10-Story Detective Magazine Cover — page 34: what you’re looking at

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

32 stared up at Keating. Jake’s expression changed so quickly Keating could hardly follow it. Jake began to smile, looked up in round-eyed wonder, then opened his mouth to scream and could only avert his eyes, shudders tremoring his body. Keating looked up. Plummer was standing over him with the axe. Keating bitterly realized he should have known that the big ox could take more than a normal man could. He should have battered Plummer’s head off. It was too late now. Keating tried to bring his gun up, otherwise he made no attempt to move. If he got out of the way of the axe this time, Jake would get it. And it was too late to use even the gun. The muzzle was dragging up, and the axe was falling with the incredi- ble speed of a meteorite. Behind Plummer, a gun blazed up orange-red, twice, at high-angled fir- ing from the ground. Plummer pitched forward, one of his leaden feet cleared the prostrate Jake, kicked the kneeling Keating in the stomach. Keating sprang up, shoved Plum- mer back as the gun roared again. Plummer turned his face to the head- lights, weaved a step towards the gun fire.. Keating looked at the back of Plummer’s head, dark, shiny with blood, and bit his own thumb as Plummer toppled over and lay on his face. Keating exploded: “Whew!” Helping Giles to his feet, Keating remarked: “That was a helping hand, Giles. Sorry about the earlier parts of it, I hadn’t caught on yet.” “That’s okay.” Giles wiped blood from his face. “I would have told you the truth the first time, only I was playing both ends against the middle, I got too smart even for my- self.” Keating steadied Jake. Jake was on his feet, but wobbling all about. “You got too smart!’ Keating snorted at Giles. “What did Plummer do? I haven’t figured all of it out yet, but if that big stumblebum meant to 10-STORY DETECTIVE win the fight, then this puzzle is ab- solutely the worst I’ve ever come up against,” | Giles sat on a windowsill, his hand scrounging his face. “My’’—Giles almost choked on the word, but got it out—“‘bosses—” Giles gulped: “The bosses put thou- sands on Plummer to win. The grape- vine started to work, and they began to worry. They gave me the job of seeing that Plummer did win. All Plummer had to do was want to, and he would have.” Keating burst out: “Then why the hell didn’t you tell me you were on the level?” Giles tried to answer that, but Jake shouted: “So how could I believe a story like that?” Jake sputtered. “I ee Plummer wanted he should ose!’ ILES looked at Keating, as much as to say: “There you are.” Keat- ing realized that Giles was right. He wouldn’t have believed Giles, and neither would anyone else have. Even if Plummer went into the ring and lost, Giles would never be able to prove he had wanted Plummer to win. If nothing else, Giles would always have it against him that he had up- set Plummer on the eve of a big firht. And what was worse probably, in Giles’ estimation, would be the loss of face. Giles wasn’t supposed to have to ask, Giles was supposed to com- mand. “That’s the truth, you can believe it or not.” Giles squared his shoul- ders, the reflected glow from the white walls robbing his face of color, the bruises and blood showing black against his white skin. “Plummer wanted to lose. There was so much money bet on Plummer that the odds shot up like a rocket. Plummer bet every nickel he owned against him- self, “With the odds the way they were, Plummer would have made more out of it, net, than out of being chainp. GoOmiGcdooks (C@