Adventure Magazine Cover — page 38: what you’re looking at

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

36 get on there. He was the fourth one of the gang, and he probably didn’t figure on the messenger puttin’ up a fight. He caught up with the express car as quick as possible and took the dog. The fact that he took a chance to get the dog makes it look like a cinch that if we can find the owner of that dog, we can land the whole bunch.” It was a long explanation for Scotty Olson, and he was all out of breath. “How about that feller Legg, at the AK, Scotty? He’d make a fourth man.” “Him!” Scotty laughed. ‘Which man would he make? Not the big feller that fought the messenger. And knows he ain’t one of the masked men that blew the safe.” “Don’t be too sure. He’d look pretty —— big behind a black mask, looking over the top of a six-gun. That engine crew was so ——— scared they wouldn’t have known whether they were big men or smal] ones.” “How do you know how scared they was, Tex” The sheriff snapped the question quickly. Tex stiffened slightly and his shoulder swayed away from the wall. “Just figurin’ ’em to be human,” he said softly. | “Oh, yeah.” The sheriff's smile was hidden behind his big mustache. ‘“T reckon we'll get along all right. It takes time to figure out things, Tex. Wade’s no fool. He’s investigatin’ every clue—him and Porter. I understand that the Santa Rita has hired a detective. Him and Le Moyne are on the case, kinda workin’ independent of my office, I suppose.”’ Scotty smiled. “But that’s all right. We want the men who got that thirty thousand.” Tex nodded coldly. “Good luck to yuh, Scotty. But if I was you, I wouldn’t look for them men in Blue Wells. They’re a —— of a long ways from here, I'll betcha.” “Pm no palmist,’” said Scotty slowly. “If they’re out of the county I can’t do nothin’, but if they’re around here, I’m goin’ after ’em good and hard.” ‘Sure,”’ nodded Tex, and went after his horse, while the sheriff looked after him quizzically. “T wonder what you know, Tex Alden,” he said to himself. “I seen yuh talkin’ with Lee Barnhardt—and he’ll prob’ly de- fend Taylor, if this comes to court. By golly, I’m gettin’ suspicious of everybody. W. C. TUTTLE Wade says you’ve got to suspect every- body, if yo’re goin’ to be a successful de- tecttve; so I expect I’m startin’ out in the right way.” CHAPTER VUOI A REGULAR JOB fueene) | ~ WAS supper time at the AK “| ranch when Jimmy Legg rode &, i in. The boys had discovered his § horse when they returned, and had decided that Jimmy had been thrown. They were going to wait until after supper before starting a search. He told them of the incident and of the long walk to the Double Bar 8 ranch. “Didja leave that girl alone there?” asked Eskimo. “She went back to town,’ explained Jimmy. “TI guess she wanted to be there when the railroad men tried to identify that dog, and she said she’d stay in Blue Wells all night.” “Yd kinda like to be there too,” said Johnny Grant. ‘T’ve been at the Taylor ranch quite a lot, but I don’t remember any dog of that description.”’ “‘Let’s all go in after supper,” Oyster. restless.” Old George Bonnette called Jimmy aside after supper. ‘What do yuh aim to do?” asked the old man. Jimmy smiled foolishly. “T kinda wanted to be a cowpuncher,” he confessed, lapsing into the dialect easily. “Yuh do, eh?” Bonnette smiled. ‘That’s quite an ambition, don’tcha think? Forty a month, and feed. Yo’re educated, Legg. I don’t sabe why yuh want to bea puncher.”’ “T’ve got a reason, Mr. Bonnette.”’ ‘Some girl dare yuh to be a cowboy?” ‘““There’s a woman in the case,” confessed Jimmy. Bonnette grunted softly and helped him- self to a liberal chew of tobacco. “T thought as much,” he grinned. “Well, you ain’t—yet. I’m full-up on hired hands right now, Legg. It’ll soon be round-up time, and yuh might come in handy. “Tt’ll mean a of a lot of hard work. I can’t pay yuh a cowpuncher’s wages, be- cause yuh don’t sabe the work well enough to earn it; but I'll pay yuh half-salary. CaP suggested “T’ve got a few dollars that’s COmiclboo SS (C@