Adventure Magazine Cover, April 1916 — page 124: what you’re looking at

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

L22 Saltoun? Was this the Kate that had called him names and broken his heart and driven him from the Lazy River? Loudon furtive- ly pinched himself. The pinch hurt. It-was not all a dream then. Kate Sal- toun, in the flesh, and separated from him by not more than four feet of scaly oilcloth, was actually smiling at him. Words failed Loudon. He could do nothing but gaze. Scotty, fearful of an introduction, oozed from the table. The drummer, unused to being ignored, fidgeted. He cleared his throat raucously. He would show this dumb person in chaps how a gentleman comports himself in the presence of a lady. It was the drummer’s first trip West. “Beautiful day, Miss, beautiful,’ he smirked, tilting back in his chair, and rat- tling his watch-chains. ‘‘We should have a quick trip to Paradise Bend. Our driver, I understand, has procured another wheel, and es The full-voiced utterance died abruptly. For Kate had looked imploringly at Lou- don, and Loudon had swung about to face the drummer. For the first time in his life the drummer realized how cold, how utterly daunting, a pair of human eyes could be. “You through?” demanded Loudon. The drummer endured that disconcerting stare while a man might draw three breaths. Then his eyelids quivered, dropped, and a curious mottled pallor overspread his coun- tenance. He glanced up, met again that disconcerting stare, and quickly looked else- where. ‘You through?” repeated Loudon. “I—I don’t know as that’s any of your business,” said the drummer faintly. ‘Git out,” ordered Loudon. *““Why, look here! By what right e “Git out.”” Loudon had not raised his voice. The drummer glanced at Miss Saltoun. She was crumbling her bread and looking over his head with an air of intense bore- dom. So far as she was concerned, he had ceased to exist. And she had been so friend- ly and companionable on the long ride from Farewell. ‘““You’ve done kept me waitin’ some time,’’ suggested Loudon softly. Awkwardly, for he found his knees strangely weak, the drummer rose. With a lame attempt at jauntiness he pulled down his vest, shot his cuffs and teetered from the room. He made his way to the bar and Adventure called for whisky. upset. ‘‘Jake’s put yore stuff in the stage,” an- nounced the landlord, who was also the bartender. “Then Jake can take my bags out again,” said the drummer disagreeably. ‘I’m stay- ing over till tomorrow.” ‘“‘Well, hotel-keepers can’t afford to be particular,’ the landlord said unsmilingly. “But ye’ll have to unload yore truck yore own self.” The drummer would have enjoyed curs- ing the landlord. But the latter had the same peculiar look about the eyes that Lou- don had. The drummer went out into the street, thinking evil thoughts of these un- amiable Westerners. His nerves were rather ke KATE, when the drummer left the a 4 room, smiled sweetly upon Loudon. Sa—S It was his reward for ridding her of a pest. She did not know that Loudon’s prime reason for squelching the drummer was practically the same reason that impels the average man, on receiving an unpleas- ant surprise, to throw things at the cat. ‘““How’s Johnny Ramsay gettin’ along?” inquired Loudon. ‘“‘He has completely recovered,’’ Kate re- plied. ‘‘He went back to the Cross-in-a- box four days ago.”’ ‘“‘That’s good. I’m sure glad to hear it.” Paying no further attention to Kate, Loudon calmly proceeded to finish his breakfast. Kate began to find the silence painful. ‘“‘Why, Tom,” said she, “‘aren’t you even a little bit glad to see me?”’ “Why should I be glad?” parried Loudon. “Youre not very polite, Tom. You— you make me feel very badly. Why, oh why, do you persist in making it so hard for me?” Kate’s voice was pitched low, and there was a running sob in it. But Loudon was not in the least affected. “Last time I seen ye,’”’ Loudon stated de- liberately, “‘ye told me flat ye never want- ed to see me again. Ye was engaged to Sam Blakely, too. I don’t understand ye a little bit.”’ ‘Perhaps you will when Iexplain. Yousee, I am no longer engaged to Mr. Blakely.” “Vo’re lucky.” “T think so myself. Under the circum- stances, can’t we be friends again? I didn’t a COMmichoooks CO