Adventure Magazine Cover — page 158: what you’re looking at

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

156 get all shot up. Second, it ain’t helpin’ no- body none to go shootin’ permiscus. Ribs Austin is backed by mebbeso eight er ten er twelve tough hands. And there was three of us. Somebody’s bound to lose in a gun scrap and to a man with the brains of a sheep, it’d look like the three boys goin’ -into that ruckus was kinda overmatchin’ theirselves some. Yeah. Third, I gives the Steve feller the Injun sign that me ’n’ you is backin’ whatever play he makes. If you’d ’a’ took the trouble to look clost, yuh might ’a’ noticed my gun was coverin’ the Ribs hombre from the start. Does that cover all the points uh that ea yuh asked, runt?” “Shucks! Shucks, Taddie, I—dang i all, rub it in, yuh big elephant. Hold a erudge ull yuh die and take it with yuh when yuh go, yuh big bench-legged hoss killer. Yuh got ary plan under yore hat, pardner? That kid’s gettin’ a raw deal, looks like. We’re beholdin’ to him, sorter. I’d like tuh-———” “‘Course yuh would, ole timer. And we’re goin’ to. Last evenin’, while you was tellin’ it scary to the cook and the kid hoss wran- gler about what a of a poker player you was afore yuh got rheumatiz so bad in yore off-laig, I was ridin’ close hard on Ribs and the Frenchy gent without them knowin’ it. I’m a-settin’ in the shadder uh the bed- wagon, smokin’ of a cigaret now and then, and lappin’ at a tin cup full uh Slash R licker. I’m kinda off to myse’f, savvy, like a bull that’s been whipped outa the herd. “Well, Ribs and Frenchy is makin’ medi- cine and havin’ taken on a few horns uh the fire-water, they fergit to keep their voices low. Near as I kin make out, here’s the lay: The Slash R is runnin’ most uh their stuff on open range that is nobody’s land. Steve Dunlap done taken up a homestead and bought hisse’f a bunch uh cattle. Like- wise, him and a gent named Patsy Darcey has located on the land above the Slash R ranch and owns the water rights. Dunlap is throwin’ a dam across the crick, aimin’ to build a reservoir. He’ll use the water fer irrigatin’ and waterin’ his cattle durin’ a dry season. He’s agreed to let part uh the water go down the crick to the Slash R and they’re to let his stock graze on Slash R range.” ‘Sounds fair enough, Tad. But it looks like they was havin’ trouble about it.” “Yeah. And it’s this Patsy feller that _ he wasa yearlin’. Adventure caused it. Near as I could make out, Ribs jumps this Patsy out and Steve takes up the scrap. He must ’a’ whupped Ribs plumb scan’lous from the way he took on about it. ‘Frenchy,’ says he, ‘I’m goin’ to hang Dun- lap’s hide on the fence, then I’m goin’ after Patsy Darcey rough-shod.’ ”’ “‘And the agreement’s off between Steve and Austin?” “Nope. And that’s where Ribs has the bulge. It’s a written agreement, savvy? Ribs is to gather all the Bar B stock and brand the calves. Steve ain’t got no more right on the Slash R range than a buck In- jun has to buy licker. But he’s gotta let one third uh the water go down the crick jest the same.” “Meanwhile, Ribs is draggin’ a hungry loop, brandin’ Bar B calves with the Slash R iron, stealin’ the boy blind! And Steve is hog-tied. Nacherally, Ribs’ll keep all the Bar B stuff shoved back from the bound’ry ——, that’s what they was doin’ when we seen ’em yesterday, Tad!’’ “Shore thing. And that’s why me’n’ you gotta hang on to our bushy tails and go at this easy-like. I never yet double-crossed the outfit that was payin’ me wages, Shorty, but beginnin’ today, we’re doin’ jest that.”’ “Now yo’re shoutin’, pardner,” grinned Shorty. ‘But how’ll we go at it?” “It’s ——, hoss,” said Tad sorrowfully, addressing the twitching ears of his horse. “But I reckon I orter be used to it by now. Pore li’l’ ole cuss, he’s been thataway since I gotta do all his thinkin’ fer him. All of it, mind. There’s times when I has hopes uh the li’l’ cuss gettin’ some kind of a idee but nope, it allers turns out to be jest a lot uh-fool words together, makin’ no sense. So I go along, thinkin’ fer me and him both. When he dies, I reckon I’ll have to cash in too and go with him. I done rode herd on him so long that he’d be plumb lost without me. There he’d be, wanderin’ aroun’ like a wind-bellied calf, playin’ the wrong tunes on his harp er pick- in’ up the wrong pitch-fork if he drawed the fer his boss. No, hoss, I reckonhe.. .” But Shorty had spurred the Paint to a lope and was riding up a coulée toward a bunch of cattle. Tad grinned cheerfully and swung to the left to pick up another bunch. Not until they were driving the cattle down the draw did either of the cow-punch- ers speak. Tad, grinning and chuckling to NOOK im © inn