Adventure Magazine Cover, December 18, 1919 — page 33: what you’re looking at

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

Man to Man day all you boys will have to take your pro rata out of that.” Bill Royce shifted nervously in his chair, opened his mouth, then closed it word- lessly. Barbee shrugged elaborately. “T’ll take a chance,” he said. “It would be worth it if I lost; jus’ to put one across on Blenham.” “All right!’ And still Packard eyed young Barbee keenly, wondering just how much ability lay hidden under that somewhat un- satisfactory exterior. the boys now and tell them that you’re boss when I’m not on hand. Before they go to work in the morning you show up here again and we'll talk a lot of things over.’ Barbee ducked his head in token of ac- quiescence and perhaps to hide the glitter in his eyes, and walked on his heels to the door. Packard’s voice arrested him there. ‘Just one thing, Barbee: I don’t want any trouble started. Not with Blenham or with any of old man Packard’s men. I know how you feel, but if you work for me you'll have to let me be’the one who starts things. Understand?” The new foreman paused irresolutely. Then, without turning so that Packard might see his face, and with no spoken reply, he ducked his head again and went out, slamming the door after him. “T ain’t sure he’s the right man for the job, Steve,” began Royce a trifle anxiously. ‘“‘An’ JI ain’t’ sure whether he’s square or crooked. But I don’t know the rest of the men any better an’ = “Tl watch him, Bill. And, as I’ve said already, I’m here to do most of the foreman act myself. We'll give Barbee his chance.” He came back to the table from whose top there winked up at him the few gold and silver coins which spelled his working capi- tal, and stood looking at them quizzically. “T got a yarn to spin, Stevie,” came thoughtfully from Royce with a great puff ofsmoke. ‘You better listen in on it now— while we’re alone.” Packard returned to his chair, made his wn smoke and said quietly: “Go, to it, Bill. I’m listening.” ‘“Barbee’s gone, ain’t he? An’ the door shut?” Veg :”? HEN pull up close so’s I won’t have to talk loud an’ [ll get it out of my system. Before your father died he “You can go back to a) wasn’t. makin’ much money, not as much as he was spendin’. He’d tied into some minin’ stock game that. he didn’t savvy any too well an’ for a long time all P’d been clearin’ here he’d been droppin’ outside. “An’ the deeper he got in the hole the wilder he played the game; there was times when I didn’t believe he cared a tinker’s — dam what happened. Whenever he needed any cash all he had to do was soak another plaster on the ranch, borrow again from his father. An’ ol’ Number Ten is plastered thick now, Steve; right square up to the hilt. “Well, when Phil Packard died he did it like he’d done everything else, like he had lived,.makin’ aman think he was in a hurry to get a job over an’ done with. Ridin’ horseback. one week an’ the nex’ week He jerked his sendin’ for me in there.” head toward a remote room of the big house. “An’ he talked to me then about you.” Packard waited for him to go on, offering no comment. Royce, hunched over in his chair, straightened up a little, shook himself and continued: “He had drawed some money out’n the bank, all he had left. I dunno what for, but. anyways he had it under his pillow alongside his ol’ Colt. An’ he give it to me, sayin’ he was caught sudden an’ unexpected by his death, an’ for me to take care of it an’ see that you got it when you come back. It was in greenbacks, a little roll no big- ger’n your thumb, an’ when I counted ’em I near dropped dead. Ten little slips of paper, Steve, an’ each spellin’ one thousan’ bucks! Ten thousan’ dollars did Phil Packard slip me that night not a half-hour before he went over. For you. An’ I got ‘’em for you, Steve; I got ’em safe for you.’ His big shoulders rose and fell in a deep sigh; he ran a toil-hardened hand across his forehead. Packard opened his lips as if to speak, but was silent as Royce con- tinued: “T took the money, Steve, an’ went out- side for a smoke, an’ my hands was shakin’ like I was cold! Ten thousan’ bucks in my tail pocket! It was a dark night an’ I didn’t lose nineteen secon’s hidin’ the wad in a good safe place. the las’ time I ever saw itl” “T thought you said “T got it safe? I have. But I ain’t ever Which,” aoe “was. seen anything sincé that night, Steve. The Za EComicbooks.com — eres Pe *. Seer.