Adventure Magazine Cover — page 25: what you’re looking at

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

The King in Check “Flow could it, since he never saw the letter?’ Yussuf Dakmar answered. ‘““Then few will pay heed to it,’ said the other. ‘* “Perhaps if we were all such fools as you that might be so,’ Yussuf Dakmar retorted. ‘However, fortunately the rest of us have readier wits! This letter is signed with a number, and the number is that of Feisul’s generation in descent from the Prophet Mahommed. ‘Let men be told that this is his secret signature, and when they see his seal beside it will they not believe? Every hour in Jerusalem, and in all the world, men believe things less credible than that!’ “But at that, sahib, another man asked him how they might know that the letter really came from Damascus. ‘It well might be,’ said that one, ‘a forgery contrived by Yussuf Dakmar himself, in which case though they might stir many Moslems into action by showing it, the men in Damascus would fail to follow up the massacre by striking at the French. And if they do not strike at the French,’ said he, ‘the French will not appeal to the British for aid; and so the British troops will be free to protect the Jews and butcher us, by which means we shall be worse off than before.’ ‘“‘Whereat Yussuf Dakmar laughed again. ‘If ye will go to the Sikh hospital,’ said he, ‘ye will find there the man who brought the letter. He lies in a cot in the upper story with a knife-wound between his shoulder- blades. It was a mistake—an accident un- fortunate for him, the letter was intended for me, but I did not know that. What does the life of one fool matter? He gave out that Jews stabbed him, and it may be he believes that; yet I have the letter in my pocket here!’ And he touched with one hand the portion of his coat beneath which was the pocket that contained the letter. I watching, sahib, from where I lay hidden. “He was about, I think, to show them the letter, when another thought occurred to him. He wrinkled his brow, as if seeking . words in which to make his meaning clear, and they seemed willing enough to wait for him, but not so I, for I now knew where the letter was. So I sprang into their midst, falling less dangerously than I might have done by reason of a man’s shoulders that served for a cushion. It may be that his bones broke under my weight. I can give no accurate report as to that, for I was in great haste. But as he gave way under, me 19 I pitched forward, and, kicking Yussuf Dakmar in the belly with my boot, I fell on him, they falling on me in turn and we all writhing together in one mass on the floor. So I secured the letter.” ‘Good man!” Grim nodded. “Wish I’d been there!’’ mourned Jeremy “And, having what I came for, I broke free; and taking the red stool I hurled it at the lamp, so that we were in total darkness, which made it a simple matter to unlock the door and proceed about my business. Nevertheless, I heard them strike matches behind me, and it seemed unwise to take to my heels at once, it being easy to pursue a man who runs. ““As the sahib doubtless remembers, bee tween that coffee-shop and the next house is a stone buttress jutting out into the street, forming on its side farthest from the coffee-shop a dark corner, for whose filth and stink the street cleaners ought to be punished. Therein I lurked, while those who pursued ran past me up the street, I counting them; and among them I did not count Yussuf Dakmar and three more. It happened that a man was running up the street and the pursuers supposed him to be me. So I was left with only four to deal with; and it entered my head that no doubt Jimgrim sahib would be pleased to interview Yussuf Dakmar. “And after a few moments Yussuf Dakmar came forth, and I heard him speak to these three fellows. ‘““*Those fools,’ said he, ‘hunt like street dogs at the sound of rubbish tossed out of a window. But I think that Indian soldier is less foolish than they. If I were he,’ said Yussuf Dakmar, ‘I think I wouldn’t run far, with all these shadows to right and left and all the hours from now until dawn in which to act the fox. I suspect he is not far away at this minute. Nevertheless,’ said he, ‘those Indians are dangerous fellows. It is highly important that we get that letter from him; but it is almost equally important that we stop his mouth, which would be impossible if he should escape alive. If we wait here,’ said he, ‘we shall see him emerge from a shadow, if I am not much mistaken.’ “So they waited, sahib. And after a few minutes, when my breath had returned to me, I let him have credit as a wise one by emerging as he had said. And those four stalked me through the streets, not daring Ghia Conn SS C©