pocket. A. few drops of the fiery native brandy poured down the man’s throat set him to groaning, for the liquor got into the open wound. “Can he talk? What does he say? I do not know his language.” “Sewor, he says that they were set upon at daylight. He says that he was one of a wood-cutters’ camp. They were camped here for the night, when four men camped with them. They came out of the south and they had with them a lady on a red horse. She was sick and very tired, so they made a place for her to sleep. The men who accompanied her would not say where they came from nor where they were going. They only said that evil would come to any who told of their being there. They made a tent for the lady from their serapes and she slept. No guard was set. He says that very early this morning their camp was rushed by the men of the north and all but him- self were killed. They fastened him to the tree because he killed three of them. | They carried off the horse.” Andres clutched his temples frantically. “Tell me that again,” he said. The man repeated it, more slowly the second time. “Can he show me the bodies ?” A careful examination showed that the man had told the truth. The embers of the fires still glowed under white ashes. Several long arrows sticking in the ground, their feathered ends to the north, showed whence they had been shot, and a small shelter that had been ae of serapes had been trodden under oot. lady and the red Andres kicked the serapes to one side. and saw a little heap of sage-brush; evi- dently a bed. To one side of this lay a tiny glove of white buckskin. He had seen that glove two days before, when he had picked it from the ground in the great square of Caliacan as he stood behind Mercedes’ chair. Instantly the whole scene came back to him and he ground his teeth in impotent rage. A _ cold hand seemed to have closed upon his heart. . He took a. 75 What was the solution to this problem? How could Mercedes de Acasta, the ward of the great governor, have been brought here? Certainly she could not have come of her own free will. That was beyond all doubt. She had been carried off! But how? And by whom? As in a vision he saw the lovely laughing face of Mercedes; saw it change to pity and sympathy as she had begged for the In- dian. blaze with righteous anger as A clutch upon his arm brought him from his vision. Xicotl, the best of his Indian trailers, a man who had devoted himself to the scoutmaster since the hour when he first joined Coronado, stood beside him pointing to the ground. Near a small tree the soft ground showed the clear prints of a horse’s feet. Beyond a doubt the man’s tale was true. “Bring that man at once to the main camp.” Andres swung quickly into saddle and galloped headlong into the camp. Coro- nado sprang to his feet as his scoutmas- ter dashed up. “What now, Andres?” “Great news, sewor. Whether of the best or worst I know not.” He told him briefly what he had seen. Coronado sent a man back for the arrows, and sent for Fray Marco. The “priest came quickly and, standing by Xicotl, looked his question. “Do you know these men of the north? Who are they?” Fray Marco shook his head. It was. Xicotl who answered. “Senor, they are the men of the wild tribes who live far to the north. They raid far to the south of their own coun- tries every year, when the grass has not yet come green on the ranges. I have heard that in their own land is much game in the Spring and Summer, but when the grazing is poor the game leaves and the men raid our lands then. They rarely come this far to the west. They live on the upper waters of the Yaqui river that lies over there.” He pointed to the dark northeast. “Who are they, Xicotl?” “How can I tell, sevior? They are said to be eaters of human flesh. I know not.” “Look at these arrows.” CONIC OOOKS Then he saw those glorious eyes (EO).