Western Story Magazine, May 12, 1934 — page 126: what you’re looking at

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

124 appeared, they would have sent ~their horses sliding down that descent. ERRY stood up, lifted a hand, J and made a circular downward motion with it. The men slipped from their horses. In another circular movement he swept his hand in to his chest and then held it up, palm outward. All the men began a slow, careful movement down toward where he waited. When they reached him, he explained what the situation was. Placing three men on each side of the draw, he took the others along the wall to a second draw. This ran straight in and stopped—a blind. The men walked along it. When they came to the end of it, they found that a man could not climb to the shelf unaided. Jerry studied the shelf. As it ran out over the pan, it was flat and would accommodate a large number of men. Also it ran back in the shelter of the wall. There was room on the run-back, however, for no more than six men. “Boost me up there,” Jerry told two punchers. They heaved him up. They they heaved up four other men. Parks stepped forward. Jerry could not forbid him. He had a right to be in on everything. In a moment more the six men stood precariously on the shelf. It was too narrow here to permit more than one man to step along at one time. Jerry, being nearest the broadening, moved out. He found himself in no immediate danger. The shelf was greater in area than he had thought. He could not see the men below, and thus he could not be seen. The other five men joined him. They spread out till they made a line. The men below outnumbered Street & Smith’s Western Story Magazine these more than three to one, but the odds were not so bad since these were ready to attack and those were not ready to defend. Slowly the six men advanced to the edge of the shelf. In a moment they were looking down into the pan. All of the men except two were sprawled on the ground at the foot of the far wall. Those two were moving toward the end of the draw. Jerry saw that all of the men had stopped to eat before a guard had been placed. Jerry had been lucky. Jerry studied the men. None had blood-red hair. _ “All right,” Jerry said softly. “Go ahead, Parks.” “It’s your party,” Parks said genially. “Go ahead, yourself.” All the men raised their guns. Jerry leaned a little. “Stop, you two,” he called. “The rest of you, don’t move.” All eyes were lifted to the shelf. The two stopped, shot up their hands. Most of the sprawled men reached toward the wall. Three rose to sitting positions, clawing awk- wardly at their guns. Six bullets sped toward them from the shelf, and they changed their minds and followed the examples of their com- panions. “Up,” Jerry called. | The men seemed afraid to assist themselves with their hands. They performed the feat of coming erect without such assistance. They backed to the wall and_ stood against it. “Tell the boys below to go round an’ come in,” Jerry imstructed a puncher. “Have ’em take the boys at the mouth of the draw with them.” When that had been attended to, Jerry ordered all the men below to approach the shelf. As they arrived this side of the merth of the draw...