Adventure Magazine Cover — page 41: what you’re looking at

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

Silver Zone = eee filed out into the corridor. Dal locked the sheriff’s door, motioning Thad towards an empty cell. A moment later they were ‘both inside. y “You —— fool,” Thad grated. 2 “Don’t waste time, ” Dal cut in. ‘“We’re due at the-land office right now. I’m goin’ over an’ give my testimony now. You hunt Brick up an’ git up there as quick as God’ll let you, I ain’t got no time to fool _ around in this man’s town.” “Got your gitaway fixed?” Thad asked. “Absolutely—an’ don’t you go tryin’ to help me out no matter what happens. They can’t touch you for bein’ held up by me, or for appearin’ to give your testimony like you was ordered to, but the minute you try to help me out if I git cornered they’ll grab you for assistin’ a criminal to escape. itemember the wife an’ kids.” “You're right; you'll have to play your game alone. I got to think of my family. But —— me if I don’t take out some in- surance before I leave town,” Thad mut- tered, Dal stepped into the corridor with a keen glance in each direction. Apparently the sheriff had been on duty alone at that hour. His deputies, Dal shrewdly suspected, were already where Wells had been headed for—the Palace Saloon. In one. of the back cells a poker game was in progress among the inmates, but the pris- oners had not suspected anything amiss in the office. Commanding Thad to wait a few minutes before coming out Dal pulled his hat far down over his face and stepped into the street. Now was the critical time. If he could walk the fifty yards to the White Owl building, and up the stairs without being recognized he figured the victory would be half-won. Atleast he would not be work- ing in the dark. All he would have to do would be to look out for squalls, andmake his getaway if things began breaking too fast. Several men hali-hesitated, favoring Dal! with curious glances as he shuffled along with head down and face averted, but each man thought he must be mistaken—it was simply impossible that Dal Showalter would be openly walking the streets of Topaz. With a sigh of relief Dal opened the door of the land office and stepped inside. With a sickly grin he noticed for the first time that his face was covered with perspiration. After all it was something of an ordeal. ~ handed them to Thad. =" Se a oe ee bw a Fs elt pos ee bow Grodgg hoes: SSS: * ae re So ees Seat fs “az = = Ss — oe we neal ee x as ~— Sean = 7 +28 << = ax re ~— } Ss cee ecw a or aS ; Fe ie ey Oa <a Be. = : > = ee es : y io ie = “Good morning,” hailed a voice from wale hind a roll-top desk. “Good mornin’. missioner?” Dal asked. -° ~ “Yes. Are you the Mr. Showalter aint = 2 2 was to prove up here this morning?” the _ commissioner asked. : “That’s me,” Dal responded warily. “There’s a fellow by that name charged with killing some sheepherders around here = —TI thought you might be the man.” “T wouldn’t be apt to be here if I was, would I?” Dal grinned. “You wouldn’t be apt; that’s a fact,” = the commissioner agreed with a slightly a different interpretation of one word. urged. “Your witnesses?” “Will be right on deck by the time you need ’em.’ . “All right then; we'll start.” Testimony taking in homestead. cases Se - You the Land Com- S : | “T’d like to git this over with,’ Dal where there is no contest is usually an informal affair. The commissioner rapidly - read off a number of sterotyped questions _ —— regarding length of habitation, amount of improvements, extent of cultivation, and ~ jotted down Dal’s replies. | “You'll do,” he said at the end. “Swear.” Before this ceremony was completed Thad and Brick arrived. “T reckon I might as-well be goin’ now,” e Dal said lightly. “Who pays the fees?” The Commissioner demanded sharply. “There’ S thirty-five dollars to be paid on this ca Dal was non-plussed. This was a point. he had overlooked. He turned hopefully to his witnesses. “Y’m busted,” Thad confessed. “F just sold an old cow to the butcher, an’ I can let you have the money,” Brick — | tardy announced laconically. “Brick—you’re a brick,” Dal said ear-. = nestly. The commissioner was beginning to be = suspcious that something was wrong. Dal quickly grasped the fact that he was trying © to slow up the proceedings. The phenom- enal run of good luck could not possibly = — Thad and Brick could attend to the rest of the details so that no matter what happened the proof was continue to last. sure to go up to Washington. He pulled the sheriff's keys from his eae and DOOKS,