Adventure Magazine Cover — page 75: what you’re looking at

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

Mashlugi’s “What’re the little mucklucks for, Mash- lugi?”’ inquired Madison in the dialect, after the usual greetings had been ex- changed. Mashlugi appeared to consider the ques- tion, then concluding that it was a proper query, gravely explained in detail. ‘““A devil come a long time ago, and with him come sickness. And fearing the devil, the walrus no longer come down and there was famine.” Then followed an account of the suffer- ing and death that followed. Madison gathered that there was a doubt about that time of Mashlugi’s skill as a medicine- man, and that he had been hard put to retain his position. Eventually the sew- ing of the smaller mucklucks on to his own had solved his problem. “And now,” he concluded, ‘‘the devil’s feet are in the small mucklucks and where- ever Mashlugi goes the devil also goes, and thus it is Mashlugi always controls the devil. Great prosperity is ours. Much happiness. Many walrus and furs.” “Quite an idea, Mashlugi, but what good will all the furs do you, unless you trade with me?” Mashlugi intimated the fault lay with Madison. ‘How much you want for the muck- lucks?”’ Mashlugi shook his head, and stated in firm tones they were not for sale. “All right then,’ pursued Madison. “Get your wife to make me a pair.” “No!” “Get some woman to make me a pair.” “No!” replied Mashlugi with some little heat. “No woman, no man, anywhere will make mucklucks like them.” ‘Aw, go on with vou,” smiled Madison cheerfully. “When I get back to Nome T’ll get some of the natives there to make me a pair.” To his surprize Mashlugi became so furious that he was moved to reply in English. He whipped out a vicious-look- ing knife which he pressed against Madi- son’s stomach, and Madison, never one to interrupt when a gentleman was express- ing himself, made no move to defend him- self nor draw the automatic at his side, but waited for Mashlugi to speak. ‘“T go Nome!”’ he snarled, “find you with mucklucks—TI kill like this!” ue he pressed the knife’s point a bit Mucklucks 65 harder against Madison’s stomach, then returned it to its sheath, then calmly warted for Madison’s reply, which also came in English. “You try to kill me with knife—” and the automatic came into his hand— “and [ll kill you like this.” And he thrust the pistol’s muzzle into Mashlugi’s stomach, then returned it to the holster, and Mashlugi, also being a gentleman, made no move to interrupt. Having arrived at a mutual understand- ing, each waited for the other’s next move. Mashlugi finally broke the silence and ex- plained at length that he was inclined to aan Madison permission to have a similar pair of mucklucks made in Nome, providing the latter would pay as a sort of royalty one box of cartridges. While Madison had no intention whatever of having a similar pair made in Nome, the affair had pro- gressed to a point that an agreement was necessary to retain Mashlugi’s confidence. He admitted that because of Mashlugi’s great discovery he was entitled to some’ royalty, but not of the value of a box of cartridges, and offered a pound of tea, which was accepted. “Black Pete will be along in a few days, Mashlugi,” warned Madison as he took his departure. ‘You had better keep your furs and ivory well hidden. T’ll be back in a few weeks and if—” he said significantly —“‘T’ve anything left maybe we can trade.” Mashlugi and the chief watched the Mary as she disappeared northward and for the first time they doubted their wisdom in holding out for their price. Perhaps the gossip the chief had heard at Nome about the high prices furs were bringing in that mysterious country spoken of as “the States’? was untrue. Nor did the news that a second trader was on his way cheer them up to any marked degree, for that trader was Black Pete and they knew him and his methods to their sorrow. And so in a few days Black Pete came, and he began his bargaining by offering them whisky, but the wily Mashlugi was not to be caught in any such trap and throughout it all, though he glanced long- ingly at the whisky, he refused to drink.» At first Black Pete pleaded when he heard their price, then he swore and jeered and finally his eyes fell on Mashlugi’s muck- lucks. Like Madison, he inquired the CO Ebooks C©