Adventure Magazine Cover, December 10, 1922 — page 20: what you’re looking at

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

ie ~eeeh ee 8 ee re eS ee “ eS “That beats ——,” he said wondering. Mahommed had got to his feet and, glanc- ing at the tiger once to make sure, had * faced about. Presumably he was waiting = for Ommony and King, but the old look had no excuse for killing man. of unfinished argument was on his face, with irresolution added. He glanced al- - most furtively from one man to the other— moved a pace or two—seemed to hesitate— _ and then started running. He made a circuit and disappeared at top speed down _ the lane they had come by. “There’s something I can’t explain,” said Ommony, as King caught up with him. ‘‘No smoking in the forest. Care to chew a cigar? You see that beast? He He wasn’t He hadn’t been driven far enough I think he came by hurt. to make him nervous. a yellow streak when we raised him by = hand. But where and how did Mahqm- m : } ie . m2 _ -answered. ~ Ismail Khan. ~ We gave that tiger benefit of doubt until he med Babar come by his? In a month Shere Ali would have been killing children at the water-holes. But who’d have thought Mahommed Babar would cut and run? Can you explain it?” King shook his head. “Somehow I don’t believe it yet,” he “He and I were brats at Dera He had guts as a youngster. actually sprang. I vote the same for the vissaldar’s son.”’ “Why did he leave the army?’’ countered Ommony. “Resigned. Suspected of politics. Noth- ing was proved. I sent him to you to get him as far away as possible from Peshawar. There might have been trouble up there if any one had thrown the resigna- _ tion in his teeth. He was champion of the native army with the saber—ambidex- trous—capable of fighting three at once. I’ve seen him use two swords at once for practise. Marvelous—footwork. Shifts his ground so that one opponent is always stymied, and sometimes two. Hot man in a tight place.” Ommony checked the count of claws and whiskers, and sent the jungli for a gang to skin the tiger and bring in the hide. He and King kept guard until the gang came, talking intermittently, swiping at flies with their handkerchiefs. “Mahommed Babar has a claim on me,” said King. ‘TI wish I had a notion what the ~ real matter with him is.”’ \ & Rey \ Adventure “What zs a man that thou are mindful of him?” quoted Ommony. “I know a little. He had been pestered out of his senses by the Moplah malcontents, who lack nothing but military training to make them almost invincible among these wooded hills. Mahommed Babar’s a bit of a fa- natic, and they’ve fed him the Koran until his blood boils. On top of that some of these gentry have been to Peshawar, and one of them heard a story of some insult offered to Mahommed’s father by an Englishman. Not sure the Englishman isn’t supposed to have killed his father. Anyhow, he spread the yarn hereabouts, of course, and they’ve been rubbing that into Mahommed Babar along with the Koran. I told ’em in Cal- cutta a year ago that the Moplahs would cut loose at the first opportunity. Maybe Mahommed Babar is opportunity. Was he a good soldier?”’ “First.rate,” King answered. “Two cam- paigns. ‘Promoted for gallantry. Nothing wrong with him except a cursed bent for politics. He never could understand that a soldier mustn’t touch that stuff.” “Soldier or any other wise man!” Om- mony answered. Specially in India. Well, I’m afraid Mahommed Babar’s lien on your friendship won’t help him much. Did you see his eyes just now, before he took to his heels? We’d pulled a thorn out of him a minute or two before. He walked out like a man and a brother to meet Shere Ali. Then he and the tiger both had a yellow fit. Mahommed Babar knew we saw him flinch. Thought we’d be scornful.”’ Ommony got off the rock he was sitting on, saw the jungli gang coming in the dis- tance, and turned to meet King’s eyes. “T’m afraid we’ve found him out,” he said. Moplah he meets will convert him.” He gave instructions about the skinning and he and King walked back, not saying much, nor exactly aware of the forest in the way they had been. The gold had gone out of the morning. Something drab had entered in—nothing a man could explain, even to himself. Very soon another tiger would find his way into that part of the forest and Ommony would have the delight of discovering his lair, and of knowing where he hunted day by day. North, south, east and west there were loads of men as fit to make friends of as Mahommed Babar, Gomichbooks “He’s an enemy, or if not the next . (E(0)