The Argosy, Vol. XXV, No. 1 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

2 A PERUVIAN PARADISE. ‘“And yet you’ve been at it the better part of ten years?’’ queried Kin- sale. ‘‘I should think you’d have gone back before.’’ ‘‘Gone back, is it?’’ cried Fitch, with a flourish of his huge bandanna. ‘“‘Tf Hi’d made money enough d’ye think Hi’d stay ’ere? Hi’m not sucha bloomin’ fool.’’ " Haven’t made money enough in trading all these years to pay your pas- sage home, eh?’’ said Kinsale, with a twinkle in his eye. ‘‘ Most of you traders make two or three hundred per cent on the gimcracks you sell the natives.’ ‘Tut, tut! never believe hall you ’ear, sir,’’ said Fitch, with an answer- ing grin. ‘‘ But aftera man’s been told ’e can get gold for the pickin’ hup, ’e don’t want to go back to ’is hold friends an’ neighbors with just a com- fortable living.’’ “Want to-cut a dash, do you?’”’ ‘Well, Hi was told Hi’d get rich ’ere,’’ remarked Fitch drily. ‘‘ Hi don’t want to disappoint them as told me, sir.’’ ‘‘What you want is to find some of those old treasure caves of the Incas that Keeth was reading about last night.’’ ‘If Pd been trading among these mountains for ten years I’d have had a look for some of them,’’ said the third man, with gravity. He was. tall, black haired man of twenty five or so, well built and athletic, and with a sharp, penetrating eye. He was so dark that he made an ex- cellent foil for Kinsale’s blond face. ‘“That’s hall nonsense, sir,’’ declared the trader, with some emphasis. | ‘Them yarns are just to play hoff on strangers. Nobody but a Dago would believe ’em.”’ ‘“Then you don’t believe in the treasures of the Incas ?’’ queried Kinsale. ‘“‘ Not Hi!”’ cried-Fitch, with emphasis. ‘‘ They say these ’ere Hinjuns,’’ and he pointed contemptuously at the half naked llama drivers, ‘‘ was once a great nation, an’ ’ad hall sorts o’ treasures. Nonsense, Hisays. Where's it hall gone? ’’ ‘* History tells us that Pizarro’s conguestadors got a good share of it,’’ re- marked the dark man. ‘‘’H was another of these Dagoes, I suppose,’’ said Fitch, who might be rather shaky on history, but had all the average Englishman’s contempt for the conquerors of Peru. ‘‘’E probably lied about it.’’ ‘Oh, get out !’’ said Kinsale. ‘‘ Pizarro and his companions found dead loads of treasure s ‘You can’t convinee Mr. Fitch, Ford,’’ interrupted his friend. ‘‘ That’s impossible. Nothing but the actual sight of an Inca treasure house would do it.’’ ‘“ You’re right, Mr. Keeth,’’ declared Fitch. ‘‘ If the forebears of these Hinjuns ’ad stored up gold from the old mines, as they say they did, an’ other valibles, these ‘ere Hinjuns of today would ’ave found it, an’ spent it for rum before this.”’ Both his companions laughed. ‘“Well,’’ said Ford Kinsale, ‘‘ if Keeth doesn’t locate his nitrate beds Eomichbooks (E@)