Adventure Magazine Cover — page 103: what you’re looking at

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

Treasure of any line that could be thrown; though Old Bill threw a buoy. He might as well have thrown a feather. If either of the fel- lows saw it flash in air, falling, he could not beat up to where it drifted. And so they drowned. Men looked away toward where they last had been seen. For a moment or two no one said a word, but eyes turned toward Pelew who still stared out to sea as if search- ing; and they wondered how he felt now. Was it murder he had done? They had wanted to go—he had cut the line. Pelew with preoccupied fumbling stabbed home the knife into the sheath on his hip. The tall Chinaman looked carefully at Pelew, then said to Heddon— “Who this man?” ~ “One that hid aboard to seize this ship and make me lay a course for treasure island!”? Heddon looked toward Pelew— “The piracy of it couldn’t have touched you—but what of murder?”’ “Huh,” said Pelew, glaring without alarm, without anger, at Heddon. “T’ll be awright, mister.” “Be hung!’’ said some one of the sailors, not loudly but with satisfaction. Pelew swung about. There was no tell- ing who had spoken. “T won’t be hung—by no —— man I won’t! You fellers are in this deep as me. An’ blasted swabs, said you’d stick through ——. Bah! If we’d found treaser, you’d ha’ got none of it—none o’ you! I’d ha’ seen to that!” IV T THAT moment Denasso took AY Racor arm, pulled him unwill- ingly aside, bent close to his ear and whispered: “That Chink—Po-Shu just told me!— T’eeay Layeen!”’ “What!” Raeburn faced about, staring. “Shh!’’ Denasso told him. ‘Promise— shh-sh!’”’ and touched his lips with a long forefinger, signifying secrecy. “Why the—?” Raeburn patted his own lips questioningly. “You and I—no one else knows but Po- Shu and the Chinks! You and I are friends. We'll get favor from the magistrate over there—” he gestured toward the bark— “by telling him. See? We'll tell him. [’m into this as deep as you. By telling who the Chinaman is, you and I, we’ll get favor—” 10] Raeburn turned again and stared as though he had never before seen a Chinese. T’eeay Layeen was looking about the deck, at this man and that, glancing at every one with quick appraisal. Abdul was still aloof, still sourly bewil- dered. Vioux was spitting blood from a cut lip, and anxiously dabbing at his lip as if his blood were precious, and with each drop spilled that much of life were gone. Madame had gone to Po-Shu and put an arm about her, whispering; but though Po- Shu did not try to draw away she would not go as Madame wished. T’eeay Layeen’s eyes glanced without an instant’s pause over the women. He looked at men, and looked hardly longer at young Raeburn and the opium-eater, Denasso, than at the useless women. Old Tom and Old Bill, not liking to be stared at by a Chinese, stared back as if a little insulted. Heddon he seemed to measure carefully, and having looked quickly at the men about Pelew, said to Pelew— “You want treasure?” “Aw, don’t be funny!’ Pelew shouted. As if Pelew had not answered, he re- peated— “You want treasure?” “Yeah, you! Don’t ever’body? I want lots o’ things. I want that blasted bark to go to , too!” “T,” said T’eeay Layeen, ‘“‘know treasure. Where it is.” “Aw, shut up!” “For what we’ve done, you, me, all here, must go to prison, and some will have their heads broke off by a rope, as is the English way!” He spoke slowly, choosing the words as if to make them forceful. ‘“‘We here— many men! We take that ship—’”’ this to Heddon—“we sail away. You help me do that—” this to Pelew—‘‘I show you trea- sure. You do that?” Raeburn started to get to Heddon’s side; but Denasso sensed what he was about, caught hold of him, held on: “No, you promised not to tell. You’ve not the right—after I did it for you—to help you—” Heddon frowned at the Chinese, really frowning thoughtfully at his proposal, and then turned eyes toward the bark. Walscher’s barque. Had it been anybody’s else bark there would not have been so much of a scowl on Heddon’s face. It was one thing to be overhauled and carried off; COMICLOOOKS Cc C@