Adventure Magazine Cover, October 10, 1921 — page 39: what you’re looking at

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

The Silent Captain heard your name spoke. Somebody said you was a good sailor but a rotten bad. clerk. They said you’d worked there. I didn’t believe it, only I kept askin’. I met clerks that knew you. They said you’d come down here. Described the cut of your jib exactly. I wondered about it so I came down to see for myself. I’m on my way to N’ York to take a second mate berth on a coaster.’ There was another long lence The forecastle hand knew the master’s habits and waited. He waited over-long. “Take her away!”’ he pleaded. only knew you was alive——’”’ There were tight lines around the mouth of Grant Wilcox and his eyes looked stricken, but his reply was cold. “TI have set my shoulder to the wheel here. I can not turn back.” ‘SRut——_—”’ “If I drop everything here I can do nothing there. I haven’t the money. This thing must work itself out. He is her husband. Re- member that.” “‘But—cap’n—so are y “Stow it! I will act in good time. Thank you for telling me all this. Come. I will show you your room.” But after the wondering sailor had gone to bed the boss sat for hours in front of the fireplace, staring at the embers till they died and the dawn came. It was a terrible vigil. It tore at every fiber of his being and put new lines on his face; but his final decision was the same as before. He must stay by the ranch. Next morning Grant Wilcox appeared blear-eyed and unkempt, with touseled hair and bloated face. “It’s a darned shame!”’ bawled Tupper to the cook. ‘‘He can’t let it alone after all!” “What?” asked the cook. “The boss was drunk again last night!” ‘How do you know?” “Look at his face.” The cook soon made a quick inspection. “Yeh. . That’s right,” he agreed. “Tf she 9 Xx eee THE spring round-up was the most 3 stupendous thing Grant Wilcox ever " saw. It was a matter of hundreds of square miles and tens of thousands of stamping, snorting cattle. It was a matter I would lose both ways, for | 29 of noise, dust, color, odor, perspiration, thundering hoofs, bucking horses, roping, bulldogging, branding, profanity and hard work. The affair neat in nearly a dozen big out- fits. Each outfit sent its men and each man rode a string of ponies which added to the mighty concourse of restless animals. The herds and strays were gathered from within a circle fifty miles in diameter and held at a point ten miles east of Three Buttes ranch, near. the banks of a small stream. Here was the camp and head- quarters, where branding irons were kept red-hot and the smell of burning cowhide arose like a smell of Gehenna. But branding was only an_ incident. There were cattle that insisted on breaking through the cordon. There were neck- breaking chases over hills and gullies. There were stubborn cow-ponies that had to be “‘unroostered.”’ There were broken bones to be mended and hungry cow-punchers to be fed. The cook-wagons of three outfits could hardly supply the demand. Trouble between the warring factions was ignored for the time. Every man had the holy concentration of a workman at his job. The whole show was staged under direction of a grizzled old veteran foreman famous for his sagacity in ‘“‘mixing the medicine’ when assigning the men to their tasks. Steve Adams and the other foremen worked like ordinary punchers. There was only one foreman who was recognized during the round-up. The silent boss of the Wilcox herds rode around or stood at vantage-points, looking on. He spent most of the time keeping out of the way. Nobody noticed him but he noticed everything. There had been tumultuous days that Spring. A new band of rustlers appeared in the county. Certain visiting ‘“‘bad-men”’ vied for prestige with the local ones, causing several commendable funerals. In town, quarrels and shootings increased. A rail- road train was held up. The big. loot caused others to try the same adventure, keeping the sheriff on the jump. On the range, cattle disappeared from various outfits at times and one or two running gun-fights had resulted. The Wilcox outfit lost some stock but Steve Adams and the boys were on their toes. Stealing Wilcox cattle was now a dangerous ‘business. Attempts were now less frequent. cComicoooks (C@