Adventure Magazine Cover, June 18, 1921 — page 49: what you’re looking at

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

Don Diego Valdez “Will I say a prayer for your dirty soul now whilst I am in this attitude of prayer?” e Captain Blood was furiously mocking im. _ But the Spaniard, though defeated now beyond hepe for himself, forced his lips to smile and gave back mockery-for mockery. “Who will pray for your soul, I wonder, when that frigate comes to lie board and board with you?”’ “That frigate!’? echoed Captain Blood, suddenly realizing the assumption upon which his prisoner had acted, and perceiv- ing that already it was too late to avoid the consequences of Don Diego’s betrayal of them. There was no trace of humor or urbanity about him now. His light eyes blazed; his face was livid with suppressed fury. cE iard to his men. “Make him fast,’’ he bade them. “Truss him, wrist and heel, but don’t hurt him—not so much as a hair of his precious head.” The injunction was very necessary. Frenzied by the thought that they were likely to exchange the slavery from which they had so lately escaped for a slavery still worse, they would have torn the Spaniard limb from limb upon the spot. And if they now ebeyed their captain and refrained, it was only because the sudden steely note im his voice promised for Don Diego Valdez something far more exquisite than death. “Vouscum! You dirty pirate! You ‘man of honor!’ ” Captain Blood apostrophized his prisoner. But Don Diego looked up at him and laughed. “Vou underrated me.”’ | He spoke English so that all might hear. “T tell you that I was not fear death, and I show you that I was not fear it. You no ‘understand. You just an English dog.” “Trish, if you please.” Captain Blood insisted upon that even at such a moment. “And your parole, you gentleman of Spain?” “You think I give my parole to leave such filth as you in possession of this my so beautiful ship, to go and make war upon other Spaniards! Ha!” . 3 Don Diego laughed in his throat. “Vou fool! You can kill me. Pish! HE ROSE, relinquishing the Span- 39 What is it to die? I die with my work well done. In less than an hour you will be the prisoners of Spain, and ‘the*Cinco Llagas will fly the flag of Spain again.” White-faced, Captain Blood continued to regard him, fury blunting his wits and choking his power of thought. “Wait,” he bade his men at last; and, turning on his heel, he went aside to the There he was joined by Hagthorpe, Wol- verstone and Ogle, the gunner. In silence they stared with him across the water at that other ship. She had veered a point away from the wind, and was running now on a line that must in the end converge with that of the Czuco Llagas. “Tn less than half an hour,” said the cap- tain presently, ‘‘we shall have her across our hawse, sweeping our decks with her guns.”’ ? “We can fight,” said the one-eyed giant, Wolverstone, with an oath. | “Fight!” sneered Blood. ‘‘Undermanned as we are, mustering a bare thirty men, in what case are we to fight? It’s just suicide, so it is. Our only chance would be to per- suade her that we are Spaniards so that she may leave us to go our ways.” . ‘“‘And how is that possible?” quoth Ogle. “Tt isn’t possible,” said Blood. “If it were——” : And then he broke off and stood musing, - his eyes upon the green water. Ogle, with a bent for sarcasm, interposed a suggestion bitterly. . “We might send Don Diego Valdez in a boat manned by his Spaniards to assure her that we are all loyal subjects of his Catholic Majesty.” : , The Captain looked as if he would have struck him. Then another light, the ligh of inspiration, flashed in his glance. ‘“Bedad, ye’ve pointed the way!’ said he. He swung on his heel abruptly and strode back to the knot of men about Don Diego. “Below, and fetch up the Spanish pris- oners,’” he commanded. ‘And you, Hag- _ thorpe, set the flag of Spain aloft, where they can see it.” ; When presently the ten sullen, manacled Spaniards were paraded before him on the quarter-deck Captain Blood -briefly and coldly recited to them the treachery of which Don Diego had been guilty and the peril in which they consequently stood. “This peril,’ he announced to them, “‘you oO COmiclboo \ ) C©