2 Gun Western, May 1957 — page 32: what you’re looking at

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

32 - 2-GUN WESTERN though Williams was, he could not fail to notice this, to seize upon it. “I don’t know what you got in mind,” he whined, “but it better be good, _because—” “Catch hold of this broken board,” Baxter interrupted him. “I’ve got a. grip on your belt. That’s it. Now, up.” ie WAS A clumsy operation and the sheriff almost lost his own handhold as a result of it, but after a few minutes of panting and groan- ing, Toad Williams managed to drag himself up out of the water and lie stretched out across the stern of the overturned boat. Immediately Bax- ter worked his way forward, found another handhold and pulled himself up over the bow. With one hand he reached beneath the bow and his pulse leaped when his fingers closed upon a dangling rope. It was impossible to untie the rope in his present position, so he cut it free with his clasp knife. Measuring it with his eye as he coiled it about his arm, he figured that he hadn’t sacrificed more than a couple of feet. When the other end came up he made a slip-knot noose in it and lifted it tentatively. The water had increased its weight considerably, which was just what he wanted. All this time Toad Williams had been watching him in silence, and growing understanding. As the sher- iff got to his knees, dangling the noose in his hand, complete compre- hension seemed to come to him. “So that’s your idee. You're aimin’ to lassoo one o’ them boulders. But, what then?” “We'll pull ourselves ashore.” “Pull ourselves across this whirl- pool?” Williams was bitterly cyni- cal again. “It'll tear the rope right out of our hands. Or maybe the noose’ll slip off before we get ashore. Then we'll be lucky if we ever make it back to this boat again—” “Then don’t try,’ the sheriff ad- vised him shortly. “And lay still. This boat’s bobbing around bad enough as it is.” Baxter had made his share of rope casts in his day, but never from a position as precarious as this. It was him, (Please turn to page 54) Cera worse than trying to work from a bucking bronco. One moment the bow of the boat was up, the next down and the next swinging around to a ninety-degree angle. He watched his chance and made his throw. The noose fell squarely on top of a boulder, but the pitching motion of the boat pulled it off. He tried again and his noose fell short. He tried a third time, caught another boulder, but again the noose slipped off, He tried the same boulder a sec- ond time and the noose settled neat- ly about its sides—and held. “All right, Williams.” His voice was crisp. “Grab hold of the rope and we'll start hauling ourselves in. We'll get a ducking when we drop off the boat and the whirlpool will try to throw us off our course. But Ill be right behind you, with a turn of the rope around my waist, so you got nothing to worry about. All set?” Williams looked up at the tautened line. Then he glanced out at the concave area of water that boiled and swirled about them. His Adam’s ap- ple was dancing a jig, but his tight- ened lips showed he was making a real effort to overcome his terror. He drew a deep breath, raised both hands and caught hold of the rope. “All set,’ he mumbled. “Let’s go.” They struck the water together, plunged beneath the surface, and once more Baxter felt that mighty undercurrent grip his body and try to drag him down. But the resistance — of the rope brought him up again, and as soon as his head was out, he started hauling himself in to the bank. | He could gain only a few inches at a time. The force of the revolving water was terrific. It swung the rope forty-five degrees off its course and _stretched his body out almost flat upon its surface, blinding and strang- ling him with its impact. Directly ahead he could see Toad Williams undergoing the same ordeal! and won- dered how long he could hang on. But terror, it seemed, was serving Williams in lieu of courage. Always, as the sheriff advanced, he found his prisoner the same distance ahead of