Adventure Magazine Cover, October 1911 — page 35: what you’re looking at

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

Easy Gold evening. Of this Carmelita was mischiev- ously aware; moreover, her artistic soul ° basked in the knowledge that the somewhat Oriental architecture of the hotel, with its Moorish towers and its graceful colonnade, ~ set off her own warm and colorful beauty to peculiar advantage. Two hours later she left the main road and, checking her horse to a walk, started her watchful way up the Hermit’s Mountain. She held the plan in the palm of her hand, but unlike any other scheme that had ever emanated from her fertile brain, she had to deal with an innocent old savant whom she would have liked to help—at the same time that she helped herself. The stalwart, conventional lines of pines and cedars stood out greenly black against the rich, Autumnal coloring; a squirrel darted chattering up a tree, a little chip- munk ran swiftly along the stones at the side of the path and disappeared in a panic among them. Far down on her right wound the road, white in the afternoon sun- shine; ahead of her the woods darkened and the trees grew closer together. Then suddenly, on her left, smoke rose and a dog barked, and a flannel-shirted man, smoking an old pipe, looked out from around a little log-cabin and called: ‘Ach, Fraulein! Wie geht es Ihnen? Tie up your horse to one of dose trees, und come up, #icht? I vould go down, but I can not leave my furnace.” It had a fantastic sound, this talk of a fur- nace in the heart of the primeval forest; and when she had followed his directions and stood beside him, the scene that met her eyes was weird enough. For Reindecker was removing what looked to Carmelita like a witch’s caldron from the heart of what he explained was a wind-furnace. Presently he packed in some fresh coke, and with an air of suppressed excitement told Carmelita (who was standing among an orderly litter of scorifiers and cupels, tongs and crucibles) to go out from under the little shelter into the open air. “‘T dis crucible vill charge, und der fumes sometimes are unpleasant. Afterwards, I join you.”’ Carmelita obeyed, and there was pres- ently wafted out to where she stood an odor for which the word “‘unpleasant”’ was dis- tinctly inadequate. Even the dog ran sneezing into the woods, to return later, wagging an apologetic tail. Osi NOT until the sun set did Carmelita mount and turn her horse hotel- wards, and even then she did not hurry, but rode thoughtfully, as one re- viewing and arranging a confused mass of facts for future reference. The way seemed far from clear. To vague suggestions of a business nature Rein- decker had been about as absorbent as a duck’s back. To Carmelita Sofia such colossal innocence was irritating. The old man was well-nigh penniless, in all other matters his intelligence was acute, yet she had sought in vain to locate the cerebral tract of the scientific mind that would re- spond to suggestions of profit. She re- viewed the situation discontentedly as she rode home in the rapidly gathering twilight. The moon came out and shed its silvery shafts into unexpected nooks and crannies, fantastic shadows fell across her path, and in the dimpled elbow of the Ozarks lay the city with its myriad lights. As she reined up at the hotel a portly figure detached itself from one of the easy chairs and came forward to help her dis- mount. : ‘Where have you been all this time?” he asked reproachfully. Then, with a gro- tesque attempt at tender possessiveness: “T’ve been terribly worried about you— riding alone in the dark like this.”’ For one instant Carmelita stared haugh- tily; then, remembering her réle, the heavily fringed eyelids drooped. “I’m awfully sorry,’ she murmured in the low voice that could be so delectably sweet. “I rode too far and forgot how much longer it would seem coming back. You see, I’m not used to having any one worry over me.” In her mail-box she found a telegram from St. Louis. It said merely: I’m it. Jum. Put me wise. This she promptly proceeded to do as follows: Dear Jiu: As you have probably imagined, I’ve something doing here that needs your delicate, artistic touch. Naturally, I can’t go into details un- til I see you; but any one who has been the howling success in providing eager buyers with gold bricks that you have, can’t fail to make this scientific variation of ‘‘The Indian-behind-the-tree”’ a sure winner. As for costumes and accessories, I am sending you a separate list of what you will need. Don’t get frightened at the length of it. I enclose a check to cover the cost. CO MICLOOOKS S|