Adventure Magazine Cover, June 18, 1921 — page 37: what you’re looking at

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

When Good Fellows Get Together Tex surveyed the long, narrow field, sur- rounded on all four sides by scrubby chap- arral. “Unless there’s a ditch or something in this field we can take off, I think. Provid- ing, of course, that we can fix the ship. I wonder what in is the matter with it? Must be either the gas-line or the ignition to make it go dead like that.” ‘“‘We have no tires and this brush is so thick we can’t get up speed,” objected Ransom. ‘We can take off on the rims, and as for this brush I think one of those logs on the bank of the river may help us.” _ Tex threw helmet and goggles into the front cockpit and hopped from his lofty seat to the ground. ‘Uh huh, its pretty brittle,” he said after wading around in it for a moment. “By getting hold of a log and rolling it along we can mat down a hundred-yard strip so that we can take off, Ithink. Let’s see what hap- pened to the motor.”’ AT JUST about the time Ransom was climbing out to help, a rider, ten miles away, was starting for the place where he had seen the ship come down. Had the flyers known that fact and the identity of the rider they would not have been as cheerful as they were when they opened the side-flap of the motor cowling and discovered the trouble. “T sure said a mouthful when I men- tioned luck,” remarked Tex complacently as he surveyed the broken gas-line which stared them in the face. The gas-line from the tank to the carburetors, a quarter-inch copper tubing, had broken, cutting off the gas flow completely. “Evidently the metal had started to crys- tallize and the extra vibration broke it at the weak spot,” Tex explained. ‘With that adhesive tape in the tool-kit we can mend it well enough to get on to Del Rio. If we can, it'll just save us a fifty-mile, more or less, walk over the most deserted pimple on the face of the earth that I know about.” It was but the work of a few minutes to piece the ends together, wire them with safety wire from the tool-kit, and then wrap the gas-line six inches on either side of the break with many overlapping folds of-ad- hesive tape. “That’s got it,” said Tex, surveying his work with satisfaction. ‘Now for the real he 27 dirty work. Trundling a log in this heat is going to make two grease-spots out of us, but it’s got to be done. I need a smoke first.” ; They dropped on the ground in the shade of a wing and lighted cigarets. ‘The drowsy hum of myriad insects filled the air. The gnats which had been bothering them were temporarily routed by the smoke, and both airmen leaned back restfully. Ransom was silent, seemingly absorbed. in thoughts of a pleasant nature, if the ex- pression on his face was any criterion. » Tex glanced at him from the corner of his eye, and then flicked the ash from his cigaret. ‘“‘Ransom, I swore I’d never bring up the subject again, but I’m going to. [ve apolo- gized several times for what I did up in Arilla and I’m going to say again right here that £ know I made a fool of myself up there, and I’m sorry. I’ve tried every way in the world to show you that I want to be a friend of yours, without any success. Everybody at McMullen likes you, Ran- som, but you and I are worrying Captain Kennard to death. In a small outfit like ours, if two men can’t get along it makes things as unpleasant as ——; you know that. And f know well that unless you and I can get together that one of us will have to leave the flight, for the good of the out- fit. What do you say, Dave—shall we quit holding the old grudge and both stick around McMullen a while longer? Of course, I’m not suygesting that we forget things just to stay with the flight. It would make me feel a lot better if you’d take what I say at face value and shake because you really wanted to.’ Tex was grinning as he said the last vords and held out his hand toward Ran- om. The fiery young observer’s face had gone red and then white as MacDowell was speaking and it was his stubborn pride that showed through as he retorted— “Oh, of course, the famous Tex Mac- Dowell couldn’t be spared from McMullen!” Tex withdrew his hand slowly. For a second he was on the point of giving way to his disgust, but what he said was— “So yowre not backing down any, Ran- som?” “No, I’m not, and I’ll say again what I’ve told you. before!” flared Ransom. “You thought you were smart up in Arilla and you got away with it. But if you think just because you’re Tex MacDowell that COmicloo oN Wp) (©