Adventure Magazine Cover, October 1911 — page 141: what you’re looking at

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

The Road parently, for as she looked a boat shot out into the open and came toward them. “Perhaps that is the Bey himself,” she said to Lucia. ‘“‘Perhaps he will ask us in to lunch.” And Lucia laughed with a sudden excite- ment which Katrine failed to understand. The girl’s eyes danced, her face was sud- denly flushed, she looked at the approaching boat with eagerness. Did she expect to make another conquest of the Turk? Was her mind given over to considerations of this kind and this alone? Katrine shrugged her shoulders. Consciousness of sex seemed to be the dominating phase of the Italian character. To be'so uplifted at the thought of meeting another man! And a Turk, too! How—how un-American! Uiko stared at the boat, frowning. It came along fast, propelled by six oars in the hands of men who had learned to row. Its sharp prow cut the surface, and it still headed for them undeviatingly. The fisher- man muttered to himself. “Tf instead of the Gospodinya I had hap- pened to have contraband on board,” he mused, “I should have been swimming by now—for the reeds. What does he want— this jackal of a Bey?”’ A moment later he frowned again doubt- fully. For the boat did not lessen speed and, as it came nearer, the figure who sat in the stern was revealed. It was not Esuli. The man who steered wore the uniform of a corporal of Zaptiehs and he bent his course and his eyes upon the fisherman’s boat with obvious satisfaction. When he was within a hundred feet he shouted to his crew. The oars were flung inboard, the bowman turned, flourishing a boat-hook, and the two boats met side by side amid much creaking of Uiko’s unstable planks. we THE steersman stood up and vaulted on to Katrine’s cushions. He laid his hand upon the fisherman’s ane “Caught, my friend!” he cried exultingly. “Caught in the act!” Uiko made a startled movement which flung aside the other’s grasp. The corporal whipped out a revolver and held it pointed at his prisoner’s forehead. “None of that, child of a dog!” he cried threateningly. ‘‘Or else !’? He made a very convincing motion of a finger toward the trigger. 1087 “What do you want of me?”’ cried the fisherman in amazement. “I am in charge of two ladies, as you see. Your Bey will have the hide from your despicable body for this insult!” Still holding the revolver, the corporal beckoned to one of his men to join him. He paid no attention to the volley of questions fired at him by the exasperated Uiko. He made a comprehensive gesture which in- cluded boat and passengers. ‘‘Search!” he said laconically, and then turned with something of apology in his air to Katrine. ‘“‘Tt is a matter of my duty,” he exclaimed with a slight shrug of the shoulders and in Italian. “Your duty?” Katrine’s surprise and anger were no lessthan Uiko’s. ‘‘ Your duty is to disturb a couple of ladies on a pleasure excursion? Your master sent you for that?”’ ‘“No,”’ said the man, and laughed exult- ingly. ‘‘No, signorina, he sent me for— this!’ He pointed to his underling, who from be- neath the cushions at Katrine’s very feet had drawn a package which he held and weighed appraising'y in his two hands. And his face, too, was full of triumph. He echoed his leader’s mirth. “Ha, my wily Uiko!” he cried. “It was a fine thought! A pleasure excursion? Gos- podinya? All the accessories of innocence? And now all the signs of offended astonish- ment!” He snapped the string which bound the package. A stream of bright brass cartridges rattled to the floor. The corporal tweaked his captive’s ear. He laughed again, uproariously. His cap- ture and his self-satisfaction in 1t seemed to have restored him his temper. “The Gospodinya hid those in your boat, good friend, did they not? The very things they would need on a pleasure excursion, hey? You? In Allah’s name you would scarcely recognize such things—you can not conceive a use for them, peace-seeker?”’ Katrine looked at the fisherman keenly. She expected to read in his face signs of guilt, of self-abasement, possibly of resigna- tion. She encountered instead unqualified amazement and indignation. A string of oaths rapped from Uiko’s lips. “Tt is a trap—a trap—a trap!”’ he bawled resoundingly. ‘As if I should risk such matters with Gospodinya in the boat!”’ He turned suddenly upon Gugi with a snarl. Comicbhook CO