Adventure Magazine Cover — page 45: what you’re looking at

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

Silver Zone : 3 SS men clustered together at the spot where old Spot had been tied. He waited for a moment, partly to see what they were going to do, partly to give Sport a chance to catch up. Part of the posse turned their horses and rode back, but two of them, Hasbrouck and Matt Wells, took up the trail. They did not ride fast, but they rode like men with a grim purpose. Dal needed no more to tell him that they proposed to track him. It would be easy to throw them off the track except for one thing—Sport. The bloody trail left by the grey could be read as easily as print. Dal drew his gun and drew a bead on the exact center of the grey’s forehead. His _ finger pressed the trigger with a slight a but not quite hard enough to oe ‘<4 T can’t do it,” he muttered sheep- ishly. “We'll all take our chances together. — He was getting to a point where he could shoot at men with impunity, but he was not yet case-hardened enough to shoot a defenseless horse. Calling to Sport to come on he urged old Spot to a long, wolf-like lope which ate up the miles. The grey forged -pluckily along behind. — Gradually Dal veered around to the south until he reached the trail he had come in on. He had seen nothing of Wells or Hasbrouck, but he knew they were still on his trail. There was a small creek at this place and he dismounted long enough to wash the blood from Sport’s wound, and to fasten a tourniquet, made from astrip of blanket, around the leg to check the bleeding. | This completed he hurriedly washed his own wound in hit or miss fash- ion, and mounting, rode on toward the west gradually working his way closer to the mountains. This direction was taken in hopes that the two men behind might guess his strategy to consist in making a complete circle of the town. By night-fall he was well into the mountains, and he changed direc- - tions again; this time bearing straight to the south. Silver Zone was calling him. He believed it would be impossible for his enemies to overtake him now, even if they should track him for a few miles, but if they did, no matter. He had wasted all the time he could afford to lose. CHAPTER x1 A FRIENDLY WARNING LONG about midnight Dal ee - for a few hours’ rest. His head ached horribly, and sleep would not come. Now — - that his venturesome project had succeeded — ‘ he failed to glean any satisfaction from it. 2 True enough his proof would go to Washing. ee ton and a patent would issue unless Has- brouck or the Government initiated a con- S ks test.against him on the ground that he was _~ a criminal.. This was indeed phe but Dal knew there was a doubt that the place would be taken from him until he was ~ actually convicted of a crime. At any | rate it would take months of slow, legal procedure before his enemy could get the — land away from him. [ae Still, Dal cursed himself for his folly. pice Much as he had thought of the homestead — ae ‘it loomed small in comparison to a slim, = wistful girl at Silver Zone. He tortured — his mind with conjectures as to what might. happen there during his absence. At the es best it would be three days before he could get back, and there was more than a remote © ae chance that he might be followed by the = ‘ sheriff of Topaz County. se ss In the morning he was burning up with — fever. It required a long, painful effort to find his horses and saddle them without — losing his grip on things. Mind and — memory were behaving strangely; seemingly _ intent upon wandering away in pursuit — _of frivolous, almost forgotten subjects, But at last he climbed aboard old beats = Ex & and pressed on into the mountains. ~ ee There came times he could fight back the delirium no longer and he wandered aim- lessly. At each creek or water-hole he would tumble off his- horse and plunge his aching head into the water. Old Spot — 3 would stand patiently by until his master was ready to go on, and the grey horse was also always in sight; wondering whatit was all about, perhaps, but lacking the subtle 4 understanding g of the old pinto. When the fever abated somewhat Dal would get his bearings afresh and press IS agee on to the southward, but he had no idea how much time or distance he had lost — during his mental aberrations. One thing his wanderings had accomplished, though he did not know it, was’ to throw ee Wells off his trail. 3