Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 3 — page 187: what you’re looking at

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

LAND OF THE SHADOW PEOPLE. For a few moments she considered the disappointing information, and then raised her head. ‘“‘ Come,” she said, and they resumed che march down the river. “You Ah-meer-e-can’s woman?” she asked abruptly, after trudging for a ways in silence. She turned and faced Kate. ‘Why, no! Of course not!” ejaculated the astonished Katherine. ‘‘ But my hus- band is his friend, and—” ‘‘Husban’! What that?” interrupted _Nee-Nah. ““ My—why, my man,” explained Kath- erine. ‘I have lost my man, too, in this horrible jungle, Nee-Nah And I thought _ you could help me find him!” Poor Kate, who had kept a stiff upper lip amid the perils of the barbarian village, now broke down and began to weep. ““ Ah-meer-e-can . got other womans, then?” persisted Nee-Nah; hut she sidled nearer. | Kate shook her head. Next instant Nee-Nah’s arms were around her neck, and the girl, too, was crying—all of which proceeding mystified Jaqui and Rasco ex-. ceedingly. After. that there was no more coolness between Kathering and Nee-Nah. “ We find Ah-meer-e-can, and your man, too,” announced the girl confidently a lit- tle later, when Kate had told her of the Antipa and Aguaruna settlements, of which she had not known before. ‘I go there,” she declared. And go she did, starting the next morn- ing with Jaqui, after escorting Katherine to a safe distance from the Huachipairi village and leaving her on the other side of the river in charge of. Rasco. Before she went, she and Kate had a satisfying woman-talk about husbands arffl men in general, and Jim Arnold in par- ticular. “She was actually jeataus of me,” thought Katherine. ‘“ Who on earth can she be?” For Kate had found out no more about the girl than had Jim; though, being a woman, she had asked many more > questions. Not until daylight did the Huachipairi curaca discover the -loss of his intended bride and the deaths of four of his guards- ~ sen = * 469 men. It had been his custom to maintain a ring of pickets night and day in the forest outside of his stockade, to provide against - surprises. He found that the ring had been broken in the night on its river side. Three of his sentries were brought in with broken necks—more evidence that Jaqui of the house of Hualla had passed, that way on his priestess’s business. . Then a trembling old woman told her tale. Though the disappointed’ curaca brained the poor old dame with his war club, he believed her; and he was so scared in consequence that he made no attempt to follow the fugitive. He even withdrew his pickets, hoping further to appease the wrath of the powerful river god, who was manifestly displeased about something. CHAPTER XXV. JUSTICE SHUTS HER HAND. UE to a separation of the Aguaruna war party into two divisions, Arnold and Grimshaw did not meet in the course of the march to the river stronghold of the tribes; nor was either aware that the other nad been captured. Jim’s wing of the party, after a journey of several days, reached the village late at night. He was lifted down from his mule, unbound and fed, after which a big war- rior led him into a reasonably clean ma- locca and showed him to a comfortable cane bed. It looked particularly com- fortable to Jim, who hadn’t napped on anything better than a bush-heap for many ‘weeks. “Tf you're the bell-hop, old dear, and are waiting for a tip, just tell the clerk to charge it on the bill, ’cause I’m shy of change,” he remarked to the fighting man who stood watching him by the firelight that flickered in from the compound, per- haps curious to see if white men took their rest like other mortals. ‘ The savage grunted and w ent away. “Hello, central—give me Morpheus,” said Jim, testing the ‘‘ spring ” of the bed with his hand; and ¢hen, being a youth who was accustomed to take life’s offerings much as they were handed out, he rolled Original fr ) STATE J THE OH 0 GONE SOOLKS.COM