Adventure Magazine Cover — page 95: what you’re looking at

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

The Web of the Sun sweetness, her eagerness, her rich earnest of love and children—the odor of milk sud- denly filled the bolsa The roaring of the water drowned every thought but the image. The dolsa swung up on the piled water and swung round and round with narrowing and increasing spin. Came a vast sucking in Lassiter’s ears. The front of the dolsa tipped up crazily. Lassi- ter, in the stern, felt himself being drawn down backward. Water came squirting 85 down on him through a hundred interstices of the top. It covered the spinning figure of the man with a swishing sound. The promoter suddenly began struggling for air. He strove to pull himself up. His chest made spasmodic efforts to inhale the water roaring about his head. The form of Tilita flamed brighter, then flickered— a deep gratitude filled the brain of the drowning man. He knew beyond the maelstrom lay nothing. Addenda ‘by the Transcriber AN ENGINEERING party which made a recent survey of the outlet of Moto- batl lake in behalf of a hydro-electric com- pany, discovered that the shell of the crater at the whirlpool is only one hundred and twelve yards in thickness, and that the racing water accomplishes its passage through the hole in exactly fifty-two and three-eighths seconds. Two tourists have emulated Lassiter’s passage through the whirlpool by having themselves nailed up in barrels and launched into the maelstrom. No harm came to them, although a swimmer who attempted to dive through the outlet was killed. Of Lassiter’s passage, nothing could be learned from the man himself, as he has no recollection of it. The Stendill agent’s memory picks up its narrative at a hospital in Iquitos, Peru. At this place Lassiter found himself suffering from a cerebral trouble. Nunes had disappeared, although the house physician stated that a Colom- bian, giving the name of Balthasar Nunes, brought the sick man to the hospital. This Colombian told the doctor that he had brought his comrade down the Rio Nanay, which had its fountain-head in the mountain of Motobatl. For several days the Colombian had been very attentive, calling each day at the hospital, and even asking to help nurse his American friend, which, of course, was not permitted. How- ever, before Lassiter became normal, Nunes’ visits to the hospital stopped and nothing further was ever heard from the muleteer. At Iquitos Lassiter made a bundle of Birdsong’s letters and the Testament and forwarded them to Mollie Birdsong, Bird- song, Arkansas. He told her simply that her husband had perished in the service of his religion and that he had intrusted these letters to him, Lassiter, for her. Iquitos, Peru, is the headwater of ocean navigation on the Amazon. Two weeks after Lassiter’s convalescence, a Stendill steamer made port and the promoter set sail for New York. On the first day down the river, the in- valid picked up a copy of the Diario, a local paper of Iquitos. Across the front page were spread the headlines of an execution. Lassiter read it under the awning on the afterdeck. The article wound about ih magniloquent Spanish fashion. At the con- clusion, Lassiter read: The accusation against Sefor Nunes was that he followed Sefiora Altagracia from the paseo where he first saw her to her magnificent casa on Calle de la Virgin Immaculata, entered her boudoir in the sable watches of the night, and there attempted to misuse his prodigious strength and activity. When the folicia burst into the man- sion at the call of her husband, Sefor Dom Tomas Altagracia, Caballero Nunes admitted his intent and was arrested. Sefior Dom Tomas Altagracia is a retired coffee exporter, and his wife, the beautiful Dona Purita Altagracia, has only nineteen years. They have always appeared to live together very happily. The trial of Sefior Nunes has aroused great interest and syimpathy in Iquitos, especially among the sevoritas. An admiring and distinguished anthology of beautiful damsels and charming Wives attended the execution, which was admitted to be the most magnificent held in Iquitos for years. When an opportunity was given the condemned to address his hearers, Sefior Nunes pronouneed a graceful tribute to ‘woman.’ Not a dry eye remained in his concourse of beautiful and dis- tinguished hearers. Flowers were thrown upon the banguillo; dozens of sevoritas climbed up to em- brace the prisoner. It was an ovation. Senora Dona Purita Altagracia pinned upon his lapel a blood-red rose, and printed upon his lips a kiss and upon his heart a long embrace— as a signal of her forgiveness. The sevora’s husband, Dom ‘Tomas, was teo old to attend the execution in person. Dom Balthasar Nunes met the fire of his unwill- ing executioners with an open breast, a smile upon his face and a graceful salute to the sefioras. Four balls pierced his noble heart. 1DOO) (C©