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

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

Author of “The Bush Lopers,” “The Homesteaders,” etc. The first part of the story briefly retold in story form oe FRANK ELLIS woke up one bright morning in California Gulch to find himself a total failure. All through the winter of 1862 he had trailed from ae “ae to another until the gold mining season at a close. He was penniless, and he had a sister east who believed him a great success. There = 8 nothing left for him to do but take a job over - the lunch counter of the Great Western Hotel, = under the hand of George Skillings, boss. he was serving his first meal to a group of : miners, traders and mine employees, he uncon- za = sciously burst into a plaintive song. “Stop that racket,” the boss roared. ‘From that time on he was the “Singing Pilgrim.” ‘The Pilgrim became a drawing card. Nate Goss, = ~ the gambler; “Rabbit,” the Indian, doomed to death . by his tribe on a charge of killing a brother tribesman; “Ancient Days,” an old-time placer miner; ‘‘Bones,” - @man with a prehistoric delusion of great beasts in see the gulches—all fell into the lure of the Pilgrim’s voice. CHAPTER III | ‘THE IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE OSS and Whip King met at the Boston Hotel for the midday meal, and under cover of the con- ———J fusion discussed the homicide. “He would’t have run away if he hadn’t ~ done it,” admitted Goss. “If he’d gone — back to the hut and pretended to be asleep "when they called for him. he might have - fooled them.” = = : “Pards,” Bele, 1925, by Hugh Pendexter. “Whip King,” reputed to be the best wagon-train boss between the River and the coast, arrived in the gulch with a startling crack of his monstrous whip. He had no special destination, no special enemies, and he cared little for firearms. But he proved to be the friend of many restless men who fought constantly. Many was the time that his long lash sent men, armed with six-shooters, cowering in the corner. With the season almost ended and too many men finding almost no gold, things in California Gulch became a bit thick. Goss had a fight with Charlie Dodge, the monte gambler, as a result of unfair play, and finally the Pilgrim fought with his boss. The fight itself was inconsequential, but a threat loomed in the background when the Pilgrim swore vengeance. That night Skillings, the boss, was found with a knife in his heart, and and the Singing Pilgrim was missing from California Gulch. “Acted like a fool,” rumbled Whip King. “But we must remember he’s young.’ “T knew he was down on his luck and had guts enough to fight if cornered,’ con- tinued Goss, “but I never dreamed he’d sneak back in the night and use a knife. Think of his going out to nail an enemy and not packing a weapon! Skillings was killed with his own knife.” : “Probably he did pack a gun along and then was afraid to use it.” “Then why didn’t he carry a knife? Mine is still at the hut and he never wore LEZ com (@) sbooks.com —