Adventure Magazine Cover, June 20, 1925 — page 135: what you’re looking at

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

Pards ‘“He’s a gambler,” he confessed. Then outly, ‘“But an honest one.” ‘“‘An honest gambler!” she muttered and .osing her eyes from hopelessness and dreariness. ‘‘My poor boy! You wandered farther from Martinsville than I ever guessed.” CHAPTER VII THE UNINVITED PLAYER “FTOWN’S rather empty,” remarked Goss as George Hall, proprietor of the El Progresso saloon and grocery store, was putting up the gambler’s order of foodstuffs. “Tt’ll soon fill up when the men come back from Fair Play, California Gulch, Tarryall, and the Blue River diggings. You’re new to Cafion City. Where you stopping?” _ “Few miles down the river. Don’t ex- pect to stay long. Ranch of my friend, Ancient Day. Wish he’d come back. Sort of jumped his place till he shows up.”’ “Old “Ancient, eh? Queer customer. Ought to be showing up any time. feller in from California Gulch couple days ago spoke of him. Saw him and Joe Hasty— most folks call Joe Big Bones—as they were coming off Cottonwood creek. They’d been in back somewhere and were about out of grub. I’m glad Joe ‘wasn’t having one of his crazy spells. Sometimes he has streaks when he believes the mountains are filled with monsters.” What had been an animated discussion at the bar now exploded in threats of violence. Hall left the gambler and joined the group of gesticulating men and pawed them aside and cried: “Simmer down! Think this is the old Cri- terionin Denver? ‘Trying to talk with folks in Pueblo?” “Nothing that walks on two legs can stand afore me and say that Gineral Stone- wall Jackson—” heatedly began an old man with snow-white hair and youthful glittering eyes. “Softly, grandpap,” soothed Hall. “Some of you are for the North and some for the South and all are welcome here till you start fighting. Then you must quit this shebang and find another battlefield. But you're all too sensible to start something that’ll end in the kind of fighting that’s now tearing up Kansas and Missouri. We all know a guerrilla war in these mountains will make an awful mess without helping North 117 or South. None of us want that. Think what you want to, but softly, softly when it comes to talking.” “But we’ve got word a bunch of rebs are at Chandler’s on Chandler’s creek and are bound for Texas,” cried a Union man. “What of it? If you want to fight them join the army,” said Hall. “You don’t want them here,”’ added an- other citizen, Dr. Reid. ‘“Then why object to their leaving the territory.” “Youre wishing them luck,” growled an- other disgruntled citizen. “You ali know where my sympathies are,’ warmly retorted the doctor. “I’ve never covered anything up. Yet I set your leg and you’re walking as well as ever.” “That’s true, Doc. And come to think of it you knew I was a Union man when you patched my bones.” “And a few days ago he walked fifty miles to doctor a man on the Greenhorn who boasts of wanting to hang every secesh,”’ added Hall. “Oh, Doc’s all right. If they was all like him I’d never open my yap.” “Tf we all were like him there wouldn’t be any war,’ said another. And the quarrel was smothered. Reid was very popular. He opened the first drugstore in Cafion City, building the small stone house with his own hands. He was wholeheartedly devoted to mending sick folks. In his estimation a patient had no politics. In turning to go the doctor re- marked— “Tf you fellows feel so full-blooded “why not hunt for Vicroy down on Hardscrabble and bring him to book for passing bogus gold dust?” “Good land! Let Vicroy alone,” loudly in- sisted a drunken individual. ‘His dust was about all the currency we had last winter— that and beaver and deer skins and veni- son.” This brought a laugh and the bartender set them up on the house. Hail returned to the amused gambler and complained: “Running this place at times is like work- ing in a barrel of powder with a lighted candle. Every time a fresh batch of war news comes in the boys smell blood.” “That way inall the camps. Still, there’s mighty little fighting on account of the war. Both sides know what’ll happen if Reb and Yank ever getting to spilling blood. Any games running?”’ COMIGEIOOKSEEO