Western Story Magazine, May 12, 1934 — page 124: what you’re looking at

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

(422 to me,” Jerry informed him. “Go on.” The trailer went on for fifty feet more. Jerry felt the rock, the foundation of the higher land, be- come harder under his feet. The descent was at once steeper, though not too steep to permit a horse to negotiate it. Stopping, the trailer knelt. Jerry saw that.he was expert in his busi- ness. He knew that there might be a slight sign when the horses were handled by their riders as the ani- mals started down the steeper way. “Still goin’ down,” the trailer said. Jerry stared down at what the trailer was looking at. He was gently running a forefinger through rock dust. “Horse slipped an’ slid here, I think,” he said. “Recent, too. A little breeze would blow this dust away. Ain’t been no breeze for a while.” “Go on,” Jerry said once more. The trailer was unable to pick up the sign again till they reached the floor of the valley. Here it was plain enough and it led straight into a narrow draw. Jerry had sent the trailer to one side of the mouth, and he briefly stood and listened. There was no sound from within the draw. Telling the trailer to remain where he was without stirring, Jerry crept to the mouth of the draw. It ran away from him for twenty-five feet and then turned abruptly. Jerry beckoned to the trailer. “Follow the sign in there,” he ordered. “If-you can pick it up for ten feet, that’ll do.” ant. “Hurry up “Tf there’s a guard beyond that bend, he’ll hear me.” 3 “He won’t hear a trailer hke you. Well, Pll go in right behind you. I 99 ! f Street & Smith’s Western Story Magazine don’t want you to do what I wouldn’t do.” — “No, you stay here! You'll make a noise. If I’d knowed what I was goin’ up against, I’d have brought moccasins. I better take off my boots.” “You’re wastin’ time, an’ there ain’t no time to waste. Slide in!” The trailer. slid in, pushing his feet along soundlessly. In a few seconds he was back at Jerry’s side. “They went in there,” he said. “Go back to the men,” Jerry ordered. “I'll have a gun on you. If you make a noise = The trailer did not stop to argue. He seemed only to want to get out of there. Soundlessly he left Jerry and went,up the descent as sound- lessly. Jerry saw him rejoin Parks and the punchers. For a moment, Jerry looked up at all those men. He had no feeling of farewell. He was merely matter-of-factly esti- mating how good a chance those men up there would have of getting attackers of himself down here. The chance, he decided, was excellent. Bullets from six-guns would still have a lethal quality when they reached the bottom of the descent. TEPPING away from _ the mouth of the draw, Jerry drew off his boots. Then he re- turned to the mouth of the draw and stood listening. No whisper of sound reached him. He believed that if there were slight sounds be- yond him somewhere, they would have died before he heard them— due to the draw’s breaking off. He went slowly into the draw. He knew that he had not made the slightest sound when he was just this side of the turn. If those men _ had any one on guard, he was aware that the guard would probably be just beyond the tury. sirce te had