Pulp Fiction, 1939 · page 99 of 116
10-Story Detective Magazine Cover — page 99: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Analysis: "Killer of the Cragland" This is an interior story page from a pulp-fiction magazine, combining prose text with a dramatic black-and-white illustration. The page shows a detective/crime narrative in which a ranger named MacFarlane interrogates a butler named Hawkins about tensions between two men—Speer and Bushner—apparently related to a murder investigation. The dialogue reveals that Speer and Bushner frequently quarreled over Bushner's secretary, and that Speer once gifted Bushner a handmade mantelpiece following one argument. The illustration depicts two figures in what appears to be a tense or intimate moment. The narrative suggests MacFarlane is working to identify the guilty party.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
She must have stuck him, and then locked the door behind her!’’ MacFarlane shook his head stub- bornly, “Nope,” he declared. “Y’ll notice a little speck of dried blood on her upper lip. The way I see it, she bumped herself in the dark, and had a little nose bleed. No, she ain’t the guilty party!” “Then who is?” the sheriff demand- ed. “Listen, Mac, we got to make somebody the goat, We can’t go hiring some high-priced detective to come in here and straighten things out. Not with the county hollering for lower expenses !” “You fetch Speer, and Hawkins, and the girl into Bushner’s study, and I’ll soon show you the right party to put the cuffs on!” the ranger prom- ised. The sheriff grinned. “Going to put on a grandstand finish, are you?” he commented. “Well, if you can bust this — case, I won’t begrudge you a few fire- works!” He turned to the rest of his party, and within minutes the murder room took on the appearance of an im- promptu court. MacFarlane paced the floor, jaws working rhythmically on a fresh supply of his favorite plug. Suddenly he whirled on the butler. “Hawkins,” he barked, “what was the state of feeling between Speer and Bushner ?” “They—they were not always too friendly, sir,” the butler replied un- easily. ; ‘“‘And yet Mr. Speer made Bushner a gift of this beautiful mantelpiece?” the ranger asked sharply. “Built it himself, I think you said.” “That was after one of his quarrels, sir,’ Hawkins explained. “Quarrels?”’ MacFarlane’s eye- brows lifted, “Yes, sir. They frequently dis- agreed about Mr. Bushner’s secretary, sir. Mr. Bushner objected to Mr. Speer’s attentions.” Hawkins seemed to relish relating this bit of household scandal. “Yes?” MacFarlane appeared —KILLER OF THE CRAGLAND— 2°: oe Soest 4:5 i.nte EA. 4 4 AS BPG be \. XQ VAN thoughtful. “Now, Hawkins, Mr. Bushner lost a weapon from his col- Comicbooks.com