Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 4, 1925 — page 112: what you’re looking at

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

902 A tense silence met the king’s words. He paused a moment, expectantly awaiting the cheer that never came, then frowned and raised his hand as a signal. The iron gates at one end of the arena were pulled aside, and out trotted one woofus, then another, and another, and another. Cabot strained his eyes for the appear- ance of the fifth woofus, 47s woofus, but it was nowhere to be seen. The iron gates swung shut; and the four beasts, each a match for ten Cupians, trotted out to do him battle. Upon entering the arena, each woofus blinked its eyes for a few paraparths until it became accustomed to the glare; then Stretched itself, and began to sniff and look around and agitate its antenna. Finally one of them noticed their pros- pective victim and called to the others. They pricked up their antennz, and gazed in Myles’s direction. Then all four started a Stealthy catlike crawl toward him. Where, oh, where, was his own trained woofus? CHAPTER XVIII. SANGRE ¥ ARENAS. HUS collapsed Cabot's plan. Thus went for naught his many nights of instruction! He had counted on his trained woofus, the largest of the five, to hold off the other four, and perhaps cause a diversion during which he could reach the side of his prin- cess. Had some one guessed his plans, and kept the woofus from him? The four purple beasts, which had been admitted to the arena for the purpose of making an end of the earth-man, now slowly and stealthily approached their vic- tim, who watched them with fascinated eves, in more or less of a daze. “OQ Minorian, beast from another world,”’ called out Yuri in glee from the stands, ‘“‘ give antenne unto me! What think you now? Can you alone vanquish these four?” The meaning of his emphasis was most evident, and showed that the king knew that Cabot had counted on the assistance ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. of his trained woofus. Cabot came out of his daze in an instant. ‘Not alone, O King,” he replied with a meaning all his own, then raised his eyes reverently to Heaven. An angry rustle arose from the stands, like leaves before an approaching storm. Evidently Cabot still had a following in Kuana. There he stood alone, a stranger from another world, bearded, long-haired. dis- heveled, and unkempt. A pitiable sight in- deed! And yet there was something heroic in his bearing, so that a large section of the populace, remembering his past deeds, were still glad to acclaim him as their leader. But what good would this following do, for the purple beasts were now nearly upon him in their slow and stealthy approach. At this moment a crash _ resounded throughout the stadium. but it was heard by the ears of the earth-man alone. The Iron gates gave way, and out bounded a fifth woofus, larger than anv of the rest. The woofus shrieked, and Lilla and Yuri both shuddered, but each for a difierent cause: Lilla because she thought that it was a new menace to her husband: Yuri be- Cause it represented the one eventuality which he had felt sure he had guarded against. Cabot thrilled. “Not alone,” he repeated, but with a new meaning. ‘ Look well, O King!” Like a purple streak of lightning, the newcomer shot across the arena with a long- drawn crescendo how]! The sound of a woofus is indescribable. Myles Cabot has tried many times to describe it to me, but has failed. The near- est that he can come to it is to say that it resembles the noise obtained by placing the receiver of a telephone-set over the mouth- piece, when one wishes to get even with the girl at Central for being particularly and unusually ornery. Also it resembles cer- tain kinds of static, only worse. But, to go on with the story. As the fifth woofus charged across the sands, the other four heard his battle-cry, and, paus- ing in their approach toward Cabot, turned and faced the newcomer, who at once stopped in his onrush. For a few paraparths, the five beasts, An CO DOO