Adventure Magazine Cover — page 192: what you’re looking at

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

756 She went with him to the entrance of the cenote and watched as far as she could see, and Haskell called back to her that he would soon return, little knowing of all that must intervene. CHAPTER XI THE SIEGE SES moon was up. and riding was not dificult. About an hour before dawn they were within the sound of the sea, after having passed two bodies of the Mayas making their way back to the cenote. Sud- denly, from the locality of the camp, a dozen quick shots sounded, one or two wild yells and then silence. With a word to ’Nacion, Haskell put spurs to his horse and the entire party dashed ahead at reckless speed. When they came into the open, firing broke out again from the ridge to the north of the camp, and bullets whistled around them. One of the men gave a cry and his bridle-arm fell limp. The fire was returned from the camp and, to be sure that the men there did not mistake his arrival for an attack, Haskell began calling to Peters and Juan, galloping madly ahead as he did so. Soon they were under shelter among the buildings and saw about them in the moon- light a half dozen men crouched under cover ‘at points of vantage armed with a variety of nondescript weapons. Haskell noted one horse-pistol of the period of Maximilian. “By George, Haskell!” cried Peters, springing up from behind a log. “Where did you come from? I thought you were done for, sure!”’ Briefly Haskell told him what had hap- pened. He spoke in Spanish so that the men might hear. “Well, we have been having a of a time here. Old Bluebeard did not come around from that punch you gave him till about midnight, I suppose, but they had sent at once to the hacienda and to two others up the coast for reenforcements, and they are just starting in to clean us out, with the first arrivals, I suppose. We are using all the arms we have, and I kept two men to every weapon, telling the others to sneak back to the village, as they would be no good as targets here, and if they were in the village as neutrals and vowed they were unfriendly to us, Don Felipe might not burn their houses or hurt their women Adventure and children. The scheme must have work- ed, for Juan, who sneaked in with them and then back with the news I have told you, says that the hacienda people did not mo- lest them. I believe we are going to have a regular devil-party as soon as it gets day- light.” “I wish I had had sense enough to fore- see this before I left the Mayas,” was Has- kell’s comment as he turned away to in- spect the defenses. ‘To think of this going on here and me letting forty armed men pass me, bound inland, five miles away!”’ There had not been time to get the food and water properly stowed and two of the big water-jars were shattered and another pair were pierced with bullets. By the time dawn had begun to show, Haskell was sure of the plan of his defense, and three of the men who had come with him were in the growth at the foot of the ridge with the useless horses, ready to ride back to the cenoté as soon as the moon passed under a cloudbank rising in the south. Now the moment was come and, with a faint rustle of the undergrowth and a noise of hoofs that seemed to Haskell far louder than it should have been, they were off. They had reached the point from which Haskell first saw the sea, when a sheet of flame burst out of the piles of trap-rock. Don Felipe’s forces had been sufficiently augmented for him to throw a line com- pletely around the camp! Down went two of the riderless horses and in a moment the cavalcade had wheeled and come careering back. When half way one of the men reeled in the saddle and fell into a bush, where he lay like a rag spread out to dry. The loose horses were running free over the upland and the marsh. The two Mayas bent low and, riding hard, made for the camp, cover- ed by the fire of Haskell’s men. One went down with his horse on top of him and the other fell into Encarnacion’s arms. The man in the bush was struggling to rise, but fell back. The engineer, throwing down his carbine and ripping off his pistol. and belt, leaped over the low defenses and, running bent and zigzagging, reached the bush, lifted the man out and came staggering in with him, while from right and left on the ridge and from the posts inland at least filty rifles and pistols crackled merrily. When he was safe inside with his burden the May- as sent up a wild yell of pride and exulta- COMICLOOCKKS. ECO