Adventure Magazine Cover — page 27: what you’re looking at

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

: a t ae | Silver. Zone - who don’t ask no ‘odds from any man in a gun fight. I’ve got a bunch of tough _ hombres workin’ for me, and back of us is this powerful Sheepgrowers’ Association. The cattlemen ain’t learned to organize yet.’ “My sympathies are all with the cattle- men,” Dal confessed. “But in this instance it’s different.” “Then I’ll ride out with you tomorrow and look the situation over if you don’t mind,’ Sawyer suggested. “That suits me exactly,” Dal said cpaene “T reckon now, though, that T’ll mosey down to the livery stable an’ see how my bronc is gittin’ along.” “T’'ll walk along,” Sawyer said, heaving himself to his feet. Though neither mentioned the, matter each knew that the other was on the alert for a possible ambush. They knew that all unmeaningly they had brushed the wrong way of the hair of the most powerful in- terests in the country, and something might be expected to happen any minute. It was now dark, and the streets of the town were totally unlighted, but they were permitted to walk to the livery stable unmolested. As soon as Dal set foot inside the stable door he was greeted by an eager whinny from old Spot, but for once he paid no attention to his pet. The stall where he had left Sport was empty. “‘Where’s my horse?” Dal demanded furi- ously of the cringing stableman. The man wet his lips several times with his tongue before he could speak. ‘There was a look in the face of the man who con- fronted him that chilled him to the bone. “Nevada an’ Kutch tuk him,” the man whined at last. There wasn’t no brand on him to show that he was yours, an’ they claimed him. Wendall was with ’em, an’ he _ said I’d better let ’em have him if I wanted to keep out of trouble, an’ that’s all I want.” “You'll git into a —— sight more troubie right now,” Dal choked. He rushed for the fleeing stableman with the idea in view of breaking the man in two with his bare hands, but Vic Sawyer made a flying leap and caught him by the coat- ta “Whoa, cowboy,” Vic cried, “Yow re startin’ to clean house at the wrong end.” Dal was himself ina moment. His anger had not lessened, but it had aes direction. j-~ties - > a Le —-. a, - ~~ Baw —?) * — = — - ot BE Ss BOR ee eng sae tar SSS Sa ee eee a a Be a EN WP Set nS pn Oe aE os S5i-2 Se ees oe NR er ne ee OE pea Spee Gt ee Oo a Speer. at Se ene ee ee = a ws = yar - ——~ * =: B36 Sopa Sn tar .@ fugitive from justice, and in a land that _did not yet know he was in the country there < : ‘Thanks, old man,” he said pratebline “Tl start at the other end—an’ it reaches — a lot farther back than Wendall or those two punchers.” * << CHAPTER VII | AN UNEXPECTED FRIEND aS = [HE loss of Sport, coming so aside = after all his trouble to get the horse was — a crushing blow to Dal. Tobeonfootagain, seemed full of enemies was terribly dis- heartening to a man whose natural home- was the back of a horse. And he had fallen in love with Sport. | He accepted Vic Sawyer’s invitation >. : ee share his room at the Hog-up House, and while Sawyer slept he thought things over. — : Sa The prudent thing to do was to send the = | grub supply out to Silver Zone by Sanyer i the next day, and grab a freight train for — parts unknown. Granting that Hasbrouck — was little doubt but that Nevada and Kutch ~ would now give him a description of his personal appearance exact enough for Has-— 3 brouck to guess who he was. le eS Even if this should not happen a personal conflict with Hasbrouck could scarcely be avoided when he opposed his unlawful use of Silver Zone Spring. Hasbrouck, of course, would notify the Topaz authorities _ 3 unless he choose the shorter, more direct 22 method of assassination to eliminate him. aS =a a Undoubtedly the only safe thing to do was to run, and each time his mind came ie to that possibility Dal repudiated it anes vehemently. Ee = He was heartily disgusted with lis status = e = as an outlaw. Even in his wildest days he © had been peaceable, and his five years on a i the homestead had almost trained the ee wanderlust out of him, and made him home-loving. Though he dared not frame — it in words he knew that Vincie Bently had — greatly increased his longing for a hearth-— stone of his own. To turn and run away — meant to give up every cherished hope. — To stay and fight against long odds meant — almost sure defeat in the end, but he could ~ do nothing else. The only question was how. 2 to fight. - Dal was not a gunman. He had never ee yet shot at a man, but in his cowboy dayshe ee had practised drawing and shooting just as | : BE ricpooKs