Adventure Magazine Cover, November 10, 1924 — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

6 Adventure “My,” said the sergeant, “how interest- ing! No chance of being lynched or any- thing is there?” The rough guard seemed struggling to find fitting answer, but his words strangled him. “Huh!” he grunted finally, and went back after more victims. (>) mysterious meat, potatoes and cold " cOffee, the newcomers were led to a barrack and told to pick themselves a bunk. Eadie went up to the second story and find- ing one that had no blankets on it sat down. It was not much of a bunk, just a bent piece of tubing at head and foot and a wide meshed spring between. ‘There was a thin pad on it that might once have been gaily colored, but multitudes of sleeping soldiers had removed most of the pattern so that it now possessed a mild neutral color. The spring sank alarmingly when Eadie sat down. : “Well, I’m in jail,” he thought, “that’s the first step. Let’s hope something hap- pens right socn. It wouldn’t be much fun to stay here any length of time.” Another man came clambering up the stairs from the ground floor and, seeing Eadie sitting there, came over to him and cast a cheap suitcase on the next bunk to the sergeant. The newcomer was built like a behemoth. He had _ tremendous shoulders, great freckled hands liberally sprinkled with long red hairs, a lowering, forbidding face and tremendous eyebrows. He sat down in turn on his bed and re- moved his campaign hat. He was as bald -as a gun butt, save for a flame of red hair around the base cf his skull. “Howdy,” began the hairy man, unbut- toning his blouse. “Good,” answered Eadie. The hairy'man began a quest of the pockets of his blouse, turning it over and over on the bed. “ these here things,’’ said he, “I al- ways lose things in ’em an’ then lock through the pockets on the same side half a dozen times. I wisht I could remember to look before I took off the coat!” Finally he found what he sought, a plug of tobacco from which he wrenched a chew. While his jaws and tongue worked this into a convenient size for tucking into his cheek, AFTER a dinner of some kind of he began to feel in first one and then the other pocket of his breeches. “‘Consarn!” he muttered. ‘Where’n the nation did I put that? Ah!” He drew out a small round box, seem- ingly of red tin, from which he took a dark substance. With this he lined his jaws, tucking it well under his upper lip. Eadie looked over to see what the box contained. “Snuff,” said the other, noting Eadie’s gaze. “Have some?” “No, thanks,” said Eadie. “There now,” continued the other man, loosening his shirt collar. “I: feel better. Have you got a cigaret?”’ The sergeant gave him one and watched it being lighted. “Don’t you find cigarets mild?” asked Eadie. “Well, yes,” said the hairy man, “I do. I prefers cigars, to tell the truth, but few soldiers carries cigars, and them that do, don’t carry ’em to give away.” ‘‘That’s so,” agreed Eadie. _ The hairy man gushed smoke from nose and mouth. ‘What you in for?” he asked. “Overstaying leave,”’ said Eadie. “Overstayin’ leave?’’ cried the other man. “How come you gct a leave when your out- fil was goin’ overseas?” “Well, it’s a long story,” said Eadie. “I got banged up in a runaway and was in hos- pital for about three months. Well, the longer I stayed and the more they whittled on me the worse I got, so I moaned to my colonel and he got me a leave and I went to a civilian hospital and got fixed up. How about you?” “Investments brung me here,” said the other man. “You’re crazier than a coot!. What do you mean investments?” “Sure thing investments. Every pay day I invested ten nice clean green ones, cryin’ aloud that I could roll three sevens in a row. Any one that didn’t believe might put a ten dollar bill on one o’ my ones and see for himself. When I got ten doubters I rolled. I done that for close to a year an’ last month if I didn’t win. Hundred bucks I made. We was comin’ from Camp Taylor to New York, so I saved ’em. Then away I went A. W. O. Icose. Huh!” Smoke erupted from every pore. “T bet you had a wild time!’ commented the sergeant. CoMmicboolk A) (© 5}