Adventure Magazine Cover — page 53: what you’re looking at

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

——* _ Bradley searched his face with a pair of Silver Zone but you come after him a heap more pre- . vious than I expected,” he went on. we Rt just say, though, that I don’t make a prac- tice of lettin’ a man out-guess me more than twice in succession.”’ “T don’t doubt your word-in the least— but there won’t be no more guesses between us mebbe,” Dal countered. “Goin’ away from here?” quizzed. “no! Things is altogether too in- terestin’ around here for me to pull out,” Dal said with a touch of irony which he hoped would make the detective disbelieve ‘Bradley eyes as coldly probing as a surgical instru- ment, but said nothing. yet just ‘relieve you of that horse now an’ let you go,’ Dal said, reach- ing out and appropriating the snes rope. “All right. travel along,” Bradley shrugged. business out at Silver Zone.” “Vamoose then,” Dal consented, “but don’t git absent-minded an’ look back too quick. In fact Pd advise you to face the front for at least a mile. You see this Winchester of mine carries that far right good.” ‘“My eyes are done riveted to the trail,” Bradley announced. Dal watched the detective ride ‘aut of sight, then he crossed the road and headed straight on into the desert, away from the sheep camp, until he was well out of sight from Monument Rock. ip fanned the breeze back into Hog-up and presently stood in the presence of Tom Cutler. If you’re done with me [ll “T got SOON after, a third horseman “The tall guy that pretended he wanted _ to arrest the feller that rough-housed you yesterday,” he reported, “met that same feller behind Monument Rock this mornin’. They had a chinnin’ match, an’ the pinto cayuse changed hands. Afterward the tall guy rode on along the road, an’ the Dallas feller rode into the brush—but they’re in cahoots, an’ both of ’em is bound for Silver Zone.” As for Dal, he rode in a circle, recrossed the road, gathered up Sorensen’s camp horses, took them to camp and began to earn his pay. CHAPTER XII A RAID IN THE NIGHT rok shisse days the sheep camp Dal Showalter was supposed to be moving had sat in a small cafion in the mountains eight or ten miles east of Silver Zone. There was little to do except drag in wood to the camp and feed the horses twice a day, so most of Dal’s time was spent on the top | of a pinnacle from where, with the aid of. Sorensen’s glasses, he could see what was going on around Silver Zone. Winter was approaching, and already the ground had been covered by a light skit of snow which melted slowly. Out on the strips of white and sweet sage were Vic Sawyer’s six herds grazing tranquilly, all unmindful of the grim fate that hovered over them.. As’long as the snow lasted there was no need of the herds being driven to the spring, but another day or so at most meant that they must be watered at Silver Zone or else taken from the sage to the mountains. Hourly Dal expected to see Hasbrouck’s cattle being brought on the scene; though he realized that their failure to appear did - not mean in the least that Hasbrouck had given up. In fact Hasbrouck might be deliberately keeping them out of the danger zone until the trouble was over. Yet it was not like Hasbrouck to wait until a herd was driven to the spring again before starting his warfare. | Hasbrouck wanted every advantage he could get; nor was he scrupulous how he secured it. And beyond a doubt when Sawyer and Bradley © brought another herd to water that herd would be heavily guarded. It would not be a propitious time for Hasbrouck to strike. Occasionally men rode up to the cabin, or away; and once Dal caught sight of two. women outside the house. One of them he knew was Vincie, but the other one puz- zled him until he decided that she must be — some relation of Vic’s who had come out to help nurse him. This conclusion made him > feel better for, God knew, Vincie needed, and was entitled to. a little feminine com- panionship. Had Vincie not been there, where the | coming conflict was almost sure to take place, Dal could have laughed at the idea of Hasbrouck and Bradley locking horns. eS MicVoo (E() : ~, But her presence there added more than aes ? Re PL Slr - ¥ * ~ az