Adventure, December 3, 1920 — page 43: what you’re looking at

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

The Law Gomes to Singing River “When he reached the meadow in them spruces north of the house he came on Miss Alice an’ said some words'to her. She walked away from him through the spruces to the open slope of the valley, with him follerin’ her an —pesterin’ her.” “What’s that yo’re saying?” cried Thorn- ton, leaning toward Bransom. — Wait till I get through, John, an’ then think on your own account. FP saw Miss Alice wanted to get away from him so I hurried to catch up to them. He pulled a gun on me, an’ seeing I wasn ’t courtin’ suicide I got into the saddle an’ come away when I saw that Miss Alice had got a good start for the house while this was going on.” “By ——!” John Thornton drew back as if he had been struck. A serious look had come into the faces of the others in the place. Even Kane compressed his lips and Nixon glanced about grimly. “T guess it’s about #ime I paid that draw up there a visit,” said John Thornton. “You don’t want to go up there alone,” cautioned Bransom quickly with a gleam of triumph in his eyes. ‘There’s three of ’em up there. Frued and I will go along with you an’ maybe——” He looked about with a significant glance of inquiry. The others nodded silently. “Remember, there’s supposed to be a dead- line across that draw,” Bransom pointed out. “We've got to be careful.” “Tead-line or no dead-line, I’m goin’ up thar!” thundered Thornton, starting for the door. “We'll trail along with you,” quickly. xX gen Lang returned to the draw q found Condon working furiously in Ss the old prospect-hole. The sweat was aren, from his face and he paused now and then to swear with a will which attested to the enraged state of his mind. “C’mon out of there,” called Lang with a grin. ‘“Don’t you figure on stopping to eat?” Condon looked up surprized. “There’s a of a lot of rock here,” he observed, wiping the sweat from his eyes. “All right, you go up an’ start a fire so we _ can get some grub cooked an’ [’ll put in a few shots of powdér in the cracks in the rocks back there. That’ll beat picking an’ shoveling.” The rear of the prospect-hole, where it dipped down against the rock, was- comparatively clear. Lang had learned how to handle dyna- mite when building irrigation dams in the prairie country. He returned to the cabin with Condon, and while the latter began preparations for a 3 said Kane. 33 meal he went back to the prospect-hole with two sticks of dynamite, caps, and fuse. “What I want is a —— of a racket up here to let ’°em know we’re doing something,” he said aloud to himself as he placed the two sticks of explosive in favorable places and packed them in with soft clay. He adjusted the caps and trained a fuse from > each. Then he went back to the cabin. When the two men had finished eating they rested for a time and smoked. oh 3 believe you look better than when you blew in,” said Lang, observing Condon clesely. “Your eyes are clearer and your complexion is better. I guess the mountains agree with you.” Condon merely grunted. He was enjeying his smoke. But he realized that he felt better for the exercise he had had that nforning. His thoughts flashed back over the months since he had located his homestead in the Milk River country. He had made the mis- take of endeavoring to get a piece of land merely by filing on it. Like hundreds of others he had failed for lack of moderate capital te tide him over until he could get in a crop and real- lize something from the soil. He had theught it was but a question ‘of getting the land free and the farm would grow. But with the thousand dollars— He studied Lang with fresh interest. Where had Lang hidden the rifle-cartridges? “You don’t want to_take it too heavy— work too hard, I mean,’ Lang was saying. ‘There isn’t very much money with this out- fit, an’ you won’t have a job with me long; but it’ll tide you over until you can get your bearings.” Condon winced at this. “Somehow or other I got a hunch that neither of us figures on remaining any great length of time in here,” continued Lang dreamily. He had his own unpleasant memory ef the end of his meeting with Alice Thornten that morning. Still Condon remained silent. “Let’s go up and shoot that blast I’ve got in the rocks,” said Lang suddenly. ‘There’s no particular use in waitin’, do you think?” They left the cabin and went up to the pros-. pect-hole. As Ross dropped down into the excavation Condon paused to listen. He thought he had caught the sound of horses down below the draw. But the silence of the hills was un- broken and as Lang jumped up beside him he decided he had been mistaken. “C’mon, be fast; let’s get over there behind those rocks before that blast,” shouted Lang as he ran for shelter. Condon followed him, and a minute after they gained the safety of the protecting ledge and the rock-barrier before it the mountains COMIC OOOKS ——_ (C@