Adventure Magazine Cover, February 3, 1921 — page 83: what you’re looking at

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

The Road to El Dorado eagerly, Reason at his heels. With- in half a mile of where they met the medicine man were two springs, one of which was held in great reverence by the Arapahoes and considered with fear and awe by other tribes. Although issuing from the rocks quite near together, one was cold and sweet, the ordinary mountain spring, while the other was exceedingly bitter. Both springs were once sweet, the legend ran, but a Comanche murdered a kinsman from a northern tribe by drowning him in one of the springs. Iver since the homicide the waters of one spring had been rank and bitter. Reason accepted the legend asa fact. To his simple mind it adequately explained what otherwise would be an inexplicable phenomenon. More susceptible to superstitious fears than his friend, he did not relish Joe’s pro- posal to visit the haunted spot. The place was guarded by spirits. It was sacred to the Arapahoes; and even they went there timidly, and then only when bent on propiti- ating their war-god with gifts. Ute and Comanche and other tribes savoided the place, and when compelled to pass it paid toll in the shape of gifts tossed into the bitter waters. The wild and rugged sur- roundings had as yet offered no lure to white adventurers. “No good goin’ there,”’ protested Reason, his eyes rolling uneasily. ‘“‘My snake is ag’in’ any such notion.” “T was there once,” mused Joe. ‘Took four mighty fine packs o’ beaver th’ ’Rapa- hoes had left as a present to their spirit. Got top price for ’em, too.” “You robbed their medicine?” gasped Reason. “T borrered ’em,” corrected Joe. “What of it? Red medicine can’t hurt me. That is, it ain’t hurt me yet; an’ that was years ago.” ““A man’s a fool to go nosin’ m where he ain’t wanted,” said Reason. ‘‘What’s th’ good o’ makin’ their medicine mad? Ye say it can’t hurt ye? How do ye know but even yet ye'll be killed on account o’ them four packs 0’ beaver? Injun medicine is like th’ Injun, never in a hurry. Bimeby, some time, mebbe. That’s Injun, an’ Injun medicine. After stealin’ their beaver ye oughter be th’ last man to go there.” “T didn’t steal ’em!” angrily denied Joe. eS CALIFORNIA JOE pressed ahead 77 “YT needed fur mighty bad. I seen them packs. I knew th’ medicine had took th’ spirit packs. What’s th’ use o’ lettin’ th’ earthly packs lay there an’ rot? I held ’em one at a time an’ asked— “““Mind if I borrer these till I can fetch back four packs to take their place?’ “T waited five minute an’ didn’t hear a thing. So I knew ’twas all right to take ’em. If it had thundered or a tree had fell down or a rock slipped Id ’a’ dropped ’em fast ’“nough. But nary a sound. Even th’ wind didn’t make any ghost noises among th’ trees. I'll pay ’em back some day when I got plenty o’ packs an’ lots o’ time. “We'll go there ’cause I’m thinkin’ th’ spirit o’ th’ place knows we’re tryin’ to find an’ run out a simon-pure robber, one that would steal everything in th’ spring. It would be a derned fool medicine that would tackle me when I’m jest tryin’ to lambast a reg’lar thief. An’ I have great hopes my guess was right when I picked this piece o’ country as bein’ Half-Mask’s stampin’- ground.” “T can see it all now,” moodily mumbled Reason. “I can understand now why my medicine after tellin’ us to go to Clear Crick wa’n’t strong ’nough to make ye go there. Th’ medicine o’ th’ b’ilin’ spring was strong- er’n th’ snake medicine, an’ it kept callin’ on ye to come to it so it could even up for them four packs o’ beaver.” “Th’ ——! Don’t talk like a half-wit!” exploded California Joe. ‘“‘Ain’t I sayin’ T’ll fetch back eight packs for th’ four I borrered? We won't stop there but a second. If nothin’ turns up we’ll push on to Clear Crick. Or ye can go there now an’ I'll come along an’ find ye somewhere.” “Uch! Shet up!” growled Reason. Scrub pine and spruce, massed in funereal lines, blocked the vision in every direction; and had the region not been held sacred to the spirit of the spring it would have afforded excellent ground for ambushes. The two men talked not at all as they pressed ahead; for even California Joe was unwholesomely affected by the somber at- mosphere, reenforced by his recollection of various legends of a gruesome nature. They had just emerged into a circular- shaped opening clear of trees but studded with boulders when Reason’s horse stum- bled and pitched his rider half out of the saddle. whistled over the saddle and would have COmicoooks At the same moment a bullet. (C@