Adventure Magazine Cover — page 43: what you’re looking at

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

Yellow Treasure “It means,” I told her, “that I love you.” “They have not taught it to me with the other English,” she said, taking her hand away and laying it on my arm, “but it—is—pleasant, Car-ter.” She reached up her lips to my face. “T love you, too,” she said; and was about to make a creditable first attempt at the English of it, when a light blazed into the wheel-house, and from behind the flash-lamp came the voice of O’Day. “What the —’” it began. The light flashed off, and a powerful shoulder pushed me away from the wheel. “Ten points off her course by the telltale compass,” roared O’Day, splining the spokes violently. He chuckled, tried to control it, and finally laughed. “And no —— wonder, “he growled, likea good-natured bear. “Rouse out the gang, young man, and see to the side-lights. Hop! T hen you can turn in.” Hal castle lost in the blue void beyond the bridge-rail. As O’Day spoke, there was a shout of effort from below—a sudden flood of ruddy light—and a crash—as a barrel filled with kerosened tow landed blazing at our feet. I rushed upon it, and a bullet from the outer darkness fanned my cheek. As I carried it to the side and hurled it over, four more shots missed me by inches. While Fraser, the doctor, and Burns rushed up, their weapons ready, O’Day tore the hous- ing from the bridge search-light, and threw over the switch; but scarcely had the arc sputtered into being than a bullet struck the lens, smashed the carbons and gashed the captain’s face with the flying pieces of glass. We heard the patter of felt-soled feet going back to prepare another fire-bomb; and O’Day, furious, fired a chance shot which brought a derisive cry from the dark. “It’s no use,” he said heavily, flinging his revolver on the deck. ‘“‘We’re dead men.” He stepped across and rang the engines to “Stop.” “The side-lights give them a mark,” he said, ‘“‘there’s no lookout, and we don’t want to go ramming anybody. We'll fight it out here. Who’s on guard at the rear steps?”’ via,” fg IT WAS now dark, and the fore- said the voice of the doctor. 33 “Go and relieve her,” said . O’Day, “Tell her to sleep. And keep one round for her.” The doctor moved away. “Hear me?” snapped O’Day. “Yes,” said a trembling voice, round.”’ He disappeared. “And you, Carter,” said O’Day, as I felt May-sing’s hand slip into mine. “You keep one, too.”’ He could see me, in the dim radiance that still seemed left over from the day, so that I only nodded. May-sing pressed against me, and I put my arm around her waist. “You, Burns, keep to starboard. I'll take port. Fraser, you attend to the can- non. For ——’s sake don’t fire until There was another shout from below; and as we all rushed to the rail, a dark ob- ject with a fuse sputtering behind it flew over our heads and crashed on the roof of the wheel-house. With the speed of light- ning, Fraser caught the edge of the roof, swung himself on top, snatched up the barrel regardless of the flames already bursting from it, and hurled it back over the rail. As it smashed into a blazing heap in the midst of the men who had thrown it, he leaped back and jerked the lanyard of the cannon. With a roar that deafened us it leaped backward under the recoil; and I saw five men fall under its jagged blast. But before any of us could fire at the sur- vivors they had disappeared. The barrel blazed on, illuminating an empty deck. ‘“They’ve got us,’ said Fraser hoarsely. ‘““The deck’s steel, and fire can’t hurt them. The bridge and the houses are wood. Either they'll pick us off one by one or we'll roast! They’ve broken into the paint- stores O’Day picked up the engine-room tube. “Mackenzie?” he said. “Were going down to the deck between the bridge and the engine-room house. We can’t hold the bridge. Do you want to leave one of your men with the steam-hose and join us?” He put the tube back and rang the tele- graph to ‘‘Done with engines.” ‘“‘Done with the whole business,” he said, sort of regretfully. ‘‘Mac’s coming up with three men. Might as well make it sociable.”” His old self took command again. “If we’re down there before they heave another flare we can barricade the “one GOMIIGoOO S co iin