Adventure Magazine Cover, April 3, 1918 — page 118: what you’re looking at

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

116 announced Scotty. ‘‘Three hosses, an’ by the looks o’ the ground they was standin’ here a while. Le’s go down to the creek.” They traced the tracks from the pocket to the creek, up the opposite bank, and out across the flats. “T guess this is most enough,” said Scotty, halting a hundred yards from the water. “She was enough before,” the hard- featured Tom assured him. ‘“——, I guess we know when everythin’s all right.” “T guess—maybe—yuh do,” was Scotty’s drawling indorsement. But Scotty was not looking at Tom. The hard blue stare was directed straight into the pale eyes of Harry Slay. The latter promptly smiled in a most engaging fashion. “This is fine,”’ he declared without hesi- tation. ‘I am delighted that matters have turned out as they have, and that your friend gets a Scotch verdict—the benefit of the doubt, in other words.” ‘Benefit of the doubt?” Thus Scotty, softly, almost tenderly. “A slip of the tongue,” beamed Slay, with a flash of white teeth. “I should have said unquestionably cleared of the charge against him.” “Veah, yuh should have,” said Scotty. “Funny how folks don’t always think 0’ the right thing to say.” “Surely is,” agreed the good-humored Slay. ‘Have a cigar?” _“Cigarets kind o’ suit my health better,” parried Scotty, fishing out the makings. “Better stick to ’°em then,” advised Slay, and. began to walk away from there. Swing Tunstall looked at his friend Jack McCall and rubbed a solemn chin. Jack thrust his tongue into his cheek. Later, in the bunk-house, they would recount with delight how their employer ran a blazer on Harry Slay and forced that plump person to say what he had not intended to say. Scotty gave no evidence that he realized what he had done. Mildly he asked Tun- stall for a match, lit his cigaret, and plodded slowly back to the buckboard with the others. “Where’s Harry?” queried a citizen named Carey. | “Started back,” replied Cal Mason, busy at the buckboard. ‘‘Pass the rope under his arms, Tug, an’ I'll tie ’em to the back of the seat.” Adventure “Naw,” objected Tug, “put ’em both on the floor. S’pose their feet do hang over— what’s the difference?”’ “They ain’t room, I tell yuh!” avowed Cal heatedly. ‘‘They’s only room for Bill Homan on the floor. Old Man’s gotta sit alongside o’ yuh. Aw, whatcha beefin’ about—he ain’t bleedin’ even a li’ bit! Lemme drive then. I can drive yore hoss better’n you, anyhow,” Cal added with consummate tact. Tug drove. * On the ride back to the Bend, Johnny contrived to maneuver Scotty to the tail of the cavalcade. “Gotta fix my cinches,” Johnny an- nounced suddenly, and, catching Scotty’s eye, motioned rearward with his head. ' THE quick-witted Scotty halted his horse as Johnny slid to the ~ ground. When Johnny swung up the others were three hundred yards ahead. Scotty grinned at Johnny, and Johnny grinned at Scotty. They liked dach other very well, these two. Johnny knew better than to thank Scotty for coming to his res- cue. He merely mentioned that Scotty had picked a good day on which to ride to town. Scotty “guessed” that this was the truth, and the subject was closed. ‘Yuh wanna hire two stray men, don’t yuh, Scotty,” Johnny began abruptly. ‘Who? Me? Two stray men? What- cha talkin’ about, Johnny? This Terri- tory ain’t Texas.”’ “Yeah, but yuh want two stray men just the same. Yo’re losin’ a lot o’ hosses lately, an’ yuh don’t like it nohow.” “It’s shore makin’ me madder’n ——,” said Scotty, falling into the spirit of the occasion. ‘‘What else?” ‘An’ yuh hire me’n Telescope.” “Laguerre!”’ “Shore.” “Telescope Laguerre,” chuckled Scotty, his face wrinkling with delight. ‘‘T’ll shore be glad to see Telescope again.” ‘“Yo’re hirin’ us won’t cost yuh nothin’, but nobody’s gotta know that. To them she’s forty a month all reg’lar.”’ “Shore. G’on. Don’t stop. I can see times a-comin’.”’ “Our bein’ stray men thisaway ’ll give us a chance to ride the range so careless an’ so free without folks askin’ questions. They’s three of us. While two is ridin’ CORDICLDO© SS (C@