2 Gun Western, May 1957 — page 98: what you’re looking at

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

‘and reached out and touched the boy. He did it a little hesitantly, a ‘little reverently, and his hand shook a little like Jim Deever’s hand. Then | Guy. Rank looked at Jim Deever again. Jim Deever thought maybe Guy Rank was remembering him walking out into a hail of bullets to keep his son from being killed. May- be Guy appreciated that because - Rank’s eyes had grown a little misty. “I think you’ve made a mistake now,” said Guy Rank. “I don’t think you're gonna die. Mebbe I’m gonna make a mistake too but I’m gonna let the law keep on thinking that the Brazos Kid is dead. I’m not gonna prefer any charges against you. I think that a fellow who Taises a boy up to be an_ honest man deserves to get-a break. Honest men. are scarce as hell.” Old Jim’ Deever closed his eyes weakly. He heard the rest of the posse coming back from where Serle and Simms were lying. He heard Guy Rank talking to: them, -telling THE ROUGH THREE The hammer was not.the only thing that fell. Carpenter fell, too. He toppled to the ground, the un- punctured can falling beside him. Carpenter, had lost the top of his head. “Wahl I’ll be swahed: ” Mike Fink marveled, squinting through the hanging powdersmoke. “But I does believe I missed the can.’ The squaw was squealing with rage and loss, looking for a knife to use on Mike Fink. She was howling like a banshee. Talbeau stared at the dead man, then at Fink who was holstering his gun. “You never missed thet close afore,” Talbeau said huskily. “Al- ways afore you shot the top off the can, not off’n his haid!” “You think I kilt him on pur- pose?” Mike Fink’s heavy face was. the color of a thunderhead over the Tetons. His hand was.on his gun and evil was in his eyes. Talbeau knew he was in danger. If rumor got through the trapper clan that Mike had deliberately murdered his best to try to ge 2-GUN WESTERN—15 BIG STORIES! them that Jim had participated in the bank robbery because the outlaws had forced him to it at the point of a gun, to show them the way out of the country, and that Jim Deever and the kid had fought the outlaws the money back. “T’ll vouch for them,” said Guy Rank. “Get them up. Get them back to town to a doctor in a hurry!” All of a sudden Jim Deever won- dered if maybe Guy Rank wasn’t right at that, if he wasn’t mis- taken when he said that he was going to die. He had an awful lot to live for now. He had a good name, and there was a young fellow who didn’t give a damn about what he’d been. And there was an old sheriff who could look at human failings with hu- man understanding and forgive them. Maybe if Jim gritted his teeth and hung on he would live, to watch the kid really amount to something with Guy Rank beiind~him. Maybe he could live for that. He tried. And he did. . @END (Cont'd from page 91) friend, then Mike would get the rope... Maybe Mike Fink was think- ing of this, too. Anyway, he pulled his gun against Talbeau. And in so doing, Mike Fink made his last and final gesture-—for Tal- beau shot him, neatly and convine- ingly through the heart. Now two dead men, two giants of the forest, lay in tumbled death on the sod. The squaw’s face was drained of blood, for this catastro- phe had arrived with roaring sud- denness, Then through her mental melee speared one thought: She wanted, above all, to be the spouse of a white man—no, buck or half- breed for her! And accordingly her doe-soft eyes swung in moist admira- tion toward Talbeau. “Now I have no man...” Talbeau rose in grandiose splendor to the moment. A few strides for- ward brought them into each other’s arms and the Frenchman felt the magnificent curves of the squaw against him. “You have me,’ Talbeau said. oO ND : Com boon Gom