Adventure Magazine Cover — page 79: what you’re looking at

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

The People of the Fourth Dimension she loved him as well as she could allow herself to love any man—but, after all, what was love? Besides, when one is young and lovely love is an easy thing to get. When one grows old, money is very useful. When she was old she might be fat. She shuddered slightly and Sesson, thinking she was cold, drew a shawl about her. “Ves,” she thought, ‘and he will marry some mem sahib, anyway, so what matters it? Still, if I could only be sure. Bah, one is sure only of old age and death.” ““My Sesson,” she roused herself with sudden decision, ‘‘didst thou ever look into the ink-pool?”’ “Of course not.” ‘““Why not?” “Oh, because it’s silly, I suppose.” So is all play, if you will. stare into the ink. Sometimes I see all sorts of things. Besides, I always look to see if thou art true to me.’ And she laughed lightly. ‘“Whye” Sesson was lovingly indignant. “How can you doubt me?” “Did I say I doubted thee?” “No. But you said you looked into the ink to see if I were faithful.” “Does that not prove I love thee? If I didn’t care, would I trouble to be jealous? How little dost thou understand a woman, my lord?’ And there was just enough of plaintiveness in her voice to make Sesson ashamed of himself. “Let us play, then,” she suggested. Sesson hesitated. While not exactly a clever man, he had had certain experiences which had taught him much. Also, he had one of the best teachers in the world, for his employer, Sinclair, knew the native as few men had ever done, without considera- tion of race or creed. Therefore, he hesi- tated, although he cursed himself—know- ing his hesitation implied a doubt of the girl. Queer things have happened to those who have stared into the saucer of ink. But the girl loved him—she would rather die than do him an injury. “All right—perhaps I will—some time,”’ he parried weakly. The women of India have a certain bird- like quality which is only faintly approxi- mated by women of other lands. They can also rise gracefully from cushions laid on a flat roof. Doing this, the girl reminded Sesson for all the world of a small and very indignant canary. But I like to : 73 “T go to look into the ink—perchance I may discover in what way I have caused my lord to doubt my faith.” “Did I say that I doubted?” Sesson also rose from the cushions, but no one would have accused him of doing it gracefully. “There is no need to say.” “But— But—’ Sesson attempted to put his arms round her. “Let not my lord touch one so unworthy —he may contaminate himself.” She avoided him disdainfully. “Oh, well, Pl! look into the ink,” “There is no ink. But such as it is thou shalt ot look into it.” “Rh?” She had gone too far—intentionally. Now she played her winning card—throw- ing herself into his arms, sobbing so vio- lently that she scared him, as well as mak- ing him thoroughly ashamed of himself. “It is always thus,” she panted. “A woman gives herself to a man and worships him as a god, while he but regards her as a toy. This is bad, but when a woman loves a man with her whole soul and then finds he does not trust her—that is too bad to be borne. I will die!” “Come, come,” Sesson did his best to soothe her. “Why—why didst thou fear the ink? Did my lord think that I, his slave, would play him some trick?” This was exactly the suspicion that had been in Sesson’s mind, aithough it had not quite risen to the surface where words would have given it form. Thus, being an intangible thing, the girl’s distress had blown it away, leaving in its place a feeling that he had treated her brutally. Besides, he knew that while he looked upon ink and crystal-gazing as merely aids to auto-hypnosis, methods of reflecting pictures in the subconscious and thus bringing them into conscious view, the girl considered everything so revealed as objective truths—believed them to be glimpses into the future, warnings, divine messages, and what not. That is, the average girl of her sort did so believe, and he had no reason to think that Laulee was different from her species. All this being so, Sesson was in the unhappy situation of one who sneers at or doubts the religious belief of his sweetheart; while he had betrayed a doubt of her fidelity to him- self. COPMICLOOOKS (E@)