2-Gun Western, November 1955 — page 41: what you’re looking at

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

42 200 yards upstream. Jep nodded and headed for the rocks. Ralston and the Bristow brothers sat down beside Shattuck and waited for his return. Only the sloshing of the river broke the silence. They were thinking of Len Conway and Mart Haskins and Sheriff Thomas—and now Shattuck. Ralston threw a stone into the riv- er. “Reckon I was wrong about Poler layin’ quiet. Looks like we'll have a little set-to with the boys.” The pic- ture of aces-and-eights came to his mind. “And that’s okay with me. No tellin’ who cashes in on a dead man’s hand.” | ies A FEW minutes Jep reappeared. He held out his hand. In his palm lay an empty .30-30 rifle shell. The sheriff's eyes swept the three men. The granite hardness of his gaze scraped against the steel edge of his words, “This is Poler’s work, sure as blazes. Whoever killed Shattuck was a dead shot, because Ben knew he couldn’t take any chances on his get- ting away. Who would you say is the best. rifleman in Poler’s outfit?” Ralston spat against a white rock, and watched the brown juice slide down the side. “I reckon Deck Koog- ler’s about it. I seen him knock the spots off a trey last spring when he won Curly Bettner’s roan.” Parnell turned the- shel! in his -fingers. “I doubt that he would head back to Poler’s tonight—too far and too late. Chances are he’s holed up someplace, either waiting for the oth- ers, or fixin’ to head in later.” “Bens got a line shack about eight- -nine miles from here. Sets in valley couple miles west of the Rake.” Cliff Bristow’s voice held a latent charge at the thought of a showdown. “I'd better lead the way. We'll go down river a piece, then I know where to cut off.” Jep nodded in agreement. He threw a blanket over Shattuck. The tension was mounting, and he knew he might have put all of them into a heap of trouble. Poler and his gunnies wouldn’t be likely to wait and talk first... Parnell kept his own coun- sel. Plenty of time for such consider- ations if the need arose; no telling which way Ben would jump. 2-GUN WESTERN The first gray streaks of morning found Cliff Bristow calling a halt. He turned in his saddle. “Poler’s cab- in sets just over that ridge. We can ride closer, but there’s a clearing all around the cabin.” “We'll go over the hill and get as close as we can.” Jep’s voice was clipped, and Ralston and the Bris- tows knew he was in command again. They rode over the rise and into the pines covering the slope. A wisp of | smoke rose from the stone chimney. Eight horses, saddled and ready, stood at the side of the shack. “They’re all inside,” Jep said as he dismounted, “but we can’t just walk in and open up. We've got no real proof that Ben had anything to do with Shattuck’s death—even though we do know it ourselves. We've got to get him to show his hand.” Ralston and the Bristows spread out and took cover behind the trees and rocks. They could see both sides of the cabin as well as the front. Jep cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted: “Poler, this is Sheriff Parnell, We’ve got the drop on you, so don’t try. to run. I’ve come to take you in for killing Shattuck.” Silence greeted him. For three minutes no sound came from the cab- in, then Poler’s voice boomed up the side of the hill. “You got nothin’ on me, Sheriff. I don’t know anything about Shattuck or what’s happened to him. I don’t aim to come out and have your boys fill roe full of holes. We're staying right here.” “He’s stallin’ for time—trying to size us up.” Ralston’s low growl carried to Parnell’s ears. “Better answer him, Jep.” Jep knew he had to gamble. He stepped into the open and held his hands away from his gun. “No use wasting time, Ben. We found Shat- tuck before he died, and he recog- nized Deck Koogler’s horse and that green jacket when he rode off. We all heard him name you and Koogler. Besides, I’ve got a .30-30 shell from Koogler’s rifle.” A rifle cracked and dirt spurted up between Parnell’s feet. He fell back and threw two quick shots at the cab- in. The Bristow boys and Ralston opened up as Jep reached the trees. “There’s our answer,” Jep gritted. oO GEomicboo <S) co