Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 44 — page 28: what you’re looking at

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

THE LEVER AND THE FULCRUM the time. I was thinking, as a matter of fact, that my brother was a lucky man. Not all Princesses are attractive, but there was no doubt about this one. She was a fascinating and mischievous minx—so much so, that as my second thought on that particular subject I was just beginning to wonder whether she would, - after all, be good luck for brother Tomos, who was a somewhat serious and humourless individual. “Here he is, the great man himself,’ a voice said. I turned and found three dark smiling faces at my el- bow. One looked at me, head tilted, and commented to a neighbour: “I don’t really think he’s dangerous, do you?” “Can I do anything for you young gentlemen?’ I asked. *“He wants to know whether he can do anything for us,” one said to the other. “Perhaps,” the other said,° and proceeded to ask me a question. It was the question that obviously would be put to one of my sort in such circumstances—about my parentage. “Which of you asks the question ?’’ I smiled. “I do,” one replied. “I shall be very glad to give 27 you an answer to that question with the point of my sword,” I told him. “The only way to answer such a question,’ he bowed, grinning. *‘Tomorrow ?” ““Why not tonight?” I sug- gested. “If you were to die of fear in the night, you might never learn the answer.” His face darkened. ‘*To- night,” he agreed. ““There is a gymnasium across the quad- rangle.” I do not want to boast about this. I have said that I -was always good with a sword, and for the last two years I had known that my life depended on my being superlative. The boy could never have scratched me, but in pursuance of a plan that was beginning to form in my mind, I fenced with him for an hour, making it seem that I escaped his eager onslaughts chiefly by good luck. Then, as if it were by a fortunate stroke, I ran him through the right arm, just above the elbow. , “Well!” he grinned as they tied up his wound. “You fight well for a Prince, though I should have had you in a moment, except for this slip.””. *“Does any other gentleman | conmiceloooks.conrn