Adventure Magazine Cover — page 139: what you’re looking at

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

The Land of Ophir water; and even if we could manage to grab water from the pool beneath and find food somewhere, sooner or later they’d get us through sheer weight of numbers as they had Gordon in Khartum. I had just fired at the hint of a turban peeking around a corner of the street and was trying to figure out.how long they’d take to reorganize enough to rush, when Billy and Pexton joined me. “Say, Phil,” Billy remarked, “don’t you think it’s darned queer they don’t make a rush to finish us? What’s to stop ’em anyway?” “Indeed that’s what I was saying,” added Pexton. Just then we all three started at the un- mistakable angry rattle of mitrailleuses. The sounds came from several directions at once and were accompanied by erratic volleys from rifles. As we stared wonder- ingly we noticed a parcel of natives dash excitedly across the deserted square as if they had forgotten we were on the roof. “Good !’? exclaimed Billy. ‘Sounds like a relief column! But that’s impossible!”’ “Perhaps,” suggested Pexton, ‘“‘they’ve started scrapping among themselves— Sabah’s part, I mean, against the others.” “Glory,” I was beginning, ‘“‘if that’s so, maybe we’ll have a chance. Let’s get a But at that moment Fieldmorre hailed us from where he was seated on the coping of the roof talking to Véron. He said quietly as if apologizing formally for bumping against a fellow coming out of a show: “William, and you, Tromp, I’m afraid that I owe you an apology all round.” I stared dumbly, thinking maybe he was a bit delirious. There was a queer, tight look about his mouth which wasn’t on account of pain or exhaustion; something seemed to have angered him into almost forgetting his suffering. “It seems that we’ve been betrayed all along. D’you hear those guns there? That’s a French column.”’ “French column!” I echoed stupidly. ‘“What—Véron—” began Billy, seizing upon the truth more quickly than I. “Yes; you’re right, William. Asa matter of fact I suppose it doesn’t much matter, for if it hadn’t been for his—er—patriotism, if you like, we should have been most cer- tainly wiped out. Isn’t that so? 131 “Vou see it’s like this,’ he continued, wearily holding his forehead. ‘“The Cap- tain Véron is in the French service, as you knew, the significance of which we, William, possibly failed to recognize down below there. He, it seemed, somewhat mistook our characters and endeavored, he tells me, to frighten us away from exploring in this direction.”’ He smiled contemptuously. “Then when he realized that we—er— reacted in a different manner he was com- pelled to report the circumstances to the French authorities, who ordered him to remain with us as—er—secret-service agent, you understand, at the same time dispatch- ing a powerful column in order to secure the territory for France.” Neither Billy nor I said anything, but looked at Véron, who was standing some few feet away staring across the town toward the sound of the firing, which had increased in volume, through his Zeiss glasses. “T quite see his point of view. Had we been successful, as you know, the country would have become nominally British. These international jealousies—I’m afraid the rest is somewhat obvious.” We three remained silent. “Hardwicke was right!’ exclaimed Billy. “What has happened to him?” “Killed, as far as Véron could find out, by those sum pitan people.” “And Thorpe?” said I. “Sacrificed a long while ago as we were to have been today.’ “Why the did Véron desert us at the first village?” demanded Billy with a touch of anger. “Orders, so I understand, to foment dis- cord in order to attract attention from the French advance from the Sudan—the east, you know. He it was, apparently, who assisted the amiable Sabah to secure con- verts. Very able man undoubtedly. Oh, by the way, I understand that he is em- powered to offer us some consideration— concessions of some sort. How d’you fellows feel, what?” “Nothing doing for me,” said I sharply. “T guess we owe him our lives maybe, but nothing else if I know it.” “That’s right,” agreed Billy promptly. “After this [ll retire, for only national pirates can get away with it these days.” THE END C@ DOOK S C@