Adventure Magazine Cover, April 3, 1918 — page 139: what you’re looking at

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

Hidden Trails “That light-colored hoss—yuh can’t tell. She might ’a’ been a dun.” ““S’pose she was. What of it?” “A lot maybe. Wait till tomorrow an’ we'll go over the whole thing with Tele- scope—Oh, that was easy.- I guessed it. ©’ course Slim was a-layin’ on the bed. Where else would he lay? An’ somebody’d hafta hold the lamp so’s doc could work, an’ Bill Lainey always breathes hard an’ shuffles his feet when he’s interested, an’ Slim couldn’t help talkin’ gaspy if he had three holes in him. So there y’are. Le’s go to bed.” CHAPTER XII LAGUERRE TALKS s HAT was Mat Neville comin’ north for?’ demanded Johnny. “IT know, but-——” “Aw, yuh make me sick, Racey. stands to reason, don’t it, Telescoper”’ “‘S’pose now dey fin’ de hat een Farewell, un she ees not a w’ite hat?’’ evaded the halt- breed. “I’m gamblin’ they won’t find it. Any- how I’m writin’ to Jake Rule to find out for sure. But you can bet she’s them three hold-ups an’ the red-head, an’ he tied his hat on his saddle so’s she wouldn’t give him away. It’s just what he would do.” “He would if he did.’”’? Thus cryptically Mr. Dawson. ‘An’ three men with him. Where’d he get three men together to try an’ down Slim an’ Holloway outside o’ the road-agent crowd?” “Holloway had enemies. So’d Slim.” ‘Shore, but scatterin’. A gent here, an- other there, an’ all in different parts o’ the county. They might lay for Lute an’ Slim separate, but they’d never organize four in a bunch. If I could only be sure that light-colored hoss was a black-tail dun. Any way, one of ’em was usin’ a 40-65. ‘That’s somethin’.”’ “One t’ing,” observed Laguerre: ‘‘eef de red-head she belong to de hold-up outfit, w’y don’ she stop de stage wit’ de res’? De men w’at have do dat are seex-foot mabbeso, but dees man wit’ de red hair she ees seex- foot-four, un no one was ever see man tall as dat stop de stage or rob de minair.”’ “TI know that,” agreed Johnny. “I’ve asked a heap o’ folks an’ none of ’em have It 137 ever seen a gent like this red-head, but djever stop to think that the folks he holds up might be too dead to talk about it © afterward?” ‘Dat ees true,” nodded Laguerre. “But somebody’s got to see him if he is one of ’em,’’ said Racey. ‘Somebody will—if he is. How about that stage-station job, Racey, or would yuh rather toss up for the stray man end?”’ “Not me. I'll get a job in town myself. She’s a right nice li’l place—good scenery, good folks.” “Yeah.”’ Suspiciously. 7 “They’s a right handsome-lookin’ lady in the Bend, an’ I aim to meet her. Yessir, I’m satisfied to give my hoss a rest.” ‘‘Who’s the lady?” Acute interest mixed with the suspicion. “The one behind the wheel at the Broken Dollar. Say——’” ““He’s off!’ cried the greatly relieved Johnny. ‘‘When Racey Dawson starts talkin’ about a girl, he’s good for all day. Le’s go away an’ leave him, Telescope.” The three had rendezvoused in a thickly wooded gulch on the eastern slope of Old Baldy. In accordance with their plan John- ny and Laguerre rode from there straight to the Flying M and Racey Dawson return- ed to the Bend. Racey had not informed his two friends of his intention to loaf about town a few days before starting to work. There was no hurry. And roulette is a fascinating game. Besides, there was Bale Harper to be investigated. He couldn’t do that very well if he-was working. Of course not. He had more than a hundred dollars in his poke, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Racey crooked a leg ’round his saddle-horn and whistled the ‘Rakes of Mallow” with joy and abandon. An easy conscience is a wonderful thing. Johnny and Laguerre were openly and loudly hired by Scotty Mackenzie ten minutes after their arrival at the Flying-M. The foreman, Doubleday of the sharp nose and sharper eye, took them at their face value and sent them down to the bunk- house. Doubleday did not fully compre- hend the necessity of two stray men, but he knew Scotty to be a creature of whims. No one ever even dreamed of questioning Scotty’s whims. So when the old ranch- man said that he himself would give the new men their orders, Doubleday merely GOmiGsIoOo S (C@