Adventure Magazine Cover — page 63: what you’re looking at

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

The Web of the Sun a friend, when you are going to marry Tilita, or—do you mean to marry her at all?” A slight perspiration broke out on the promoter’s face. He went on resolutely with his conversation with Birdsong. “However, you must look out for a bit of bad weather, Birdsong. The ‘inviernillo’ comes soon, ‘little winter’ right in the middle of the dry season.” “Because if—if you -are not going to marry Tilita,’ shivered Nunes, staring at the mold under their feet, “‘my dear brother Carlos, I think it is quite wrong—Mios Dios, I know it is quite wrong to be nuzzling her like that—quite wrong “Confound it!” cried Lassiter, wheeling on the muleteer. “Yes, I’m going to marry Tilita—I asked you to drop the subject!” “T—TI didn’t intend——” “But you do!” “*Perdonl”’ “You are pardoned, but —— it, quit talking!” Another silence ensued with Birdsong trudging along, staring at the promoter. ‘“‘Brother Lassiter! Brother Lassiter, is it possible that you are going to form a sacred union with this idolatrous - The promoter sweated that Nunes had set Birdsong off on one of his endless har- angues. “Ves,” he said briefly. “After I read you old Nehemiah’s blessed’ thirteenth “T have nothing to do with Nehemiah. Never heard of him till you dug up a lot of insults and told me he——” “Insults! Out of the blessed gospels! Why, Brother Lassiter, that is a book of sweetness and peace, of love and affec- tion a The promoter remained silent, abusing himself for ever going to Birdsong’s meet- ing. He might have known it would lead to some unpleasantness. The colporteur walked on, studying the New Yorker with his expressionless eyes. “Do yqu realize, Brother Lassiter, that you are an old man ‘and she is a child? You are.an older man than I am, Brother Lassi- ter.” ‘““Maybe I am in years,” agreed Lassiter with poor temper, ‘but what’s age here in the tropics—a man’s as old as he feels.” ‘And while you are too old for her now,” pursued Birdsong relentlessly, “do you 33 realize, Brother Lassiter, in a few years she’ll be too old for you?” : This last reasoning revived Lassiter’s specter of old Prymoxl, a hopeless ancient at twenty-six or thereabout. What would he do when this luscious girl fell into decay? “Of course I’ve thought about it,” frowned the promoter. ‘What are you going to do about it?” “Marry her, I told you.” “And ‘live with her, Brother Lassiter, when she is old and flabby and brown, like her mammy?” The words set Lassiter to probing his own intentions, and he found unflattering conno- tations in their depths. He wanted to de- fend himself before Birdsong. An argument floated to the surface showing the inevita- bility of polygamy in tropical countries. He thought of the Latin-Americans and the code which they accept. The whole ques- tion was a matter of geography—of where a man lived on the surface of the earth— Now—he did love Tilita—but old Pry- moxl—if he could only get Tilita up North away from this heat. Then he realized that Birdsong could appreciate none of these argu- ments. Heknew nothing of geography, of eth- nology—a hard-headed bigoted rustic “Birdsong,”’ he said, ‘I must decline to discuss so delicate a topic with any man.”’ The trio walked on in silence over the deep leaf mold toward the lake. Nunes shivered occasionally in the hot sunshine. Birdsong moved stolidly with his expression- less face. Lassiter was sweating. He was ashamed and sad, filled with that queer, bitter flavor of unfaithfulness i in the midst of passion, of the hopelessness of pérma- nency, of the sneer on the.face of Time. Presently the colporteur drawled— “Brother Lassiter, have you tried to lead her into the blessed fold?” The question set off Nunes into discord- ant laughter. “Si, st, Brother Birdsong, he’s been wrestling ” He broke off shivering. “No, I haven’t,” snapped the promoter. | “Why haven’t you, brother?” “Because—well, simply because I didn’t want to.’ “You don’t want to!” “No.” Birdsong stared. “Do you want me and Brother Nunes to go and labor with her?” NOOK C@