Adventure Magazine Cover, April 3, 1918 — page 94: what you’re looking at

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

Q2 That seems to suit the crowd, so Chuck puts the bird in Buck Masterson’s stable, and him and some of the rest gets busy on making tickets. Me and Magpie sets there on the sidewalk and wonders what them Jaspers want of that bird. Art Miller comes over, but he don’t know any more than we do. ‘How comes it that everybody covets that monstrosity, Art?” I asks, but Art shakes his head, and digs his toes in the dirt. “Danged if I know, Ike. I never seen folks so crazy before. I felt that there’s something in the wind for several days. Tellurium, Half Mile, Scenery, Ricky, Dirty Shirt and Judge Steele has been in conference several times up in the judge’s office. Here comes Tellurium. Maybe he’ll tell us what it means.” TELLURIUM sets down with us pass’ for uh minute, and then gets up and turns around -three times, like uh losing gambler does to change his luck. “Y’d admire to know what you wants that freak bird for, Tellurium?” states Art. “You would, eh?” chuckles Tellurium, hauling some pieces uh paper out of his pocket, and putting ’em into another. “You would, eh? Don’t you know, Art?” “T wouldn’t ask if I did.” Tellurium fusses around in his inside pocket, and hauls out uh piece uh writing- paper. “T reckon the tickets are all sold now, so it won’t do no harm to let yuh know,” says he, handing Art the paper. “I done invested seventy-five on my luck, but 1 reckon you fellers are too late to even buy one ticket. When I left Judge Steele and Half Mile was quarreling over who gets the last number. Read that letter and be sorry yuh didn’t buy no chances. We don’t know who it was written to, but we figures that it was some uh them citified prospectors what was through here uh short time ago. We found it on the floor in Buck’s place, and that’s what brought us up to your place that day, Ike.” The three of us groups there on the side- walk and reads what is left of that epistle. The top and one corner is torn off, but that is how she reads from that on down: —little information. Some geologist friends of mine were down in that country last Summer, and they brought me the track of a bird—dried in alkali Adventure mud. The measurements and peculiar arrange- ment of the toes show it to be the track of a Railami, a bird that is believed to have been extinct for many years. Theimprint is of recent times—not over six months—and without a doubt, in the vicinity of the town of Piperock lives and roams a specimen of this rare bird. It greatly resembles an ostrich in size and characteristics, but as there are no ostriches in that country, it would be difficult to mistake anything else for this rare bird. I would be willing to give one thousand dollars for this specimen alive, and will gladly welcome any information you can send me, Very truly yours, C. Ewen Cuurcu, New York, N. Y. “My ——!” snorts Magpie. ‘Here we’ve had uh thousand dollars running loose around here and didn’t know it. Ain’t that the limit?” ‘Just uh case of grasping an opportunity when she comes your way,” chuckles Tel- lurium, looking at his tickets again. ‘‘Some of us are wide awake around here.” “Uh-huh,” I agrees. “As far as I’m concerned I tries to get my regular sleep.” Tellurium pilgrims back across the street, and pretty soon we opines that we might as well go and see what’s doing, so we enters Buck’s place. Chuck leads the bird in, and ties it to uh leg of the pool-table. The bird squats down on the floor, and Chuck mounts uh chair. “Gents,” says he, yelling for order. ‘We are gathered together here to raffle off uh bird that nobody seems to know nothing about. I puts my rope on it and, being it don’t show no brand, I claims it as mine. Am I right?” “According to law, Chuck,” admits the judge. “Being all things is so we will proceed to raffle off said bird. Gents, will the first number out of the hat win the bird or will we draw more before the lucky number comes to view?” “Make it three draws,” squeaks Scenery. “Third number out wins.” The bunch seems satisfied, so Chuck takes up the hat- with the numbers in, and begins to shake ’em up. “Who will do the drawing?” asks the judge. ‘We got to have this all according to law.” “Vou can’t, Judge,” “You got too many chances. somebody what ain’t got no interest. Ike Harper do it.” I didn’t want to be mixed up in the thing uh-tall, but uh feller can’t refuse uh simple request like that, so I moves into position. states Tellurium. Let’s get Let COnniclooo SCO