Adventure Magazine, March 1916 — page 157: what you’re looking at

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

se Paradise Bend “Ye seen me!” exclaimed Loudon. “Ye seen me! You was close enough to-see me, an’ ye didn’t try to stop me! Well, you sure are the poorest liar in the terri- tory.” | “Tf I had my hands down ye wouldn’t call me that!” ; “Tf ye had yore hands down ye’d be dead. I’m tryin’ to save yore life. C’mon, speak the rest o’ yore little piece. Ye got as far as the brandin’, When did it all happen?”’ ~ “Gents,” said Marvin, “this sport is a rustler. There ain’t no two ways about it. Day before yest’day, just before sundown, over near the Sink, the three of us seen Loudon workin’ round a hog-tied cow an’ calf. We was three, maybe four miles away. We seen him through field-glasses. We hit the ground for the Sink, but when we got there all we found was the cow an’ calf, branded as ye see ‘em now. Loudon had sloped.” ; “Near the Sink,’ observed Loudon. “In the middle of it?”’ “T’ve quit talkin’,”’ replied Marvin. Richie stepped past Mr. Saltoun and stood in front of Marvin and Rudd. “You've done made a right serious charge agin one o’ my men,” remarked Richie, ad- dressing Marvin. “If he did brand them cattle, he’ll be stretched. But it ain’t all clear to me yet. This here Crossed Dumb- bell brand now—see it on any other cattle besides these two, Marvin?” “No,” said Marvin, shaking his head. “Well,”’ continued Richie, “why didn’t ye come here right off instead 0’ waitin’ two days?” “We was busy.” “Didn’t go back to the 88 ranch-house before comin’ here, did ye?” sp Bg pase “Or stop at any o’ yore line-camps?” “No, we didn’t. We come here soon as -we could make it.” “What part o’ the Sink was Loudon workin’ in?” “The north side.” “Near the edge, 0’ course?”’ “No, he was nearer the middle.”’ “Nearer the middle, was he? An’ ye seen him at a distance o’ three or four miles. Ye must have good eyesight, because if you seen Loudon workin’ in the middle o’ the Sink an’ you was standin’ where ye say ye was, ye looked through about two miles an’ lish Marvin. 155 a half o’ solid earth. The middle o’ the Sink is two hundred feet below the level o’ the surrounding country, an’ there ain’t no high land anywhere -near it. Unless yo’re standin’ right on the edge ye can’t see noth- in’ in the bottom, an’ the Sink is only about a mile from rim to rim. I guess now yo’re mistaken, Marvin.”’ “T ain’t none sure he was plumb in the middle,” - grudgingly admitted Marvin. “Maybe he was kind o’ near the north rim. But what’s the difference?” he added bra- zenly. ‘We seen him.”’ “Where are the field-glasses?”’ astutely questioned Richie. “Left ’°em at our Lazy River line-camp,” promptly replied Marvin. “Now ain’t that funny, Marvin. Ye told “me not three minutes ago ye didn’t stop at any o’ yore line-camps.”’ “T mean we—I gave ’em to Shorty Simms. He’s at the Lazy River line-camp, an’ he took ’em there.” “Why did ye give ’em to Shorty?” per- sisted Richie. : “Look here, Richie!” blazed Marvin, “this ain’t no court, an’ I don’t have to answer yore questions.” “Yell have to answer plenty of ques- tions,” retorted Richie, ‘‘before I’ll see Lou- don stretched.” “T tell ye he’s a rustler!” shouted the mu- “He’s startin’ a herd o’ his own, an’ he’s usin’ the Dumb-bell brand. We seen him brandin’ that stock! That’s enough for you or any one else to know, an’ I tell ye flat the 88 is out to stretch Tom Loudon the first chance it gets!” “Well, o’ course, you know best,’’ said Richie, ‘but I wouldn’t do nothin’ rash, Marvin. I just wouldn’t go off at half-cock if I were you.” “No,” chipped’ in Loudon briskly, “I wouldn’t set my heart on it, Marvin, old hoss. I ain’t countin’ none on dyin’ yet awhile. I’ve got a heap o’ little matters to attend to before I cash, an’ ye can see how hangin’ me would disarrange all my plans. Take yore decorated cow an’ calf now an’ pull yore freight, an’ don’t look back.” When Marvin and Rudd were gone Richie hooked his thumb in his belt and looked with twinkling eyes at Loudon and the men in the doorway. ~“T guess that settles the cat-hop,” said Jack Richie. ,OOK bey) ted com) alr) ‘5 fip lt) Pare Mh ie D 4 t is A uf ip Ve Hird * ‘ he iis J ot P SIMS Sp oper ty bs! ‘4 % mh wer ay ty se, an SS See any” Ve gp : srt : wy Ms ie ML a pee : ats . Lae ag *. eee e Dod ‘ rin | ‘ | a) $ eT A FA FP em a pare Wirth WU AG we sbi tare