Adventure Magazine Cover — page 98: what you’re looking at

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

the major, purpling. “How ‘get in at all’?” “There’s no being sure about anything ‘in this country, you know, sir,” replied the mule- skinner, testing a snaffle. “ Most anything might happen from a spent beast to a raid. Lots in these jungles besides parrots. Got to go easy all round.” ‘““VYe-ah! Too bad the Government hasn’t the benefit of your perception, isn’t it? What time does that boat leave Allegria tomorrow?” “Afternoon, if it getsin. Doesn’t always get in.” “Vou’re a pessimistic son-of-a-gun, aren’t you? Well, get on when you're ready. If I get that battalion paid off in the morning I guess there'll be a way out before the day’s over.” They were again on the road, the major be- hind the hot curtains, the contemplative mule- skinner indifferent to boats and battalions alike, the guard laboring behind, through shade and sunshine, over hills and across fords, past sea- beach and fluttering, silent, anxious jungle, while dust streaked their sodden faces and the sweat of their march oozed out through their flannel shirts. - —— of a life,” growled one, a lank, bony- faced youth with sun-pinched wens around his scorched, gray eyes. “Uh-huh, agreed his companion, a sullen- seeming youngster whose face was oval like a girl’s with drooping, slightly sneering lips, and eyes that were brown and large yet without life in their depths. An’ all for thirteen bucks per, more or less.” “Uh-huh.” “How much more time ye got to do?” “Two years, a month ’n’ a butt.” “This yer first hitch?” tth-huh.”’ “Me, I’ve got in two hitches. Ill never take on again.” ‘‘Me neither.” There was silence for a space while they measured off nearly a mile, step by dragging step. ‘An’ all for thirteen per,” repeated the first. “Uh-huh.” There was another pause. Then he resumed: “Money enough in that box there in that ambulance to fix a felluh for life. Only it’s government money, eh?” “Uh-huh.” “Lots of good we'd be in case of attack, wouldn’t we’ What d’ye s’pose they sent just us two for?” “N ever been a shot fired anywhere in these parts.” “T heard that over on Cebu once, an’ all of a sudden an escort of twenty men was clean wiped out in less’n an hour.” “How about that money in case of attack, eh?” : Adventure “‘Gu-gus would get it, o’ course.” “Sure, Mike! An’ us too.” “Uh-huh.” - “Would you stay with it or beat it?” “Guess the major’ would take care of us, - wouldn’t he?” ‘“ ‘Hold ’em off as long as possible, but avoid capture; eh? ‘That’s what a real officer. would do. I don’t know about this major, though. - He’s got one of them coffee-coolin’ jobs.’’ ved ETS huh. ”) “Too bad to let them gu-gus get all that money, though, wouldn’t it?” “Sure would. “¢ “‘S’posin’ we could get away with it. “Why — wouldn’t it be all right, eh? The Gov’ment would “have lost it anyway, an’ I guess we would’ve earned it, wouldn’t we? Anyway ¢ the Gov’ment wouldn’t never miss it. For- tune for us but nothin’ at all for the Gov’ment.”’ “Prob’ly not. We ain’t attacked yet, though. Anyway that sort o’ talk ain’t good soldierin’.”’ “Soldierin’ nothin’. Don’t tell me yer’ satished on thirteen per. Say! Just because ~ Tm a soldier’s no reason why I should be broke ~ all the time and no fair show for nothin’, if I had a chance to get a pile that wouldn’t hurt nobody else an’ would be lost anyhow if I didn’t get it. “Didn’t you tell me yourself a ways back that you wasn’t goin’ to take on again? » That’s all there is to soldierin’ in you, an’ you know — it. Course, I was only just talkin’ anyway, you know. You understand that, don’t you?” | “Sure. Just s ‘posin” in case it was a show- down between us an’ the gu-gus as to which got the money, it bein’ as good as lost to the Gov’ment.” “That’s it, all right. Same as findin’ it, you know. An’ say! Think of it! Fixed for life with everything you want! Gee!’ “Uh-huh! Say! Wake up!’ IT WAS time for the hourly rest and they halted in the shade of a great mango. The mule-skinner came down from his seat and stretched his stiff limbs. The guard removed their encumbrances and lay prone on the warm sward. Nothing stirred in the bush around them, nor was there any sound save the clank of a bit in a beast’s mouth or the rattle of chains at the traces. Over- head the sky burned to a faint afternoon bronze, and not far away curly little steam- wraiths danced on the white sea. Again they took up the tread. “T been thinkin’ about what you was sayin’, Lanky,”’ began the brown-eyed one. “Mebbe there’d be somethin’ in it after all if we was attacked.” ‘‘Ain’t never been a shot fired round here, though,’”’ commented Lanky cautiously as if > eomicbooks,