Adventure Magazine Cover — page 79: what you’re looking at

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

“You can’t prove nothin’ on me. I ever “Shut up. We've already proved it,” Bradley snorted. The man’s fear-strained eyes darted questioningly from face to face, resting hopelessly at last upon the cold, mask-like face of the detective. “Hasbrouck killed ’em both—I saw see ? he fied desperately. “asbrouck don’t say that,” Bradley said significantly. “He planned it an’ carried it out. I didn’t know he intended to-kill ’em until he started to shoot, an’ then I had to gif my man before he get me,” Gurley pleaded. ‘An’ then you had to say Showalter done it to save your bacon,” Bradley commented. “Always doin’ just what you have to to save your worthless skin! Well, let me tell you,~ _Son, you’ve sure got to ride that line hard ‘this t thing “you’ve got to do is to come clean about everything you an’ Hasbrouck have .been mixed up in.’ “Tl do it,” Gurley cried, clutchmg eagerly at the thread of hope Bradley €x- tended. “What of Hasbrouck and Wells?” Dal asked soberly. “Hasbrouck’s men can tend to them,” Bradley said unfeelingly.. ‘fm glad we don’t have to monkey with them,” Dal said earnestly. ‘He was glad that he would not be com- peélled to look upon Hasbrouck again. A complete revulsion against killing had seized him. Now that the man who had caused him to kill four other men was dead he felt a sense of compunction. He doubted he would ever again he able to kill a man even in self-defense. Thad and Brick rode away to their homes and Dal and the detective rode in silence toward Topaz with the prisoner. “Just how,” Dal asked at length, “did you come to wise up?” “By findin’ out from an interested party that there was another witness to that murder.” “Who?” Dal asked quickly. “The Basque camp-mover who heard you threaten the two who were killed. Instead of goin’ to his camp he laid in the brush to see what happened, an’ so he seen Has- brouck an’ Gurley do the shootin’, He wanted to keep out of trouble so he didn’t Sitwer Zone : if you save your neck. An’ the say a word to anybody. and told a certain party all about it. When I heard the story I went after the Basque to make him testify agai he told me the truth. He w Sawyer so I had no trouble findin’ him. But I had to git a confession from Gurley to clear you, for the Basque would have been dumb as a post on the witness stand,” = Bradley explained at length. That was a possibility Dal had never — thought of. “T reckon it’s lucky for me that youheard 2 about that Basque,” he said. ° “You'd have swung if I hadn’t, an’ it would have served you right for not tellin’ me the truth about it,” Bradley said curtly. Dal knew that if the Basque had kept = silent only three people beside himself knew of his connection with the case: Thad, Vic- Sawyer, and Vince. One of by them must have told Bradley. “Who told you—was it Sawyer?” he asked. Bradley grinned, but made no reply. CHAPTER XX AT HOME [D* SHOWALTER slept late the seat mornifg for the simple reason that he had stayed awake most of the night con- sidering the changed condition of his life, and ‘had fallen asleep at daybreak from sheer weariness. It was almost noon when he awakened, but he awoke with a clear head and a cold resolution. The homestead ;which had meant so much to him only a few weeks before now gave him a feeling of intense antipathy. All of its formér attractiveness was gone. He wondered dully how he had ever’ stood it alone for five long years. It gave hima grim satisfaction, however, to know that he | had proved up on it despite difficulties. He could soon sell it for enough to take him to —he was rather nebulous in his ideas of where he wanted to go to—but it was away. Pet Bradley had requested that he come to the courthouse as soon as he got up so that his formal discharge could be arranged for, and to make his deposition regarding. the killing of the Basques. So he went straight from the hotel to the courthouse. The cold, crisp air invigorated him and he <S) I’d never have found it out if you hadn’t got confidential Se Be nst you, an’ workin’ for - ape xe, ~ < >" iy as = Se) - ‘ hoe Salve f i Ph ities Sa) yf > 7h Pleas a i i j b . . igh eas Ube AGN Le, Hpi | (ECO AME SS 9)(0(6) b | eet hy : Ot os 1g fe: ie é fan CT me, 2 +h bi Bae ak BS era ue Ate Bas eons tshaeaes Pee ts Oy o ac) re AY ar ty As PT ORE, OF ae OES 4 orrve tg x. re ihe ie Sr ATES ‘ +See ae com =.