Adventure Magazine Cover — page 90: what you’re looking at

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

88 Saul Brashears’ house two days later. ‘“‘The Brashearses had tuck’ em in out 0’ kindness, Miz Brashears bein’ struck by the girl’s beauty and her pitiful looks. When the old man had been buried, the girl had hardly a penny to rub ag’in’ another and was all alone in the world. Her old man hadn’t any nigh relatives, and what distant cousins he had back East was as poor as he was and was all at outs with him because of the war, him bein’ pretty much of a patriot, whilst they was all Tories. “Well, sir, the girl didn’t know what to do. She’d no money to pay her way back East, and nothin’ to go to there. She of- fered to work if she could find anythin’ to do, but law! She orter known there wa’n’t nobody at Louisville or Campbelltown rich enough to afford a sarvant, Henry. “Tf it hadn’t been that I’ve got all I can do to support my wife and little shaver— and another one comin’, thank God!—I’d ’a’ tried to give her a job myself. And yet I don’t know what Jane’d do with a maid about the cabin. I’m afeard she wouldn’t like it.” “Go on!’’ said Crist impatiently as he paused. ‘“‘Waal, right there was where Silas Mur- kett stepped in. Seems he’d come down on the boat a piece with her and her dad, and had sorter cocked his eye at her, but hadn’t hardly exchanged a word with either of ’em. Now he offered to marry her and give her a home and a standin’ in the community. He said he was goin’ down to Bullitt’s Lick, where he’d make good money. It looked like her only chance. And so she married him today.” Henry Crist blushed even in the dark- ness as it occurred to him that he might now have stood possessed of a fine-looking wife merely for the asking, if he had been on the alert. But what would he have done with her? Time enough yet to think about marrying! For the present he was too busy and enjoyed his freedom too much to con- sider it, though many a frontier girl, includ- ing Susan Murkett, had looked at him with wistful admiration. He was well worth any woman’s second look. Not quite as tall as Crepps, he was still close to six feet, of herculean build, muscled like a gladiator, had a fine, square head covered with waving, dark brown hair and a strong, honest, shapely face with soft brown eyes that could as quickly sparkle Adventure with merriment as glow with the ardor of battle. He presently lay down in the stern with a coat under his head, and after staring at the slow-moving, dusky panorama of the shore for a few moments, he fell asleep. The moon rose high in the heavens; the river swept in long curves this way and that. Now and then Crepps and Spears tossed a low-spoken word to each other across the sleeping company; but for the most part the only sounds were the plash and gurgle of the water against the boat, and the mourn- ful cry of an owl or a night-heron from the shore. II mm) AT DAWN the early risers were in- ww formed that they were not more than a mile above the mouth of Salt River. The boat gradually stood over toward the left or south bank. In little more than half an hour it was creeping into the mouth of the smaller stream, now en- larged to a considerable estuary by. back- water from the flood in the Ohio. The big sweeps were now called into play and drove the boat at a fair speed in the almost cur- rentless water. It was necessary to proceed up Salt River about a mile before a good place for cook- ing breakfast was reached—a level glade beside a tiny stream which ran from a spring a hundred yards distant. As the flat boat crept up to the bank some of the more inexperienced passengers, Susan included, were surprized to observe Joe Boyce, one of the crew, spring ashore with his gun and disappear in the forest. With much clatter of cooking utensils and cheerful talk the party clambered ashore with their provision bags, collected wood and soon had a fire going. As Crist was going to and fro on commissary er- rands he discovered Mrs. Murkett close by his side. ‘““Mr. Crist,” said she in a soft contralto voice, ‘“‘would there be any danger if I should go down to the brook yonder to wash my face before we have breakfast?” Henry was so flustered at being spoken to by the handsome young lady that he could hardly frame a logical reply. : ‘‘Why yes—no—I think it would be safe,”’ he stuttered. “But wait! Boyce is search- ing the forest for Indian sign, and if he finds nothing— Ah, there he comes now!’’—as MICLOOOK (© in