Adventure Magazine Cover, June 18, 1921 — page 102: what you’re looking at

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

Q2 Marua from him. It couldn’t have been! Why, I shouldn’t dream of taking up with a brown woman! And Marua—why, I haven’t exchanged a dozen words with her since I’ve been on the island, and I couldn’t make love to her under any circumstances, because—well, because there is a girl waiting for me down in Sydney.” “T see ’ow it is,’ said Roper, nodding sagety. “You didn’t understand how Ma- rua would think and feel about things, be- cause you ’aven't been in these latitides very long. Natural fora newchum to make a mistake. But there isn’t any doubt you did take her away from Stort—she says so, and Stort admits it.” “But I didn’t!” exclaimed Bruce angrily. “My word, Roper, I wish you would get that thought out of your head. It makes me feel—unclean. Of course, I have felt sorry for Marua—who wouldn’t, with that beast knocking her about the way he does? But as for making love to her——”’ “T didn’t say you ’ad made love to her,” Roper interrupted. “I know very well you didn’t. The lass isn’t that sort, or she never would have stuck to Stort, with almost any man in the pearling-fleet willing to take her on. She’s a decent little body, according to her lights—which lights are New Guinea lights, you understand, and not your lights or my lights. You didn’t make love to her, and you didn’t talk to her —but ’ow about those other little signs what count? I suppose you didn’t make eyes at her, either. Eh?” “Certainly not!” disclaimed Bruce vir- tuously. “T never seen such a newchum,” stated — Roper. ‘You actually don’t know what you’ve done. It would be funny if it wasn’t so serious—but Stort is a nasty bloke to ’ave foranenemy. My ruddy oath, ’eis! Any- body in these waters will tell you that. Seeing as ’ow you're so dumb, I think I’d better tell you how things stand.” ‘For Heaven’s_ sake, do!’ harassed youth. cried the sa, 1 WELL, this is what happened, as tie {I’ve pieced it together from what S744 Billycan and Charley and Marua herself have told me—to say nothing o’ Stort, who ’as been ragin’ drunk for a week. » “Ever since you landed on the island, Marua ’as been after you to take her away Adventure from Stort. She couldn’t come out and say so in so many words because according to her lights, which are New Guinea lights, that wouldn’t be respectable. The man ’as got to seem to start things in such a case. But she could make eyes, to let you know ‘ow she felt; and from all I’ve ’eard, you gave her back just as many eyes as she gave you. “But you didn’t do anything. You was expected to go to Stort and buy her from him, or else you was to get into a fight with ‘im and take her away by force. Either way it would be decent for ’er to go with you; for she wasn’t married to Stort, even by native ceremony, you understand, but was just ’is property. ‘When you didn’t play the game she got desperate and determined to bring matters to a ‘ead. So she followed you into the scrub that day and put hibiscus flowers in her hair—which is a sign a woman wants to be courted—and sent Billycan down to the lugger with word to Stort of what she was doing. She wanted to bring you and ’im together, you see. A nervy thing to do, because if you turned ’er down she knew Stort would beat her ’arf to death, if ’e didn’t kill her. “Of course Stort did just what she knew ’e would do. You remember, ’e was drunk that morning, and not in the best o’ humors toward you because of the way you acted when he opened your book; so when the boy came aboard with Marua’s message ’e just got up and ’owled and started on your trail as fast as he could cover ground. ’E run so fast I couldn’t keep up with ’im, so I hove to when I come abreast of your veranda, and sat down and waited for something to "appen. I wasn’t much worried about you, for I saw that Stort didn’t stop to get fire- arms—too crazy mad, I suppose—and I knew if I went into the scrub I'd get lost. “Well, just what ’appened in the scrub I don’t know; and if you were out o’ your "ead with fever I don’t suppose you know either. But Stort met up with you and found you together with Marua; and you "ad a fight with ’im and bashed him about something cruel; and, you being the victor and the fight being about her, Marua just transferred ’erself from Stort to you, and your woman she is, according to her lights and all the nigger lights between ’ere and the Solomons. After the fight you must COmicloo oN ) CO