The Argosy, January 1907 — page 36: what you’re looking at

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

218 on us. The wind drove it, the leap of the boat urged it on. José stood poised for a spring on me. Behind him the hurrying boom darted forward. He could not see it—he thought only of murder. And while the lust to kill was on him, the swinging wood crashed into the back of his head. He shot forward under the fatal blow, and without a cry fell headlong into the river. : Billy from the other side of the schooner was unable to see clearly, and imagined that José had hurled himself on me. * He therefore clambered out ‘of the water into the boat, and rushed toward me to aid in the fight. Then he stopped short in astonish-- ment. “Where is he?”’ my brother cried. And I, remembering the outlaw’s words concerning Sanchez, answered simply : ~ In-hell.” Billy stood by me as I crouched in the bows, and together we stared long and curiously at the tumbling waves of the stream. Mechanically, I had let slip the anchor after Jose’s vanishing, and now the boat swung to and fro in an arc of the cable’s length about the spot where the brigand had disappeared. We watched long—longer than there was any need—but nothing rewarded our vigil. Stunned by the blow, José had sunk like a log, never to rise in life. At last my brother and I looked into each oth- er’s eyes. José’s soul had passed, and that without our soiling ourselves with his blood. We were a little solemn with the sud- denness and awe of death, but beyond measure we were glad that this man’s days of infamy were at an end. “And now,” I said to Billy, “ let’s be off to find the money.” We found provisions a plenty in the schooner, and of these we made two packs as large as we thought prudent, which we were able to cast on shore from the boat. Then we dropped into the water, and, once more on land, gathered up our supplies and set forth. THE ARGOSY. It was a simple matter to find our way, for we had only to follow up the course of the stream. But it was a long and tiresome tramp. We hurried to the limit of our strength, but with all our efforts it was dark when at last we reached the cove where we had first em- barked, and there we camped for the night. Our clothes had dried during the long march, and now, after a hearty meal, we slept the sleep of exhaustion. In the morning, however, we found ourselves greatly refreshed, and we set out with good heart for the journey back into the barranca. So, as the darkness of anoth- er night deepened, we came to that part of the canon in which we had been cap- tured, and camped for the night in José’s hut. I was the first to awake in the morn- ing, and I got up and crawled out of the hut without disturbing Billy. I wished to be alone for a little while, to think over the difficulties that were still before us. For always there ran in my head the mysterious “ N. 17 Sul 12.” As yet, I had been unable to make any conjecture as to the meaning of the characters beyond that suggested on our first study of them. I hoped, however, that here on the spot something might give me a hint that would help us to a solution. Therefore I stared all about, trying vainly to draw inspiration from the scene. I had remained thus absorbed in use- less meditation for a half-hour or more, and was just turning away in despair to call Billy, when my eyes chanced to fall on three of the pumice bubbles or domes, which stood in line rather close together, some way to the north of that which formed the hut wherein we had spent the night. On the instant I was thrilled with a great hope. I let my gaze wander over the whole visible floor of the darranca, and found to my joy that, while the domes were carelessly scattered here and there in seeming confusion, they did, nevertheless, form a most irregular line running north and south. At once, without waiting for Billy, I set out toward the north, counting the domes as I went, making the hut of José (€(0) .OO MAIC <S) (EO)