Adventure Magazine Cover — page 109: what you’re looking at

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

TREASURE do not make good murderers. When pain- ridden they have no resolution; when full of hop they are blandly at peace with the world. Then Madame inquired with the air of a woman who would talk no more— “You will do it?” “Do it? Do it? Madame, if so, then what will become of you, of us, of the ship? We would be lost here at sea without him. Not know where to go. Or how.” “Oh,” said Madame with assurance, “you find more excuses! I do not become fright- ened easily. There are others who know how to make a ship go where one wants.”’ Denasso, rubbing and rolling his neck, said: “Yes, there are others—but none on this ship, Madame.” “How you talk! There is the man Pelew. What of him, eh?”’ “Pelew can not read nor write,” said Denasso, wholly unaware of how important this sounded to Madame. “Eh? What is that you say!” “Why, he can not read nor write. How navigate a ship?”’ “What you say, it 1s true?”’ she demanded. “Every one knows it. If anything should happen to Captain Heddon, the ship would be at sea without any one to know where it was going.” Madame leaned forward, elbow on the arm of her chair and with closed fist rapid- ly patted her tightly pressed lips; at the same time her toe beat a tattoo on the deck, and she frowned thoughtfully into the dusk: So that was why the Baboon had said it would be bad luck to lift a hand against the captain, eh? And but for this opium-wretch’s chance remark— It seemed that nothing she ever planned would go right! Even the cleverest and most audacious thing she had ever done was amistake! Vioux had lost in prison that im- pudent flair which, in the old days, had been so much like courage that it was a satisfac- tory substitute. How she had planned and schemed! Worst of all, spent money, too. All to get him out, only to wish that he was back in prison. But, for all the threatening that she did, it was not so easy to put him there again without getting attention called to herself as the one who had got him out. And that would be bad. And on this sea-trip, how unluckily she had begun by trusting the brute Grogan! 103 Then she had tried to face about quick-wit- tedly and captivate Heddon. At last, des- perately, she ventured to try what she could do with Pelew. He, the clod-head, to seem the better in her eyes had lied! Bad as things were, she saw now that they would have been worse had her plan been carried far enough to put him in charge of the ship. Ah, much was plain now! That Chinaman had known Heddon’s value and watched over him! Madame felt frustrated and was enraged. So intent was her angered brooding that Denasso’s voice fell for a time on her ears without being noticed; then she heard: ‘“—it Is worth nothing to any one that I continue to live, least of all to myself. My hands are colored with opium but I will not have them stained with blood. Captain Heddon despises me, but I despise myseif too, so I can not hate him for that. You are a devil, and may the good God torture you as—”’ “T but jested, you fool!’ said Madame angrily. “I do not have people killed. You know that. But I had to make you remember that I, Madame Lucille, and not that old cook of a Chinese, am your friend. On this ship you had forgotten me.” “Oh Madame, forgive me the way I talked! But I suffer! Please, you will let me have the pipe, now? I will never forget again! Anything you want, Madame— anything! I will do it. Anything! Now you will let me have—”’ Madame arose from her chair and caught hold of him with a movement like a bound, and in a low fierce voice said: “Now this is truth! NowI[ tell you. To- night you kill that Pelew! He is the one! Nobody will care. We must be rid of him. He is the pest that will not let me make a friend of the Captain Heddon. And I will do that somehow. It must be! And to- night you do it. No one will know, if you are quick and strike in the back! When you have done that, come to me and you may smoke all you like. Till then—no! Ne! You hear me? No!” He struggled weakly, backing from her, but she held him, shook him, bent nearer, saying: “Speak! Speak to me!” His face twitched uncontrollably as he stared. He had often believed that she was not quite sane, and now was more fright- ened by her than by what she demanded. COMmiclboooks C©