2-Gun Western, November 1955 — page 71: what you’re looking at

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

72 2-GUN WESTERN him in stunned surprise. Then he moved like a striking snake. One hand pawed out in a lightning thrust to knock the gun aside, Galt’s body twisted, and his big shoulders pinned Donnelly back against the wall. One hand found Donnelly’s throat. With the other Galt was grabbing for the sixgun when Rod Donnelly shoved clear of the wall and smashed the bar- rell of the gun against Galt’s head. ’ That single stunning blow checked the fury of Galt’s attack, drove the hook-nosed man back on his heels. With only one good leg under him Donnelly grabbed Galt around the neck; he held with one hand while he brought the sixgun crashing down on ' Galt’s head in a terrific blow that sent Galt toppling backward through the open cabin door. Donnelly sprawled on top of him. Dave Galt was spread-eagled in the snow, unconscious. Donnelly pushed to his knees, and a gun roared, and the big puncher looked up to see Pete Duchelle, rifle in his hand, taking. careful aim for a second shot from the door of the blacksmith shop. He threw himself aside as the gun exploded, and he heard the bullet thud into log walls at his back. With his sixgun he threw two shots at Duchelle and drove the man back inside the blacksmith shop. Grabbing Dave Galt by the col- lar he dragged the hook-nosed man inside the cabin. There, watching meanwhile through ‘the window, he bound Galt hand and foot. Dave Galt rolled over. For an in- Stant the beady black eyes he fixed on Donnelly were filled with puzzle- ment. Donnelly was sprawled on the floor by the window, watching the blacksmith shop. “For a wounded gent you _ get around fast,” the hook-nosed man growled suddenly. He wriggled into a more comfort- able position. “I could use a smoke.” “You could?” said Donnelly. He tolled a cigarette, lit it, drank in a lungful of smoke. “I could use some information, Galt. What in hell was your idea, killing Alec?” Galt regarded him unblinkingly. “Figured the mine was worth it.” Donnelly stared at him. “The mine’s recorded. You couldn’t jump it~you couldn’t get away with it if you killed both of us—” : “Figgered to kill both of you,” stated Galt brazenly. ‘““Mebbe, though, I wasn’t figgering to jump the mine.” “What was it, then?” Galt’s thin lips curled mockingly. “Roll me a smoke and I'll tell you.” EYOND the cabin, from the direc- tion of the blacksmith shop, a gun roared once, and window glass shat- tered on the floor and the slug crashed into pans behind the stove. Donnelly glanced out casually. He rolled a cig- arette and leaned over to shove it be- tween the lips of the bound man on the floor. He held a match while Galt puffed contentedly. “Tell me,” he said. - “It was a tip I got,” said Galt. “A gent in town tipped me off you two jaspers had banked more’n five thou- sand dollars in the last three months. Way I figgered it, that meant you and old Alec had hit a pocket of high grade—it couldn’t mean anything else. I knew once the Pass snowed in there’d be nobody here until spring. Mebbe not then: Three men can do a hell of a lot of digging between now and next spring.” “You figured to clean the pocket out? Be gone in the spring, before we were missed—before the killings were discovered—” Dave Galt grinned harshly. “Some- thing like that. Course, after it was found you two had disappeared, after the excitiment died down, a gent could move in and take the mine with- out too much trouble.” And Donnelly nodded grim under- standing. His first thought had been that the killing of Alec Brendle had been brutally purposeless; he saw now - that the crime, his own murder as well, had been planned by a cold and ruthless brain. Dave Galt had guessed correctly when he guessed that the two partners had hit upon high-grade » ore. And, during the long winter months, the three killers could quite easily have cleaned out that pocket. .They could have been gone with the spring thaws, leaving behind no rec- ord of their crime. If, later, they cared to come back and file claim to oO Comichbooksrco