Adventure Magazine Cover — page 52: what you’re looking at

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

46 turkey. By that time our Lady Marion knew the whole truth. She knew how we had come to be at the camp of Black Hawk; how, after her second capture, Senhor Tom, wounded and blind, had hung doggedly to the search for her and had shamed us and heartened us when we wavered; how he had trapped the pajé in a lie, started us back through the black jungle when we would have waited until morning, broken the power of the priest and then broken the priest himself. She knew, too, that accord- ing to the unwritten laws of the Bat people she now was a wife. And she knew that Tupahn the Thunderstorm was only a hard mask concealing a very lovable Tom Mack. ‘What a man!” she breathed when I was through. “And I thought him callous, hard-hearted There she stopped. “A man indeed, senhorita,’’ I echoed. “A gentleman who does not make a show of his gentleness, but hides it. A clean-hearted man who does not wear his heart on his sleeve. A lonely man who roves deadly places because, as he himself admits, he can not find his mate. But I am speaking now of the man himself, where I meant only to tell you the bare truth of what has been done—the truth which you have every right to know. I shall say no more.”’ Nor did she say more. She looked long at the forest where he and Pedro had dis- appeared. ‘Then she lay down in her ham- mock, as if to rest; but when I passed near her again I saw that her eyes were wide. When the two came in she pretended sleep. When I called her to the night meal she came as if drowsy and ate in silence. Then, with only a few words, she returned to the tambo. Senhor Tom looked after her as if wondering what she was displeased about. I managed to keep from grinning until I was in my hanging bed. is G UP AT dawn, we pushed speedily oN ) on the last miles of our journey to | the big river. Still the girl gave no sign of what was in her mind. At her place in the bow of Senhor Tom’s craft, she kept her eyes steadily ahead and plied her paddle as if thinking only of reaching the end of:her journey. I began to wonder when and how she would let Senhor Tom know what she knew—or whether she would let him know _ at all. Suddenly around a turn swept another his land? Adventure canoe. Behind it came another, and another. , Pedro snatched up our one rifle. Senhor Tom made a quick move toward his thigh. “Allo ld!” came a sharp command from the first canoe. Rifles sprang up and cov- ered us. “Halt yourself!” roared Senhor Tom. “Back up, you Viciado bums!” There was a moment’s silence while we drifted and the men beyond squinted at us under their hands. Then came a voice. “Por Deus! It is the North American explorer, Thomaz Mack—the one who is called Tupahn! Advance, comrades.” The dugouts came on, and behind them still more appeared. In the first to reach us were Indian paddlers and several hard- faced Brazilians. “Who are you?” Pedro demanded, his finger still on the trigger. : ‘“River-traders, amigo. What news of Black Hawk? How come you to be alive in And—Nossa Senhora! A woman! A white woman! What does this mean?”’ “Tt means that Black Hawk is dead,” I answered. ‘“Senhor Mack killed him days ago. His army of Tucunas is scattered.’’ They stared. No man spoke. “Do you go to trade with him?” I added. The traders laughed harshly. “Si! We go to trade him lead bullets in return for his robbery of many of us and’ murder of some of us. Since no one else would go against him, we have banded together to end him.: Dead? Killed by one man? Ho-ho-ho!”’ ‘““Go on and see for yourselves. It is as I tell you. What news of Viciado?” ‘““Viciado has been cleaned,”’ was the grim answer. ‘You will find it safe as a church. The Hawk’s tools in that town have been so well plugged with lead that they will work no more. We shall go on, friend, to make sure your tale is not a dream. We want no mistakes. But who is this woman?” Bold eyes centered on the semnhorita. They were a hard crew, those traders, and we did not like their stares at the girl. Senhor Tom arose, hand on gun. “This woman,” he snapped in English, ‘is my wife. know?” “Nothing,” laughed the leader. ‘‘Adeos!”’ The canoes swung past. Boat after boat went by, loaded with men and guns. Each long dugout held two or three traders and COPMICLOOOKS (C Anything else you’d like to. (CO)