Adventure Magazine Cover — page 56: what you’re looking at

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

(4 of the dice! You smite him in the night! Hang him! Hang Skell! Hang the Gaulish woman! | Pi the three into a box and send it your compliments to Cesar! It will i Based by the time it~reaches him! Then ride your bit of Britain with a rough hand, drilling, storing arrows, making ready ! For Cesar will invade again, Caswallon, as surely as you and I and Orwic stand here! “Clever! But you don’t know Britain,” Caswallon answered. “I am a king, but the druids say their Mysteries are more than kingdoms, even as a man’s life is but a spark in the night of eternity. “They have lighted the fires. They have informed the-gods. They have found the right conjunction of the stars and set their altars accordingly. What the druids do, Jet no man interrupt.”’ “Lud rot the druids!” Orwic muttered. But he was of a generation younger, that was more impatient with eternity. “How many men has Glendwyr?” Tros asked. “Maybe a hundred! Nor will he have more unless he can score an advantage. If I have hard work raising a handful to fight ‘Northmen, what hope has he of raising an army? They might flock to him if he should win a battle, but not otherwise.” “And how many have you?” Tros asked. “Maybe a hundred. I raised three hun- dred against the Northmen; but some were killed, some hurt and some have gone home. There will be a thousand in to-night’s pro- cession, and as many women, but nine-tenths would run. : “Britons are brave enough, but they say, ‘A king should king it!’ They leave their king to king it when the trouble starts. However, Glendwyr would never dare to interrupt the druids.” “Have you not watched Glendwyr? Have you no spies?” Tros asked. “Yes. But my men go home to the feasting when. a fight is over, whether they win or lose it! Glendwyr’s men are feast- ing, too, I will stake my kingdom on it.” “Tt have seen kingdoms staked, and lost ere now!” said Tros. Caswallon’s indifference puzzled him. He suspected the chief of knowing more than he pretended, and yet, the almost stupid, bored look might be genuine. Orwic looked as bored and careless as Caswallon did. 17? Adventure, Tros, both hands behind him, legs apart, considered how he might earn fair profit that should leave him free of obligation to the man who paid. “T have a bride, a longship and a crew of thirteen men. I need more men,” he remarked. “Lud love me, I can spare none!” said Caswallon. “You have three-and-twenty Northmen prisoners,” said Tros, “and they once be- longed to my man Sigurdsen. They are no good to you for ransom, ‘They are seamen. They can build ships. I can use them. If Glendwyr should attack Lunden while your back is turned——” Caswallon smiled, a little grimly, but said —nothing. they would naturally help Glen- dwyr if he turned them loose. But I have Sigurdsen, their former chief. And I have Helma, whom they love. If I should prom- ise them their freedom under me, they would fight at my bidding. Will you give them to me, if I guard you tonight while your back is turned?” Caswallon stared hard. “Will you not attend your father’s obsequies?” he asked. “That I would dearly love to do,” said Tros, ‘but you are my friend. I think you are in danger. I would rather strike a hard blow for a living man than shed tears fol- lowing a dead one to the grave. Give me the Northmen!”’ “What will you do with them?” Caswal- lon asked. “T will guard your back tonight.” “You mean, you will dare to hold Lun- den Town for me with six-and-thirty men?” Caswallon asked. He hid his mouth behind his hand as he watched Tros’ eyes, and once, for about a second, he glanced at Orwic. “Aye,” Tros answered. “I am no fair- weather friend. As for my father, if he could come from the dead, he would bid me attend to the task of living and leave com- fortably dead men to the druids!” “You are mad, Tros!” said Caswallon. “But I like you, though I did doubt you a while back. You are a fool; Northmen are poor laborers on land. I will give you in- stead as much land as you can stride the length of on your own feet from dawn to sunset. With Cezsar’s gold you can buy mares and cattle. I will give you the gray stallion I bought a month ago from the Gomicbooks.com