Adventure Magazine Cover, April 1916 — page 114: what you’re looking at

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

TI2 it. But that ain’t all. Ye was caught rustlin’ 88 cows. Ye branded ’em Crossed Dumbbell. An’ ye got away by shootin’ Sam Blakely, an’ holdin’ up Marvin an’ Rudd. I don’t guess ye’ll get away now in a hurry.” ‘“‘Where’s yore warrant?” “Don’t need no warrant.” ‘“‘That’s right,’’ corroborated the brown- bearded man with the star. ‘“‘Ye don’t need no warrant for a hoss-thief an’ a rustler. I tell ye, stranger, yo’re lucky to be still alive. I’m doin’ ye a favor by lettin’ ye go south with Sheriff Block. By rights ye’d ought to be lynched instanter.”’ “Ye don’t say,’ said Loudon gently. “‘Who are ye anyway?” “Oh, I’m only the marshal here at the Bend,” replied with sarcasm the brown- bearded man. ‘‘My name’s Smith—Dan Smith. Ye might ’a’ heard o’ me.” ‘Sure, I’ve heard o’ ye, an’ I’d under- stood ye was a party with sense an’ not in the habit | 0’ believin’ everythin’ ye hear. «Now "Ve apt right,”’ said the marshal drily. believe everythin’ I hear.” ‘““Yo’re believin’ Block, an’ he’s the big- gest liar in Fort Creek County, an’ that’s sayin’ quite a lot, seein’ as how the 88 outfit belongsin Fort Creek. Now Inever branded no 88 cows. The 88, because they knowed I knowed they’d been brandin’ other folks’ cattle, went an’ branded a cow an’ a calf 0’ their own with the Crossed Dumbbell an’ then tried to throw the blame on me. But the trick didn’t pan out. They couldn’t prove it nohow. Jack Richie o’ the Cross- in-a-box can tell ye I didn’t rustle them cattle.” “I thought ye was workin’ for the Bar-S,”’ put in the marshal. “I was, but I quit.” “Then why wouldn’t Saltoun o’ the Bar-S know all about it? What did ye say Jack Richie for?”’ The marshal drooped a wise eyelid. He considered himself a most astute cross- examiner. “‘T said Jack Richie because he was there at the Bar-S when Marvin an’ Rudd drove in the cow an’ the calf. It was him proved I couldn’t ’a’ branded them cattle like they said I did.”’ “Why wouldn’t Saltoun o’ the Bar-S speak for ye?” inquired the marshal. “I’m listenin’ to ye now, an’ I don’t © Adventure “He would, I guess,” replied Loudon. “Old Salt an’ me don’t just hitch, but he’s square. He’d tell ye about it.”’ ‘“‘He won’t tell me. The Bar-S an’ the Cross-in-a-box are more’n two hundred miles south. I ain’t ridin’ that far for to get yore pedigree. No, ye can just bet I ain’t. This gent here, Sheriff Block, will take ye south. If it’s like ye say it is, then ye needn’t worry none. Ye’ll have yore witnesses an’ all right there.” “Don’t ye understand? J’ll never see none o’ my friends. The 88 outfit will lynch me soon as ever I hit Farewell. I tell ye I know too much about ’em. They “want me out o’ the way.” Before the marshal could reply there was a bustle in the crowd, and a high-pitched feminine voice inquired what evil was being visited upon Mister Loudon. An instant later Mrs. Burr, barearmed and perspiring, unceremoniously pushed Block to one side and confronted the marshal. ‘“What ye doin’ to him?” she demanded, with a quick jerk of her head toward Lou- don. “Why, Mis’ Burr, ma’am,” replied the marshal, “‘he’s a hoss-thief, an’ he’s goin’ south to Farewell.” “He ain’t goin’ to Farewell, ” retorted Mrs. Burr, ‘‘an’ he ain’t a hoss- thief, Who says so?” “T do, ma’am,’ ward. “He's a hoss- thief, an’ —— ‘“‘Hoss-thief yoreself!? snapped Mrs. Burr, wheeling on Block so fiercely that the sheriff gave ground involuntarily. ‘The more I look at ye the more ye look like a hoss-thief an’ a rustler an’ a road-agent. You shut up, Dan Smith! I always guessed ye was an idjit, an’ now I know it! This man, Mr. Tom Loudon, is a friend Oo’ my husband’s, I know him well, an’ if ye think yo ’re goin’ to string him up for a hoss-thief yore mistaken.” “But, ma’am,” explained the unhappy marshal, “we ain’t a-goin’ to string him up. This gent, Sheriff Block, is takin’ him south. He’ll get justice down there, Mis’ Burr.”’ ‘Will he? If the folks down there are as witless as you are he won’t. Justice! Ye make me plumb weary! Did ye ask to see this Block man’s warrant? Answer me! Did your “He ain’t got no warrant,” replied the marshal in a small voice. bP] ’ said Block stepping for- I) CoOMmichoooks CO