Adventure Magazine Cover, October 10, 1921 — page 129: what you’re looking at

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

The Doom Trail Doom Trail. You will face much that is horrible. You will be threatened with spells and witchcraft. But I ask you to remember that my brother O-te-ti-an-i and I passed through all such perils without harm. Keep your hearts strong.” “Yo-hay,” muttered the warriors in gut- tural assent. “We will keep our hearts strong, O Ta-wan-ne-ars.” Their faces were more serious than be- fore, but they exhibited no signs of fear. Several asked questions as to the False Faces and their rites, and we explained to them the false atmosphere of horror which had been spread designedly to protect the traffic of the Doom Trail. We moved much more cautiously now that we were near our journey’s end, with three scouts always in front, one on either flank of the path we trod. But we saw no signs of other men, although many times we came upon bear-tracks. ‘Toward evening: we struck the waters of the tumbling little river through which Ta-wan-ne-ars and I had waded that night after Marjory had re- leased us. Here we rested whilst scouts went ahead as far as the edge of the Evil Wood. They returned to report not a footprint in the snow. We ate a little parched corn mixed with maple-sugar and some jerked meat we carried in our haversacks. About midnight we all moved forward, Ta-wan-ne-ars leading the line. The oaks and elms, maples and willows, which had composed the elements of the forest, now gave place to tall, funereal firs, whose mas- sive jade-green foliage remained untouched by the icy breath of Winter. It seemed as if we had entered a different world when they closed around us. The stars had twinkled through the bare branches of the other trees. Here were utter dark- ness and a far-away, mournful music of wind rustlings and clashing boughs. Gro- tesque shadows darted vaguely over the white ground as the trees swayed and groaned. In the distance an owl hooted ' solemnly. The Otter touched my shoulder. “Did you hear the owl?” he murmured. ““Ves,”’ I whispered back. Tt is cold for an owl to leave his tree- hole.” He threw back his head, and I started at the fidelity of the repetition. ‘“‘Too-whoo-oo! Too-hool” We listened, but there was no answer. 119 Instead, after a brief interval, the howl of a wolf resounded. | A few yards farther on the owl hooted again. The line halted, and the warrior in front of him whispered that Ta-wan-ne-ars wished to speak with me. I passed by him and several others and came to where the chief stood, peering, or trying to peer, into the night. ‘There was something strange about the owl, brother,” he said. ‘The warriors told me that the Otter answered it, yet it did not reply. And then the wolf a A yell as of fiends from hell shattered the mantle of silence. Flames spurted through the firs, and in the gleam of the discharges and of torches thrown into our midst I had a fleeting glimpse of hideous masked figures bounding between the tree-trunks. ‘Keep your hearts strong, brothers of the Long House,” shouted Ta-wan-ne-ars. “They are only Cahnuaga dogs. Stand to it. 9) He fired as he spoke. I imitated him. Our men shot off a scattering volley. Then the False Faces were amongst us, coming from all sides, springing out of the ground, dropping from the very branches overhead and wielding their ga-ge-was, or war-clubs, with dreadful effect. CHAPTER XXVII GA-HA-NO’S SACRIFICE HERE was no. time to reload. We fought with ax and knife as best we could. Ta-wan-ne-ars and I, with half a dozen of our warriors, crowded back to back. The rest of our party were cut off In twos and threes. Resistance was hopeless. The swarms of False Faces seemed to care nothing for death if only they could bring down an Iroquois. They eschewed steel altogether, and battered down opposition with their knotted war-clubs, which shattered arms and shoulder- blades, but seldom killed. I was knocked senseless by a blow which I partially warded with my tomahawk. When I came to I was lying in the snow in front of a huge fire. My arms were bound and my head ached so violently that I felt sick. “Is my brother in pain?” asked the voice of Ta-wan-ne-ars. I rolled over to find him lying beside me, cComicoooks C©