Adventure Magazine Cover — page 174: what you’re looking at

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

168 turned away and wound the old ramshackle musical-box, and ‘‘Carmen’’—‘‘Selections from Carmen’’—hit the poor, unoffending air. The sound struck into Jimmie’s mem- ory and Jimmie hesitated. “T think we were about right in putting up that tombstone,” he went on. ‘“Bertie’ll never come back now, no matter what the old lady says. Yet it’s funny we never found any trace—any remains. I often wish, Brusoni, that I’d gone out with him.”’ “No, Jimmie, he’s dead right enough. The old_lady’s suffering from some dream, some—what you call—hallucination.” “You're right, I think, Brusoni. Yet she declares he sent for her and even shows the cable she received in London.” Lazily Jimmie took the three steps to the doorway and lazily looked out—then jumped back as though shot. Over the shimmering brow of the rise three hundred yards away came the gnarled head of a lioness. Behind it came her body. _Jumpily Jimmie rushed and brought a rifle. And put it down. With smiling face the ones trotted on. Behind her calmly tripped four horses, upon their backs four human beings—three white ‘men and one girl. “Bertie!” Jimmie rushed frantically out. “Bertie!” The lioness came up and Jimmie backed away like a frightened kid, yet tried to smile: ‘Bertie!’ Jimmie shouted again. “Hullo, old top! Don’t mind that silly old girl. She’s harmless,” Bertie replied excitedly. Quickly he sprang to earth and rushed to- meet his friend. “Jimmie! Old Jimmie!’ And two warm hands gripped tightly. “Jimmies, you rot- ten old angel!”’ “Bertie, you drunken old dear!”’ The two shook hands, and shook and shook again. “Bertie!” “Timmie!”’ “Bertie! Bertie come back to life. buried you once, old man.’ “Jimmie! Old Jimmie!” Then round the corner of the doorway came a smiling head, a head with cheeks of healthy pink -and hair of shining milk- white. A face as pure as ever two eyes danced in. Bertie leaped forward. “Mother!” he said as his two strong arms We Adventure went round her. ‘‘Mother! You got my cable, then? And here he is, safe and sound as ever.” Then all was silent, and salt tears mixed - with his. Bertie broke away. Quickly he turned with one hand holding hers. The other hand reached out and felt for Frank, and tightly gripped him. Then Bertie brought two hands together—and Bertie’s damp eyes gleamed. “Mother,” he said, “here’s Frank, the ‘old Black Sheep I cabled you to conie for— the whitest Black Sheep that ever stood upon two human feet.” - “Yes,” the old lady said when they were more composed, and had talked things over a little. ‘Bertie cabled me two months ago that you were in the police hospital, and he was waiting by you for you to get well enough to move, and I came out at once.” “But why, Nellie? Why, after all these years?” “All these long years, Frank. All these twenty long years I’ve waited.” “Waited for me—a Black Sheep?” “No Black Sheep, Frank. You never were anything like that. Why, Frank, I paid the bank debts quite fifteen years ago. Paid every single penny.” “Paid theme?” Frank almost collapsed. “Yes, paid them. You remember when you made our marriage settlement? When it was all over you laughingly threw a bun- dle of paper at me and said, ‘If ever you need new wall-paper use this, Nellie. It only cost twenty thousand and it isn’t worth the paste to stick it on with.’ ” “Ye-e-es..’ “Well, all that stock came ‘back and al- most smashed the sky. And then I paid your debts. And all these years I’ve won- dered where you were, and hoped.”’ “But why did you pay them, Nellie? Why?” “Of course I paid them. I knew that you’d come home some day and I wanted you to come home absolutely clear. Then Bertie saw inside the watch which your club gave you. He was too young when you went for him to remember you, but when he saw that watch he knew at once you were his own father.” The old graybeard was silent, his filmy eyes went round and fixed upon the girl, “And that brute, Rodney,” he broke out . Gomichooks (E@)