Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 3 — page 191: what you’re looking at

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

LAND OF THE SHADOW PEOPLE. him that you wish me for your slave. - While we stay alive there is always a chance to get away.” With a nod and a smile at the answer, and a last admiring glance at Grimshaw, who still sat in the same position, the. curaca departed, taking Tomas with him. “ Thank you, Mr. Arnold,” said Zalmon after a time. The fingers with which he .began to roll a cigarette trembled slightly; but his voice was firm. ‘‘ Yet you think me a damned rotter.” “Hell! I’d do as much for a “dog,” snapped Jim. ‘“ My God—to-morrow!” he groaned irrelevantly. But the fat man was a brave man, and he did not cry small beer when he saw that his jig was up. He went out and took a turn in the compound, and-later ate his dinner with unimpaired appetite. In the afternoon he scribbled for a time with an indelible pencil in the little alligator note- book -in which he was wont to record his ‘fishing exploits. “Do you know, Mr. Arnold, this little run after emeralds was to have been my last venture,” he said, closing the book and putting it away. “I had a dream—fool- ish, perhaps, but mine—of owning a little place out in southern California—three or four hundted acres in the foot-hills—nice grounds—little river with lots of fish—all - that sort of thing. “Td have built a house, of course— rather sort of a castle I had in mind. Id have had my friends there—I have friends, Mr. Arnold—and some nice young women about—pretty enough to cheer a man’s de- clining years. Sounds like comic opera, “doesn’t it? Yes—that’s what I’d have done.” He stared out through the door- way and whistled softly a bar from “ The Mikado.” Jim, clicking together in his pocket a brace of useless cartridge-clips, could think of little to say. The situation was too much for words. He might have felt-more com- fortable had it not been for the terrible calmness of Zalmon. Thoroughly and irredeemably wicked as he knew the old reprobate to be, implaca- ble, iron-willed and pitiless, he was dis- playing qualities which compelled respect. ~ And just at this juncture Jim would rather not have respected him. Grimshaw ate as hearty a supper as she had a dinner, and slept like a child> while Jim scarcely touched food, and _ tossed sleeplessly nearly all the night through. Arnold made up his mind that, heartily as he despised Zalmon, he could not see him dragged out of there to his death without putting up a fight, which very probably would send him along the same route. Perhaps the curaca. foresaw some such decision. At any rate, two warriors entered the malocca soundlessly in the early hours of the morning, seized Jim, who had begun to doze, and bound him tightly with sipos. When he found that he could not break them, he turned his face to the wall, and tears came into his eyes, for which he was not ashamed. The sun came up big and bright, and it was a fine day. And presently the curaca came with Tomas to say that the tribesmen were waiting. Zalmon ate his breakfast calmly, delib- erately rolled and smoked a cigarette, and then stepped over to Arnold and dropped the little alligator book and another small packet on the bed. | “T’ve two notions,” he said. ‘“ One is that you will come through this affair all right; and the other is that Mr.. Jones isn’t dead, and will pull through, too. He is a lucky man. ‘If either of you do, there is informa- tion in the book which will be useful. In the case there is my razor. You'll need it. S'’pose that I might have used it my- self in the night and fooled our friend the curaca here; but that would have been playing it rather low down on him after all the pains he’s taken. Besides, he re- minded me yesterday that I was raised a Methodist; and they don’t approve of such things. Good-by, Mr. Arnold.” ‘“‘Good-by, Grimshaw.” It was Jim’s voice that shook, and he could say no more. Again the tears rushed into his eyes. Grimshaw bent over, found his bound hands, and pressed them. Then he went out with a steady step, and smiling. § S Original f Onn A, ( AT3 NOOK CO OHIO STATE U NG LY