Action-Packed Western, May 1957 — page 65: what you’re looking at

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

4 ee aw” sll LOST RANGE 65 Gennie Brant swung her sorrel around so that she was facing Jim Lavery. There was amusement flash- ing in her dark eyes. “A woman has a right to change her mind,” she said lightly. She was wearing levis and a flannel shirt, open at the throat. She had pushed her hair back under her wide- brimmed Stetson. A gunbelt was slung about her narrow waist. Lavery’s big right hand went to his chin. “You’re going back. Right now,” he told her harshly. “I’ve got enough on my hands, without worryin’ about you.” She seemed to rise a little in her saddle. “I’m finding out what’s going on in that canyon whether you like it or not.” Her voice rose defiantly. “If you don’t want me around, I'll go on alone.” He glanced at her silently, knowing she meant what she said, while he slowly admitted defeat. “There could be real trouble, Gennie,” he remarked after a moment. “Tt would be better if there were two, then.” He didn’t like it. But there wasn’t anvthing he could do about it. He shrugged. “A woman don’t have no right to be so stubborn.” “A man either,” she told him. HE ANSWER was there, in the canyon below. Maybe six hundred head of cattle, huddled in tight bunch- es, At one end, by the hastily con- structed shelter and shed, a half-dozen men were busy running brands. You could hear the bawl of the cows, al- most smell the burning flesh. Gennie’s fingers clutched Lavery’s arm. She whispered tensely: “We got to get heip. The sheriff...” “Hyson’s man. But we'll get help, Gennie. This is a big deal.” He felt a little finger of fear sliding under his skin. Was this tied up to Hyson? Could they round up help in 2 we ee ee 7‘ > : _ - ee wef in ae ~_ —_ i pad % . - — i gg Were * — - ~~ - i ww IE et ge Se A Pe iw é = < > ee ie ee ee” ee Mee Se 5 a eS — te Pe Oe time? Without the law to back them up, there might be trouble. And Hyson would fight back. Hard. He had too much to lose. - They had better get away quickly, before there was any chance of their being discovered. For himself it didn’t matter so much. But for Gennie.. . He whispered to her, and they be- gan crawling back through the bushes to where they had left their horses. Lavery didn’t know how this would work out. He could only sense that what they had found increased their danger. | Reaching the clearing, he stood up, brushing dried leaves from his levis. Their ponies a little way off were close together nuzzling each other. Behind him he heard Gennie breathing heavily. He turned and searched her face for a moment, regarding the slight quiver of her nostrils, the clean pattern of her cheek bones, the smooth brown- ness of her skin. Her red lips seemed very full. “This is why Hyson was so eager to close down on Dad,” she said softly. ‘Why he shot him.” “Yeah, this is why.” In the silence between them, Lavery could hear the faraway sound of the cattle. For an instant they seemed lost there, the two of them, caught between the sky and earth. He took a step forward, hesitated, then reached out and circled Gennie with his strong arms. Held her slender : body against him while his lips pressed hers, gently at first, then with increas- ing hunger. Slowly she seemed to melt into his being. And then, fiercely, she was re- turning his embrace. He had never known a moment like this. It was as if every cell in his body had become alive. A pulsing music sang through him, and he was con- scious of nothing except that they had come to understand at last what was between them. It was a moment that comic 200K