Adventure Magazine Cover — page 93: what you’re looking at

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

The Heart of the Range Whether the posse had not known of this rock-ridge, or whether they had simply mis- calculated its position it is impossible to say. “Them two will shore be out of luck when they get in among the stubs,” he thought to himself, as he waited for his strength ‘to come back. But youth recovers eaickly and Racey was young. It may be that the lead that was being sent at him and — Dale was a potent revivifier. Certainly within three or four minutes after he had cut the bridle Racey began to work his way up the rope to where his pa- tient and well-trained horse stood braced and steady as the proverbial boulder. Monotonously the man behind the Win- chester whipped bullet after bullet into the rocky face of the slide in the immediate vicinity of Racey Dawson and the senseless burden in the crook of his left arm. Never- theless Racey took the time to work to the right and recover the hat that a bullet had flicked from his head. Then he resumed his slow journey upward. Ages passed before he felt the good firm ground under his feet and laid the still un- conscious Molly on the grass behind a gray and barkless windfall that had once been a hundred-foot fir. Then he removed his horse farther back among the stubs where it could not be seen, took his Winchester from the scabbard un- der the left fender and went back to the edge of the slide to start a return argument with the individual who had for the last ten minutes been endeavoring to kill him. CHAPTER XXIX HUE AND CRY “DD you hit him?” “T don’t think so,” replied Racey without turning his head. “Keep down.” “T am down.” “How you feel?”’ “Pretty good—considering.”’ ““Close squeak—considerin’.”’ “Ves,” said she in a small voice, “it was a close squeak. You—you saved my life, Racey.” “Shucks,” he said, ‘much embarrassed, “that wasn’t anythin’. i mean— Yuh— you know what I mean.’ “Surely. I know = you mean. All the same, you saved my life. Tell me, was 83 that man shooting at us all the time after I fainted until you got me under cover?” “Not all the time, no.” “But most of the time. Oh, you can ' make small of it but you were very brave. It isn’t everybody would. have stuck the .way you did.” Smack! Tchuck! A bullet struck a rock two feet below where Racey lay on his stomach, his rifle-barrel poked out between shrubs of smooth sumac; another bored the bole of a gray stub at his back. He fired quickly at the first puff of smoke, then sent two bullets a little to the left, of the center of the second puff. “Not much chance of hittin’ the first fel- ler,” he said to Molly. ‘“He’s behind a log but that second sport is behind a bush same as me—Huh? Oh, I’m all right. I got the ground in front of me. He hasn’t. Alla same, we ain’t stayin’ here no longer, I think I seen half-a-dozen gents cuttin’ across the end of the slide. Give ’em time an’ they’ll cut in behind us, which ain’t part of my plans a-tall. Let’s go.” He crawfished backward on his hands and knees. Molly followed his example. When they were sufficiently far back to be able - to stand upright with safety they scram- bled to their feet and hurried to the horse. “T’ll lead him for a while,” said Racey, giving Molly a leg up, for the horse was a tall one. ‘‘He won’t have to carry double just yet.” So, with Racey walking ahead, they re- sumed their retreat. The ridge of rock cutting across the burned-over area could not properly be called rim-rock. It was a different forma- tion. Set at an angle, it climbed steadily upward to the very top of the mountain. In places weather-worn to a slippery smeoth- ness; in others jagged, fragment-strewn, where the rain had washed an earth-cover- ing upon the rock the cheerful kinnikinic spread its mantle of shining green. The man and the girl and the horse made good time. Racey’s feet began to hurt be- fore he had gone a mile, but he knew that something besides a pair of feet would be ir- reparably damaged if he did not keep going. If they caught him he would be lynched; that’s what he would be. If he weren’t shot first. And the girl—well, she would get at the least ten years at Piegan City, 2f they were caught. But “if” is the longest and Gomichoo Ss (E@)