2-Gun Western, November 1955 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

THE WILD TIME 11 wheeled his horses viciously and swung off and into the cover of the livery. He ripped off his left sleeve and when he saw all the bleeding holes he swore violently again and slammed his empty gun at the crum- pled form of the hostler. Then Charlie Landry’s bloodshot pale eyes flicked wildly in the direc- tion of the Rangers, who were step- ping down in front of the livery with drawn guns amid the yelling and pointing of townsmen, and Charlie Landry palmed his left-side gun and, as promised, started yanking the horses out of their stalls so that they became a multi-layered barricade between him and the Rangers. The horses remained an adjunct to Charlie Landry’s stand but briefly, however, Landry’s near-hysteria evi- dently spread to the animals, and as the excitement outside rose as well, they started moving. One, in fact, suddenly reared, and one of its paw- ing hooves caught Landry’s already tortured left shoulder, Charlie Lan- _ dry’s profanity was purple at this and he wasted another bullet by smashing it at the horse’s head. Which only served to compound his difficulties, because the animal screamed before it died, and the other horses really started getting out of hand then. The bullets, indeed, that the light- ning-fast young gunman used on the old liveryman and the horses became, ironically, the only effective ones he got in during this his greatest show- down. For the stampeding horses caused him to have to abandon shoot- ing at the Rangers in the street, sent him desperately to the rear door of the stable. And by the time he got the door yanked open, four Rangers- had sped back there between the livery and the next building, and were waiting with lined and levered sixguns and .30-30s’, So that Charlie Landry was literally blown to hell before his» fabulous trigger-finger could react even in- stinctively.... Se Ed Spooner not only put his head on one side when he poured his coffee from his cup into his saucer, but also arched the little finger of his pouring hand. He did this on very special occasions. He did it this morning at breakfast with Mrs. Foster and Dick. Spooner had had, after all, to do all the talking. Mrs. Foster was obviously too nervous to talk. And Dick had simply eaten his bacon and eggs in silence. __ Dick did, though, answer the re- marks. Ed Spooner addressed to him (with each of which Mrs. Foster be- came more and more worried) and his answers were notable. “Man, them Rangers really give it. to him, didn’t they though, Dick?” er ney oid, yes... “Funny. Charlie Landry. The toughest of them all. I don’t reckon there ever was a kid slicker with a gun than him, do you reckon, Dick?” “No, I doubt if there ever was.” “An’ they lay him out jest as neat as a pin.” “IT know.”... “You got to be low to shoot down an old man, an’ treat a horse like he done, you know it?” “You sure do.”.., What Dick Foster replied to Janice Wells was well worth mention too, when she swept into the dooryard and slid off her horse and said breath- lessly at once to Dick, “I know Daddy will be furious but I had to see you and see how you were. I heard that—that Charlie Landry shot at you before they—” “He shot at me, all right,” Dick said with a weary little grin. “And what I did was dive for the floor with my, heart in my mouth.” “Oh. But you weren’t—” “No, I wasn’t hit, Look, Janice, I'll ride back with you, because I want to apologize to your father. And on the way I think I could do a little apologizing to you too.”... Standing in the bright sunshine in the doorway beside Ed Spooner, watching Dick and Janice ride out, Mrs. Foster suddenly put a hand to Ed’s arm for support, because her knees were shaking so she thought they might give way on her. It was possibly a let-down from all the ter- rible tension, but more likely it was a reaction to Dick’s having kissed her before he swung up on his horse... , @END QO comilclbooks.c©