Adventure Magazine Cover — page 78: what you’re looking at

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

"oe e- ‘ felt his hands wrested from their hold and. __ forced far apart. But he was using his _pinioned to his side. speed and his head for all they were worth. -'While Hasbrouck gasped hungrily for breath Dal jerked his hands free, and with a sudden, titanic effort bucked Hasbrouck to s - one side and rolled clear. With a hoarse cry of rage Hasbrouck was after him. Dal’s gun had been knocked from his hand by Hasbrouck’s first assault, and now as he again found himself in Has- brouck’s embrace he fought with a grim sort of despair. He was thrown‘heavily to ° the ground, and this time his opponent had made sure that his arms were effectually Once more Dal found himself being slowly choked to death as Hasbrouck rammed one powerful hand to his throat. Dal could feel something hard sending “on his hip bone which he realized at once was Hasbrouck’s revolver. With a quick, vicious jerk he wrenched his left arm free although the entire sleeve of his coat was torn off in the effort. His fingers closed over his enemy’s gun, and as Hasbrouck reached for his arm again he poked the - muzzle of the gun against the man’s side and Bred. Hasbrouck’s fingers dug into Dal’s throat with a convulsive movement then relaxed suddenly as a quiver ran through his entire body, and he rolléd off of Dal. It was a full minute before Dal’s mind cleared enough for him to realize that he - was vitally interested in the outcome of the battle that- was being fought around the bunk-house. He groped around until he found his own gun, then staggered to his feet and ran for- ward. His mind was not entirely clear, due to the terrible choking he had endured from Hasbrouck. The firing had ceased, but. there was no one visible except the huddled form of a man lying just in front of the bunk-house door. Dal could think of nothing except to see what was the matter with that man. Suddenly some one gripped his ankles and he fell headlong. “Stay down you’ chump! D’ye want some of ’em to pot you?” Pet Bradley de-’ manded irritably. “Where is everybody?” * Dal panted. “We've got ’em all rounded up in the bunk-house,” Bradley chuckled exultantly. “Boy, it was plumb lucky you yelped when Adventure | = \ you did or we’d all shore enough be decora- tin’ the dirt by this time like Matt Wells there.” “Who shot him?’” Dal asked curiously. _ “J did,” Bradley said calmly. “He tried to bore me as soon as you hollered but I beat him to it, an’ ducked down here to play a tattoo on the front door. Thad went to pourin’ red into the back door, while Brick amused hisself by smashin’ winder panes 6n the side that me an’ Thad couldn’t cover. None of ’em had the nerve to take it. How’d you come to find out somethin’ was wrong?”’ he asked abruptly. “T saw Mrs. Hasbrouck comin’ back from the bunk-house so I yelled. But I never sus- pected Matt Wells of bein’ crooked till Hasbrouck’ nailed me. Lord, we was the fools! Let him go in there alone, an’ stood an’ listened while he told ’°em how manyof us there was, where we was, what we wanted, an’ how we was goin’ about it!’ “Yea, verily,” Bradley agreed. ello, outside,’’ some one called from inside the bunk-house. “Well, say it,’ Bradley replied. “What do you want?” “Tf we was out for the good of the com- munity we’d want all of you, but we’re on personal business so we’ll be satisfied with Sim Gurley. Chase him out here, un- armed, an’ the rest of you can go plumb to ———,” the detective answered. For several minutes a hot argument raged inside the bunk-house. Above the rest could be heard a high-pitched voice cursing, arguing, entreating. Then the man who © had called out before, shouted— Stan’ by to grab him—he’s comin’ out.”’ There was the sound of a sharp struggle for a moment, then tHe door opened and a man was thrown out, landing on hands and knees, The door was promptly slammed shut. © “Don’t move,” Bradley warned omin- ously. He advanced cautiously to the prostrate man, ran his hands over him expertly for concealed weapons, and jerked him to his feet. Prodding him in the ribs with his gun he drove the man ahead to the corrals. A moment later they were joined by Dal, Thad, and Brick. * “What d’ye want with me?” Gurley whined dismally. “We want you for murderin’ one of them Basque herders,” Pet Bradley said coldly. P COMME SOO S (E@)