Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 82: what you’re looking at

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

By RAY CUMMINGS Author of ** The Golden Atom,’’ etc. CHAPTER XIV. THE RULER OF THE LIGHT COUNTRY. OWEVER pleased the newcomer was to see me, I had no difficulty in assuring him with equal truth that my feelings matched his. The first surprise of the meeting over, we took him to the living room, where Lua greeted him with dignified courtesy, and we all gathered around to hear his story. He was, I saw now, not more than twen- ty years old, rather short—perhaps five feet six or seven inches—and powerfully built, with a shock of tousled red hair and a hand- some, rough-hewn face essentially mascu- line. He seemed to be an extraordinarily good- humored chap, with the ready wit of an Irishman, I liked him at once—I think we all did. He began, characteristically, near the end rather than the beginning of the events I knew he must have to tell us. “YT got away,” he chuckled, grinning’ more broadly than ever. “ But where I was. going to, search me. And who the deuce. are you, if you don’t mind my asking? How: did you ever get to this God-forsaken place?” I smiled. “ You tell us about yourself first; then I'll tell you about myself. You are the earth-man we’ve been hearing about, aren’t you—the man Tao captured in Wyo- ming and brought here with him?” “They caught me in Wyoming all right? Who’s Tao?” | ““ He’s the leader of them all.” This story began in the Argosy-Alilistory Weekly for October 21. 872 cComiclbookk Con)