Adventure Magazine Cover — page 171: what you’re looking at

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

The Way of Sinners the first of my men reached me and saluted; a small and negligible fellow with a dirty face and no helmet. “The castle is taken, Captain!’ he gasped, what time some fifty others crowded about, panting and staring at me. ‘‘We are all that remain. Some traitor opened the gate from within—one of the countess’ guard, we do think; and—and—”’ “What of the countess?’ I asked; and, beside me, Scarlatti clicked his tongue again, and moved impatiently. Alas, I do avow it; my first thought—my only thought—was for her; of these men who had served me so faithfully, consideration came second. “The duke took her prisoner,” says a voice from the crowd. ‘Benedetto, the lieutenant, was killed, though.” ‘“‘And all the rest of you but what are here?”’ snapped Scarlatti. “Nay; the duke needed troops, and the most part deserted to him, rather than be hanged.”’ ‘And you—?”’ “Fought our way out, Captain.” ‘‘That was well,” says Scarlatti. ‘That was very well. H’m.” He turned to me. “And now, Captain?” I stared at him with dazed eyes; and on the instant, his hard expression did soften, and he laid a hand on my shoulder. “If you permit me to command, until such time as the shock has passed,”’ he said in a low voice, “we will go into camp here, and rest the men, and decide what is next tobedone. Is that agreeable?” “Aye. Aye. But—” He did not wait; he gave the order to his own men at once, and nudged me to tell my own ragged band that they should in- corporate themselves with the cavalry, and eat. To his servant, who came up, staring insolently at me, he gave a heavy box on the ear, and the order to erect his tent at once, and to place therein another bed for me. When this had been done, he conducted me thither, an arm about my shoulders, and commanded a bottle of wine. “T can not touch it. The countess—” “Psst!” says Matteo, pouring out a great goblet. ‘‘Drink! Afterward, we shall see. No use planning with a man half out of his senses. Aye. That’s better. Now—once more. Sit still, now, and let it settle. ’*Tis the suddenness of these things that doth dismay; J remember that in a similar case, 165 my first, when I was about thine age, I wept bitterly. There was no wine.” He went on with consoling lies for some minutes; and then, suddenly, as if awaking from a sleep, I started up from the bed whereon I had been sitting. “But we must act!” I cried. go in pursuit!” Then I remembered my lack of forces, and stared at him wildly. ‘‘Now, now,” says old Matteo. good time.” Upon this (as well as I can remember, and as Scarlatti told me afterward) I did com- mence to rave; to blaspheme, curse, swear, and behave like a madman; assuring the old man that if this had been a common passion, I would have accepted defeat and ruin as a just blow from God’s sword; but that, since Anita was, on the contrary, less a woman than an angel, inspiring me to great deeds for the general salvation of the human race, the calamity which had over- taken and separated us was monstrous, un- thinkable, unjust, and a plain assertion of the power of the devil. ‘“‘Aye, aye,” says Matteo at intervals. “Aye. So. Aye, aye, aye.” I suppose I told him (for I believed it, as I believed all the rest of this delirium) that he could not comprehend the matter, since he knew not Anita, and had never known her like; I declared unto him while he dined —I had no appetite—the story of my early life; to which he responded with much sympathy, and more wine. Finally, when he was ready to sleep, and I, for the moment exhausted, was pacing up and down the tent, he combed his whiskers for some minutes, and spoke— “‘Harkee, Francesco.’ He combed again. “From the time of thy coming to me at Costecaldo, I admired thee; but as thou dost well remember, I was doubtful on this matter of alliance, seeing that thou wert— art—in short, considering this lady who so —er—inspires thee. I am no crusader; I have been in my time, but the time is past; as I have said, I am over sixty. So. Now it doth appear that there is no question of alliance, for that thou hast no troops to bring into the combination; and in some sense, I am relieved. So mayest thou be. For since she is not to come interfering with me and my present mode of carrying on my business, I’ll help thee find the lady, and “We must “All in COmiclbooks (C©