Adventure Magazine Cover — page 61: what you’re looking at

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

THE BUCKAROO OF BLUE WELLS “T can’t,” Jimmy shook his head ner- vously. “I’ve got to keep going. They’re after me, don’t you see?”’ “All right, kid. If they’re after you, this is a fine place for ’em to get you.” “But I can’t stay here, Hashknife.”’ “Sure yuh can, Jimmy. Let’s talk it over. Runnin’ away won’t help yuh none. You'd lose out.” Geronimo came into the patio, dust-cov- ered, his tongue hanging out, tail wagging. Jimmy had set a hot pace from town, but the dog had found him. He sat down on his haunches in front of Jimmy and put a paw on Jimmy’s knee. ““Where’d the dog come from?” asked Sleepy. Jimmy looked at Geronimo, and Geron- imo looked at Jimmy. “He is my dog,” said Jimmy slowly. “It’s the dog they had in jail—the evidence against Taylor.” “Your dog, Jimmy?” asked Hashknife. “Oh, yes,” Jimmy nodded slowly. “You see, I was afraid to tell anybody.” “All right,” said Hashknife. ‘Now, tell us about the killin’ of the deputy sheriff, Jimmy.’”’ And Jimmy told them, while the two cowboys asked a question here and there to clarify things somewhat. “Well, it looks to me as if it was a case of self-defense,”’ said Hashknife, when Jim- my had finished his story. “He really reached for his gun,” said Jimmy. “T realized it.” “What I’d like to know is, how in —— did yuh ever hit him?” queried Sleepy. “I—I suppose it was because he’s larger than a tin can.” ‘Where do yuh reckon yuh hit him?” “Oh, I don’t know,” wailed Jimmy. “It must have been through the heart, because he fell down so quickly—and his knees were jerking.” ‘That’s good shootin’, for the first time,”’ said Sleepy dryly. ‘‘Where is Marion?” “Oh, I forgot her! I must have been excited.” “You prob’ly would be,” agreed Hash- knife. ‘What I want you to do right now is to tell me all about ownin’ this dog.”’ “Oh, yes, about the dog,” Jimmy jerked nervously at the sound of a noise outside the patio gate, but it was only Apollo, rub- bing his shoulder against the wall. Jimmy sighed deeply. o9 “I suppose that was a dirty trick. But when I found out that—that the dog was supposed to belong to a robber, I was afraid to claim him. He ran away from me that night in Blue Wells, you see.” And then James Eaton Legg went ahead and told them about his experience with the express messenger. Hashknife grinned, when Jimmy told of that battle in the ex- press car, and of how the messenger had described him as being a big, burly man, who tried to draw a gun. ““His lyin’ saves you a lot of trouble,” said Hashknife, when Jimmy had finished his tale. ‘‘He didn’t want anybody to think he had been whipped by a smaller man.” “T suppose so; but I’ go to town and tell ’em that the dog belongs to me. I might as well shoulder it all now.” “YT wish yuh wouldn’t,” said Hashknife. “Let things ride as they are for a while. If they arrest yuh for shootin’ the deputy, mebbe yuh can make a self-defense out of it. Yuh say that the AK boys saw it? They’ll prob’ly alibi yuh, ’cause they don’t like the sheriff. Under the circumstances a man could lie a little and not bend his con- science too much.” “Yuh should have stayed and seen the finish,”’ said Sleepy. ‘It would ’a’ looked better.” “I know it,” Jimmy sighed wearily. “But all I could think about was to run away. I’ve never killed a man before.” “‘Prob’ly the first time he ever was killed, too.” “Oh, don’t joke about it! It’s a terrible thing.”’ “Pshaw, I wasn’t jokin’, Jimmy.” “T know, but—”’ A horse swung in through the patio gate, and Jimmy almost fell off the curb; but it was only Marion. She looked at Jimmy and began laughing. Geronimo barked joy- fully and tried to jump up to her stirrup. But Jimmy only stared at her blankly, his mouth open. ‘“What’s the joke?’ asked Hashknife seriously. “Dud-don’t laugh,” pleaded Jimmy. “It isn’t anything to laugh about.” Between chuckles of merriment Marion managed to tell them what Jimmy had done, while Jimmy, his eyes and mouth wide open, leaned against the curb, gasp- ing like a fish out of water. Marion described how Jimmy had ridden GCOMIGIOO SS C@