Adventure Magazine Cover — page 47: what you’re looking at

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

The Web of the Sun against the true religion to start with.” “The Good Book says a little child shall lead them, Brother Lassiter.” “Yes, yes, that may be true,” agreed the promoter, annoyed by the ease with which. Birdsong sniped him with these quotations, “but doesn’t it say—lemme see, doesn’t it say something about taking counsel together—”’ He looked appealingly to Birdsong to pilot him through unfamiliar waters. The, colporteur hesitated— ‘“‘Well, the Bible does say take ye counsel one with another—” he laid down his packs uncertainly— “T want to do what’s right, Brother Lassiter.”’ The Stendill agent drew a breath of relief— “I know you do, Birdsong—so do I,” he added as an afterthought. Charles Lassiter was surprized atthe sudden opposition that had risen up in him against Birdsong’s attack on the girl’s faith. In reality, it was the artist in the promoter striving to prevent Birdsong from spoiling the picture. The thought of this warm, vivid girl kneeling to a tropical sun was a harmony in violent values. It warmed Lassiter’s heart like a draft of rum. As the two returned empty-handed to the dinner, Lassiter was saying a little hap- hazardly— “We'll go over these plans carefully— this is a day of specialization—want to make a success # As they walked into the western cubicle, Nunes was showing the girl the withered spot on his neck and was saying: ‘and my dying thought, sefioriia, was. that a beautiful arbol-de-vaca gatherer was stooping over me, lifting me, pressing me to her bosom with flery kisses when my camarado beat off the vampire with a club and saved my life!” Tilita shivered and touched the withered spot with the tip of her finger. “How fortunate for you, sefor!’’ “Fortunate! Fortunate!’ cried Bal- thasar, leaning toward her. ‘“‘Seforita, to continue such a dream of such a girl, I would give the vampire the last drop of my blood. I never forgave my camarado for waking me. I wish now some vampire——”’ “Oh, seftor!”’ ‘Indeed I do!” Tilita’s face was flushed when the Ameri- 37 cans interrupted the ¢éte-d-téie. A little later the girl took her platter and jars to go home. Balthasar sprang up and relieved her of all her burdens and went with her. Lassiter watched them walk away with clear-cut distaste. It seemed odd that the girl did not see through the absurdity of Balthasar’s tales and the grossness of his flattery. He attributed to the girl his own sensitiveness. In fact, a man always sees a reflection of his. own qualities in any woman he admires. A man’s love is about two-thirds self-esteem. The satisfying dinner and the hush of noon sent the promoter back to his cubicle and into his hammock. Lassiter had been too long in South America not to have adopted the luxury of the siesta. When he returned into the hammock he saw the hooks were of silver, and the ropes of the same silken colloidal material that was used by their assailant on the rim of the abyss. Another cord of the same stuff was attached to the bole of the tree. He was to use this to swing himself. He took it and began to oscillate gently. He meant to think out the endless con- undrums his situation imposed upon him. —Where were Prymoxl’s fourteen children? —Had Gogoma or any of his men climbed up on the cliff to slay their mules?—All of this suggested there was a secret road out of Motobatl.—He was vaguely ashamed of having stopped Birdsong in his effort to proselyte Tilita.—He yawned.—If there were no escape from Motobatl, such a girl as Tilita would greatly ameliorate the—— Overhead stretched the green gloom of the paddlewood, through which penetrated a ray or two of noon-tide fulgor. He stared hazily up into the green caverns. The leaves nearest him were green-black against luminous yellow-greens farther aloft. An insect hummed somewhere, and presently he saw it above him. It was a steely blue fly that poised so steadily he could see the articulations between its head and thorax and abdomen. It lowered itself very gently until it touched a tassel of the hammock spread over Lassiter’s breast. Then it flashed upward with a zing, as if the devil of insects had pounced at it. This odd-play aroused a sleepy curi- osity in Lassiter’s mind. This changed to a thought of Tilita kneeling to the ‘sun. Next moment he slept. MICLOOOK C@