Adventure Magazine Cover — page 181: what you’re looking at

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

There and Back of work well done that those important pictures would not be obtained on the morrow—and that a valuable ship was down where it would take a lot of work to get it back to the field again. He eased his lank form to the ground, tipped his hat over his eyes, appeared to go to sleep. “Don’t think I’m going to try to persuade you to let me go, Mark, but may I ask just why you insist on holding us?” ‘“You’re gover’mint!”’ said the girl unex- pectedly. “And that means our names are mud, eh?”’ Mark’s face lightened a trifle at the phrase which he remembered from his brief army career. “Strangers—gover’mint strangers—mean trouble around hyar,” he stated. “You think we were flying around to spot stills, eh?” Mark considered the matter, his lean, clean-cut face serious. “T hain’t certain you wasn’t,” he said finally. “What I think hain’t nothin’ to do with hit, though. Uncle Lafe’d skin us alive if I let ye go. Uncle Lafe’s bad.” “He is, is he? What do you figure he’ll do with us?” “He'll kill ye,” said the girl calmly, her eyes shifting quickly from Hemingwood’s back to the ship. ‘““Mebbe not,” interposed Mark. “But ye’ll hev t’ tell him a lot afore he’ll decide not to. He’s sure pizen to revenooers,”’ “Ts this young lady your sister?” in- quired Hemingwood, who showed no effects of the girl’s somewhat startling announce- ment. “Yes—we live with Uncle Lafe,” turned Mark. “Always have?” Mark shook his head. “Pappy died when I wuz in th’ army. We hain’t no other place.” “From what you say, Uncle Lafe must be rather—er——” “‘He’s a terror,” out emotion. : The flier’s eyes strayed to the dimly dis- cernible red streaks on her legs. Mark’s gaze followed his, and the young fellow’s face grew bitter. He answered Heming- wood’s unasked question. “He giv’ Liz an awful hidin’, day before yeste’day,”’ he said. Hemingwood whistled wonderingly. re- vouchsafed the girl with- 171 “Why don’t you leave him and go away somewhere?” he inquired. “Can’t leave Liz—we hain’t no other place,” he said. Hemingwood gradually changed the sub- ject. As the sun sank farther westward he drew out the Kentuckian on his army life. There was a faint wistfulness apparent in the mountaineer’s eyes and voice as he gradual-. ly told more and more about those eventful months at Camp Henry. “Did you ever think you might like to go back in the army?” inquired Hemingwood, on whom the young fellow’s attitude- had not been lost. “Kain’t leave Liz,’ repeated Mark. “Uncle Lafe’d hev killed her, purty near, only last week if it hadn’t of been fer me.” “He wuz drunk,” explained Liz, leaning back restfully on her elbows, and wriggling her bare toes in the coarse earth. “Listen!”’? said Hemingwood eagerly. “You can’t fool me. You'd like to get away from here. Bring your sister down to Camp Henry, enlist, and I'll give you my word you'll both be taken care of. You-——” “Don’t start actin’ up!’ warned the mountaineer, his face all suspicious watch- fulness. “I’m not—don’t worry. But let me tell you—” and Hemingwood went on eagerly m his effort to take advantage of what he believed to be the buried desire of the Kentuckian to get out into the world again. George Arlington Hemingwood could talk, when he had to, and he brought all his persuasive powers to bear. He glimpsed beneath the bald statements of the two waifs, the sordidness and fear of their existence with the old reprobate who was their uncle, and he dwelt on the extra pay Mack would draw in the Air Service, the opportunities which he, Hemingwood, would see that the girl had to go to school, if she wanted to, or to work in Louisville. It was no easy job, for all the inbred loyalty of the mountaineer to his clan was against him. “T’ve got plenty of money, and I'll see that you have all you need to get down there,”” Hemingwood said when it seemed as though his glowing words had made an im- pression on Mark. He was not talking entirely selfishly, either—the Duke did not know what fear really meant. ‘Those welts on the girl’s DOOK C©@