Adventure Magazine Cover, October 30, 1924 — page 93: what you’re looking at

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

Something’s Doing in Mexico * S83 It seemed that Captain Barnes was also an aviator. A light perspiration broke out on Sam’s forehead during the introduction and he was puzzled by the fact that he felt un- comfortably cool at the same time. How- ever, he volunteered to act as interpreter for Captain Barnes who spoke no Spanish. A squad of soldiers, attired in white cotton pants, white cotton shirts, enormous conical straw hats, and rawhide sandals followed Captain Tupper’s directions in removing the airplane from the truck. Sam examined it with the air of an expert, and said nothing. “‘Can you assemble it?” he asked Barnes. “T think so,”’ Barnes replied. “You think so!’ Sam exclaimed. “Well, you can help me out a little, can’t you?” Barnes pleaded. “YT doubt it very much,” Sam snapped. “T’m not a mechanician.”’ “Well, you ain’t no aviator either,” Barnes announced with some heat. “How do you know?” Captain Tupper retorted, feeling a sudden attack of weak- ness which seemed to center in his stomach. “T can tell by the looks of you,”’ was the ungracious reply. “If looks are what we’re going by,’’ Sam snapped back, “I’d say you ain’t no ace neither.” Captain Barnes had been walking along by the side of the truck but at this remark stopped and appeared to be lost in thought. Finally he peered cautiously at Sam’s face. Uncertainty must have been written high and wide on that open countenance for Captain Barnes at once reached a decision. “Neither one of us is aviators, Buddy,”’ he declared not unkindly. “What we better do is make a stab at getting this junk together and then find something wrong with it. What do you say?” “Fair enough,” Sam agreed. Work was at once resumed. In a few minutes the various parts were all safely on the ground and the truck which brought them was kicking up a cloud of dust on its way back to the river. All that day Captain Barnes and Captain Tupper worked under a broiling sun trying to fathom the Chinese puzzle before them and making doubtful progress very slowly. This process continued during the second, third and fourth days also. Both young men, however, had a natural aptitude for mechanics. In fact by the close of the fourth day they began to feel oppressed by an uneasy sus- picion that they really had assembled the confounded engine of death and might soon be called upon to take a ride init. At least they had used up all the parts available and everything seemed to fit in the place where it had been put. On the fifth day Captain Samuel .Tupper had breakfasted as usual with General Cassiano and took this occasion to re- mark that he needed a little pocket change. He would like to have a thousand dollars. Never having possessed any such sum in his life, Sam’s easy reference to it might fairly be called masterly. “But the machine, is it ready?” General Cassiano asked. He seemed to be impatient for the first time. “Just about ready,” Sam replied. And acting upon an evil inspiration he added: “We will test the engine this afternoon.” “Excellent,” General Cassiano com- mented. “Just as soon as the machine is ready you must fly to general headquar- ters and bring some money. I[ am out of money and the soldiers are becoming im- patient. In a venture of this sort plenty of money is the first essential. Money, money and more money. That is what it takes to win a war. Do you not notice how sad are the faces of our men? They want their money.” It had always been Sam’s observation that a Mexican is born with a sad face and he had failed to notice any change for the worse. But he took the general’s word for it and accordingly felt depressed. In fact he felt worse than that. If he or Barnes had to fly to general headquarters for money he might as well kiss dreams of wealth farewell. While all these developments had been in progress Captain Barnes sat beside Sam eating fried rice, or trying to, and patiently waiting for an interpretation. When the Spanish conversation lulled, however, he said: ‘Tell you what let’s do, Buddy. Just for the fun of it, let’s try to tune up that engine after breakfast and see if it will run.”’ “All right,’’ Sam agreed. Accordingly the three men acted as escort for a tank of gasoline immediately after their meal, and surrounded what appeared cComicbooks.c© in