Adventure Magazine Cover — page 143: what you’re looking at

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

= Pe ee eS ee to a gristly place. Anxiously, hungrily, she began searching for a more tender spot. None could be found. With nose and teeth working together she examined the body from end to end. Everything worth eating on that side appeared to be gone. A loud, snorting breath came from the platform above. With one eye cocked, the ancient beast looked above her, then busily went on with her fierce hunt. The moon passed away over her and gradually made toward the horizon. Slowly by degrees the shadows moved. In a while both lioness and donkey were in the clear glare of the open moonlight. Appraisingly the eyes of the lioness went once more to the platform in the tree. The eyes came down and gaged the deep shadows beneath it. Gaged the black shadows cast by the spreading limbs. With the remnant of a once great strength she turned the donkey over. Then gripped it and’ dragged it out of sight. The blue-nosed paukey was catching mosquitoes in a herring-net. The herring- net burst and six tons of red mosquitoes fell on to Bertie’s neck. Savagely Bertie raised a hand the height of a broken match-stick. Flop! And the hand sagged down. And Bertie rolled over on his back. Of a sudden the tortoise got in a steeple- chase with the blue-nosed monkey. Six- teen fences the tortoise took, then came to the water-jump. At the water-jump he floundered and splashed. Eleven bushels of mosquitoes rose from the foaming water and camped in Bertie’s hair. Painfully Bertie’s hand crept toward them to smite them. ‘The spirit was willing but the hand was weak. And Bertie rolled over. Splouch! Bertie landed like a ton of bricks clean on the back of the greedily chewing lioness. Like a startled cat the lioness half crawled half spat at him. With a furious frantic swing she made one chance swipe at him. And missed. Next second she was tearing, crashing through the bush. Crashing as_ though ten thousand demons chased behind her. Gasping and panting in fear and out- raged dignity. Wearily Bertie wriggled his head and shoulders more comfortably on to the side BS ge Go = ee ae aes Sa te ae ie Se Z ees Sas es Ser ke . So Belt gee nce hen es te = oe See 2 >e = + = 4 oe ° = They Always Run True to Form 137 of the dead donkey. A tired hand started listlessly to demolish a busy mosquito. The tortoise came in a short head in front of the blue-nosed monkey. And Bertie slept peacefully on. seul WITH eyes half closed Bertie sat ys at a table. Before him was a “=~ nicely grilled split partridge with a platter of hot cookies. And on his right a cup of steaming black coffee. Dizzily Bertie turned to “Nightmare,” the Kaffir “boy,” standing beside him. “Nigh’mare, go’n tell the baas I wanna neat whisky "bout sho long,” and He held his hands a foot apart. “Hamba cuchima. Go quickly.” “Lungalt, M’Lungu. All right.” A moment later a big neat whisky arrived, and with it Jimmie. ‘“‘What’s the game, Bertie? You’ve had four already and you'll soon ‘be back where you started.” With a trembling hand Bertie pointed to the coffee. “Put it there?” he grinned feebly. you ‘spec’ fellow eat par’ridge if he doesn’t get shtick in coffee?” At once Jimmie poured away part of the coffee and filled up the cup with liquor. “All right, Bertie. Kill yourself if you like. Ill get a chance then of seeing you sober for once.’ For a second the incorrigible smiled wanly. The warm spirit chasing round inside him was instantly making itself felt. “T sh’pose you think you’re wunner, eh, Jimmie? You schlep’ all night jus’ shame’s I.” "Ves, but I had the sense to stay up where I was.’ With increasing vigor, but jumpily, Ber- tie attacked the partridge. For a while, but for the sound of eating, all was quiet. “The lion was there right enough,” Jim- mie asserted presently. ‘‘Must have been “How to have moved the donkey. And it left — deep spoor where it jumped off.” Bertie’s eyes, opening wider, came round incredulously. “Jumped off, Jimmie? I wunner what scared it.” “Don’t know, Bertie. But the spoor’s clear as day. I followed it a hundred yards or so in the sand. And the thing was running away as though terrified. | Satisfied Bertie turned to one side and €O AMIE ‘Ss elo} oe\e)