Adventure Magazine Cover — page 146: what you’re looking at

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

140 cactus in his feet. ‘Then Ajax gets to his feet and peers around. His specs are still hang- ing around his neck, and he tries to put ’em on. He’s been booted across the bridge of his nose, the same of which makes his specs _ feel like his nose was in a vise. He yanks ’em off, and then begins to search his pockets. After a while he finds what he’s looking for. Then he feels his way over to a rock, where he gets interested in looking at something—or trying to. We sneaked over and took a look. He’s got a compass on the rock, and is talking to himself. ‘Unless I am greatly mistaken I traveled due south. Due north would take me—uh— Now would it? Which way did I pursue the Ovius? Well, no matter, as I can not see the compass, therefore I am lost. Perhaps my shadow will inform me of the position of the sun, and by taking the time of day——”’ He turns and peers at the ground. “Futile,” he mutters. ‘There is no shad- ow. No matter, as my watch is not run- ning. Still I am lost. Not knowing the proper procedure in such a case, I will en- deavor to remain stationary until such a time as I may regain the use of my optic nerves. I will think of a remedy.” “Raw beefsteak is hyiu stuff,” suggests Magpie. ‘‘Ever try it?” Ajax almost hopped out of his shoes. He peers at us, and then: “Ah! Raw steak? I greatly prefer mine medium, en casserole.” “Tt’s no use, Ike,” sighs Magpie. “I had hopes that he’d been hit so hard that he’d talk our language, but I’m a poor guesser. You take one side, Ike, and I’ll take the other.” “4a AJAX led like a old pack-horse and - didn’t have much tosay. We asked him why he was sore at Doleful, and he said the idea was absurd. We tied some raw meat over his eyes, and by supper-time he was able to feel the difference between a knife and a fork. ‘“‘Maybe some day you hombres will stay in the East where you belong,’ says Magpie disgusted-like. ‘You sure gallop in where natives fear to sneak.” ‘“‘We scientists must suffer that the masses be informed,” explains Ajax. “You ain’t going to get a lot of publicity by fighting a boot duel with a half-witted herder,” says I. Adventure “It was no violence of my making, I assure you, Mr. Harper. I was chasing the elusive Ovius when this vulgar person came between us. He used very insulting adjec- tives—very! My lips could never repeat the strange things he said. Naturally I resented. I descended to the level of a brute, and fought as my ancestors fought.” “T’ve heard of boot-leggers,”’ says Mag- pie, “but you must ’a’ sprung from a family of boot-fighters, Ajax. Did you hit him first?” “I did not. Nor second or third. In fact he pummeled me for some time before I seemed to grasp his intentions, and then I retaliated.”’ “You ought to carry a boot,’’ advises Magpie. ‘‘Feller like you ought to go heeled all the time. What do you aim to do next?” “Next?” , Ajax rubs his sore eyes and looks up at Magpie. “T shall certainly persevere until I have observed fully the effects of astragalas splendens upon the x But me and Magpie went out and left him talking to himself. We helped Ajax bring in his foot-rest that night and watched him go to bed with his feet thirty inches higher than his head. He’s -so all-in that he never felt the pack-rats that night, and the next morning he’s a sorry-looking hunk of scientific humanity. His clothes are about seven-eighths to the sere and yaller leaf. His valise don’t con- tain nothing but a book, some papers and a box of pills. Magpie looks him over from all angles. “Somebody will kill you, Ajax, if you dress thataway,” says Magpie. ‘‘In memory of Professor Middleton me and Ike will have to dress you civilized-like, I reckon.” We got him into an old pair of boots, one of my shirts and an old sombrero of Mag- pie’s. He looks like , but he don’t know it. Then he wants another length of rope. “You going back to the same place?” I asks. , He considers it a moment, and shakes his head. “T don’t believe I will. That vulgar per- son might accost me again, and I have no time to waste in combat. I will try in another direction, if it makes no particular difference.”’ ‘“‘Me and Ike are neutral,”’ says Magpie. COnnicloooks (C@