Adventure Magazine Cover, August 18, 1921 — page 159: what you’re looking at

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

The Throwback “Don’t let them be so silly, father. Anyway I’m sure the girl will help me, if she is white. And the men can work in day- light and sleep miles away from the tower if they’re afraid.” Dubiously the old man shook his head again. “T am old, M’Lungu, and I have power with my people, but I think my power is not great enough to get men to enter that old tower. But I will ask if any willing to go. I will try. But, M’Lungu, there may be dead there. The dead are best left alone.”’ For the best part of a day the white man and half a dozen volunteers from the more brave hacked and chopped at the trees and tangled roots which fastened the fallen rocks together. And as a man the girl helped, too. By evening, but for rocks and stones, the place was clear. But long be- fore the first shadows of sunset began to steal in and turn the sunlight into a ghostly gloom the men had left and were aiming miles away. And strangely, without know- ing why, the. white man went with them. “Now we can dig,” the white man said as, satisfied, he saw the last stones removed at midday next day. ‘Now we shall find out all there is to find.” The old chief stood away and his face was gray. “T shall not help, M’Lungu. Iam too old to offend the powers I do not know.” “Bosh! Let’s dig.” Several of the young men stepped forward and with crude native shovels commenced digging where the white man indicated. For many yards around they threw up the earth, casting it behind them into the way through which they had entered. Most of the earth was the accumulation of centuries, of ages, and it was well toward evening when they reached the actual floor of the build- ing. And again the whole crowd walked miles away for the night. And the white man went with them. “Clang!”’ a shovel hit something solid. In an instant the men had jumped out of the holes in which they were working and gath- ered round. Three days now they’d been cutting through nothing but earth and this was the first time any of them had struck a hard substance. “Clang!”’ again went the shovel. Excit- edly the men in a body started in to clean out the hole. Soon a flat stone slab became visible. Soon they were digging down by 153 the side of it and it was standing clear. Perplexedly Charlie stood and gazed at the top of it. Seven feet long the slab was and about five wide. From end to end and side to side inscriptions covered it, yet with all his experience he easily knew that these inscriptions were different from any he had ever heard of or seen in any museum. The writings of a race gone and lost track of forever. The slab stood a good foot above the bottom of the hole. Its sides were three or four inches wider than the square foun- dations on which it rested. The white man’s curiosity overcame him. “Stop digging, men,” he ordered. me to see if this slab can be moved.” Together they lifted and pushed, strained and struggled. But the people who placed that slab there had put it there to stay. “Force some of. your shovels under the edge and lift as we push,” the white man suggested. Three or four shovels uselessly tried to pry under the slab, but the joint was too perfect. “Let’s hammer the thing aside with rocks.” A dozen times or more the rocks pounded in unison on the edge of the slab, even the girl in her excitement helping in. Slowly, slowly, very slowly the slab moved side- wise. ‘“‘Now one big smash.” Bang! The slab slid off and toppled over. With a howling yelp each Kafir dropped his rock. With a wail—a_ shriek—each turned and charged the mound of earth behind him. A moment later the yelps, still shrill, were dying off into the far dis- tance. Charlie and the girl stood quite alone. “Help WITH arms crossed over their o> breasts the two well-preserved mum- uit mies lay in a corner of the huge, deep vault just as they had lain for centuries. Long centuries before. Beside the man’s head on his left lay a small pile of uncut diamonds. On his other side a meerchaum pipe. By the side of the woman a pile of limbo, beads and coppers and brass wire. Across her chest beneath her withered arms a quantity of colored ribbons and scraps of a little child’s clothing. And through the many wrappings of the man were clearly visible two cloven feet. CoMmicbook CO