Adventure Magazine Cover — page 43: what you’re looking at

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

Fe ee SR ae ae Se Pewee -- es and hase = ae = sae eae ee oS ¥) ae Be ain aan ee 2%) . x a rs < Prisoners of War rather ride a dozen miles than walk one— horsemen came, riding bare-backed mounts into the river. A yellow-haired expert swam his horse all the way out to the longship, and mounted the stern, leaving the horse to swim where it chose. 7 “Lud love you!” he said, grinning, patting himself to squeeze water from his clothes. He eyed Helma appraisingly. ‘Norse girls are good. Those cursed red sea-robbers steal more of ours than we ever see of theirs, though! . Wife, or ransom?” he asked not pausing for an answer. “Caswallon took some prisoners, but they say there’s no hope of ransom; some other gang of pirates drove them forth, so they came to seize holding in Britain. No homes—no friends! Still— is She a virgin? “She’s a well-bred filly. Those North- men who raided her home might like to pay a long price for her. Lud love me! Is that Sigurdsen? What have you done to him, Tros? He fought his way out of the woods without a scratch on him. What’s he doing with his ax? He’sa prisoner, isn’t he? Lud look at them! They’re all armed! Who’s the prisoner—you?” “Where is Caswallon?” Tros asked him. “Over on the hilltop with the druids, hours away, loving the wounded, you know; wants to be popular. But it won’t work. There are too many who say he shouldn’t have fitted out your expedition, sixty or seventy killed and maimed. Lud think of it! As if these bloody Northmen weren’t trouble enough! 7 “And there’s a woman from Gaul—wait till you see her! You'll soon forget that one, Tros! She had a letter for you from Cesar. Caswallon burned it in a rage, but she says she knows what Cesar wrote, and she’ll tell you. Caswallon didn’t dare to treat her roughly, because half of us fell hide-and- hoof in love with her, and there are plenty who say he ought to make terms with Ceesar. “She says you and Cesar understand each other, and we all want to know what Czesar’s terms are. Skell came shortly after midnight, wandered all over town trying to wake people, but we were too tired to listen to him. Besides, Skell isa liar. He’s ia his own house now. I saw the smoke as I came by.” “Skell?” said Tros. “Ves, Skell, the box you packed off to Caritia to talk to Cesar. Skell the liar, 41 Skell who said you helped him to wreck Ceesar’s fleet, although everybody knew you did it all alone. Why didn’t you kill him, Tros? Skell said something last night about having saved you in the river—longshore-- men or something. Nobody believed him. He said you’d sent him ahead to warn us — all not to listen to anything Caswallon says until we’ve heard you.”’ ‘Where is Fflur?” Tros asked, when th youngster paused for breath. : “With Caswallon, getting in the druids’ way, [suppose, helping to hurt the wounded. What are you going to do with this ship? Burn it? Say—that’s a good idea! Burn both ships! Make a floating bonfire in the Pool tonight! Tonight’s the funeral. All the countryside in procession from Lunden to the burying-ground, chariots, torches. They say your father’s corpse’ll be right in front, ahead of everything except old ‘Long- beard.’ Why not have a bonfire of two ships when we come back? Something to show Cesar’s woman. Show her we Britons can stage a circus too!” He paused for breath again. “Where is Orwic?” Tros inquired. “Nursing himself and trying to tule Lunden. Caswallon left him in charge. But Orwic isn’t popular just now—lost too many men on your expedition. Everybody says it must have been his fault. And no loot—didn’t bring a stick of loot back with him from Gaul. “Everybody says, ‘Caswallon’s nephew is Caswallon’s man,’ and the chief hasn’t been popular these ten days past. Besides, why did Orwic wait so long before he came to help us in the woods? Say, did you see me cut down three Northmen on the run, right down by the riverbank there, where the mud’s deep and the thicket goes clear to the water? “They’re trying to make out now that I had help. Three‘men claim they were in that with me; but maybe you saw from across the river. Did your Maybe you can swear I did it single-handed. Three great brutes of Northmen as big as Sigurdsen there! Did you hear the first one roar when I stuck a spear in him? ‘The other two went down silent, but the first one made noise enough for all three. Did you hear him? Their weapons and armor are held for prize-court and those others’ll lie me out of them unless you can uphold me. Can youP” | GEomicbooks.com