Adventure Magazine Cover — page 67: what you’re looking at

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

- Silver Zone “Grab him, Jim—I missed the ——” snarled Kutch. - A moment later came explosive grunts and sounds of furious combat which told Dal plainly that Hasbrouck had grappled with the detective. Dal leaped to his feet and ran toward the trees, zig-zagging’ as he ran. Spurts of flame came from the trees and stabbed into the darkness all around him as he ran; proof that Kutch was well aware of his presence. In daylight Kutch would not have missed, and Dal realized as he ran that every step lessened Kutch’s chances of _-Missing. r Then he stumbled over something in the trail and fell headlong, causing Kutch’s last bullet to whiz over his head. Almost automatically Dal realized that his enemy’s gun must now be empty, and he sprang fiercely for the spot-from whence the bul- lets had come. Still, his brain had registered the fact that the thing he had fallen over was the decoy bed, for the two humps which re- sembled men had collapsed under the im- pact of his body. He was painfully aware that instead of trapping the outlaws he and the detective had been neatly trapped. His grasping arms collided with nothing but the slim trunk of a small jack-pine, while a taunting laugh came from the bushes a few feet away. There was a chok- ing sound from where Hasbrouck ‘and the detective struggled that told well enough how that battle was going. Bradley would have had as good a chance with a grizzly bear in a personal encounter as he had with the gorilla-like rancher. ‘Yet the tall Texan was forcing Hasbrouck to extend\ himself. Sometimes they were on their feet, some- times rolling on the ground; but each move- ment brought them closer to the abrupt break-off in the cafion. Dal realized that he must deal with Kutch quickly if he was to be of any assis- tance to Bradley. With a gunman of Kutch’s ability reloading would be merely a matter of seconds.’ In the grim game of hide and seek which they were playing Kutch had the advantage in that he knew approximately where his antagon- ist was, while Dal had nothing but a guess that his opponent had retreated toward the cabin. Showalter dropped flat on his face and ‘rolled to one side—not a second too soon. 5 the bullet had come. was rewarded only by a mocking laugh from another place. Dal shifted positions _and began crawling slowly through the trees, every nerve alert and tingling. | For some time Dal had been aware that a light had been struck in the cabin. He was positive now that the girls were inside = and it filled him with satisfaction. The knowledge that Vincie was in there made — him ready to take any desperate chance, yet he was coldly determined that he would not be guilty of a single misstep. Kutch fired once more, and Dal chuckled silently as the bullet went ten feet wide of the mark—proof that Kutch had lost track of him. Then Dal’s knee came down upon some round object which seemed to roll too smoothly for a stick. He stopped and felt around slowly until his hand came in. contact with it. Immediately he dis- — covered that it was Bradley’s flashlight, which the detective must have dropped’ when he had been unexpectedly assaulted by Hasbrouck. _ With the flashlight in one hand ‘and his gun in the other he crawled ahead again slowly.. Once he seemed to make a slight noise for a bullet went over his head like the hum of an angry hornet. Instantly Dal flashed the light on the spot from where Just within the radius of the light, crouched behind a deer bush, Kutch was plainly visible @a look of ghastly surprize upon his face. Before the man could recover from the shock of having the light flashed in his face Dal fired. The look of astonishment never left the man’s face, Dal knew that he had not missed. With- out waiting to make any examination of his victim to see whether he was dead or alive he bounded toward the other two com- batants. They were fighting now on the © very verge of the precipice. As Dal ran he saw Hasbrouck lift the lank form of the ex-Ranger high in the air, holding him help- less as a baby. : —~Never betes had Dal had an opportunity to really fathom the amazing rapidity of thought. Hasbrouck had but to make a half-turn and a toss—a matter of ten seconds at the most—and Bradley’s career would. be terminated upon the rocks below. In that brief period of time all the possibilities — (COMME , 65) ae He heard the angry impact ofa bullet into a tree behind him. He fired instantly toward where he judged Kutch to be, but JVOOKS: n= 3 Pe oe . ? Li