Adventure Magazine Cover, October 10, 1921 — page 33: what you’re looking at

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

The Silent Captain Another bee hummed past, but collided with a rock. The smack brought Wilcox to his senses. He jumped and ran back to the dark recesses of the cafion. Later, something moved on top of a painted hill to his left. Wilcox stepped out of concealment. The figure disappeared, but in a few seconds something whistled again. From afar came the faint sound of a rifle. WILCOX now tried deliberately to draw the man’s fire, knowing that “=a Steve Adams was up there and not ame by the rifleman. Wilcox moved from concealment several times. The un- known enemy at length came nearer and fired better. One or two bullets came very close. . “Find anything wuth while?” came a voice at his elbow. It was Old Man Shay with a six-shooter in his hand. “T found a man with a rifle,”’ boss. “Yeh. It’s José Rodrigues. “Whor”’ “Rodrigues. He’s Tonio Lopez’s pard- ner. That’s why I came down here. Adams is over thar with him. Mebbe he needs help.” The boss took the suggestion. They struggled for half an hour to find some way to get up the hills without being targets, and finally they succeeded. Once they heard a sudden fusillade of shots.’ Fearing for Steve they made haste. They found the young foreman unhurt byt mystified. He was scouting around in a maze of shale hills without finding where Rodrigues had gone. “He ran the minute I started after him,” said Steve. “He went around a butte. That was the last I saw of him.” “I wonder if there are any more of them,” said the boss. “T doubt it,” replied Steve. “That ‘valley’s hard to find. It doesn’t need a regiment to guard it!’ 3 “This is.a durned myster’ous country,” remarked Shay. ‘‘Anything’s li’ble to happen. Did you notice that little shed dowrt in the valley?” “No. ‘There was nothing down there.” “You couldn’t see from where you was. There was a shed and a water-trough.” “Lead me there.” Shay led the way cautiously. grunted the I seen him.”’ He feared 23 ambuscade, but there was none. Steve was right. Apparently the place had only one sentinel. After two hours of plunging through dark country Shay led his companions to an old adobe shed under the overhanging wall of a tall butte. While Steve kept watch the boss and Shay went inside and cautiously lita candle. The light illumined an old hay mattress, old blankets, odds and ends of saddlery, dirty tinware, canned goods, a little col- lection of firewood and a lot of long irons in a corner. : “Gosh!” exclaimed Shay. “Look at these irons! Sufferin’ tomcats! The J.A.C. brand! Jacob Aaron Curry! \It’s a whole- sale business! They bring hull droves o’ cattle up here and brand the calves. The calves go back to the range and jine the Curry outfit. No wonder his ranch is growin’!”’ Wilcox sat on a broken barrel and smoked. “Have the other ranches lost many cattle?” “A few. Not many, Ireckon. Notlikeus!’’ “Then the Wilcox ranch has been drib- bling away through this pass.” There was a long silence. “Why do they pick on my ranch?” in- sisted the boss. “YT dunno. You asked that before.” “T will ask it again till I find the answer. Come. We will start for home. ‘Home? After we’ve found this place?” “Tt will stay.” “That’s right.” Shay jumped to his feet. ‘They left Rodrigues! He’ll tell 7em! He’s ridin’ for the range now to spread the news that we’re here! We'd better dust out o’ here!” , The boss showed no wild alarm. He puffed thoughtfully. “T am beginning to understand this thing. These fellows are all in together— Lopez, Rodrigues, Curry and all the rest. It looks like a big association.” Shay studied the earthen floor. “TI didn’t believe it. Now I have to. I thought them fellers quarreled too much, but now that Rodrigues is keepin’ watch over the J. A. C. brandin’ irons I reckon you’reright. They’re all in together. We’d better hit for home!” But Rodrigues never gave an alarm. There was a reason. NOOK C@