All-Story Detective, October 1949 — page 93: what you’re looking at

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

Afraid to Live Mel’s mouth fell open. “What do you want?” he snarled. Dorothy had whirled as he came in. She was staring at him with a strange mixture of disbelief and -hope. — He half stumbled over to the writing desk, fumbled at the drawer where the murder gun was hidden. “No you don’t,” Mel swore. He crossed the room in two strides, grabbed Dan’s shoulder and whirled him around. His big left hand smashed into Dan’s face, sent him crashing against the wall. Dorothy screamed. Then she sad out. Dan lashed out with his foot. It caught Mel in the shin. Duggard dropped the paper weight and grabbed at his leg with a hoarse cry. Dan pushed to his feet, brac- ing his back against the wall. He lashed out with his right fist as hard as he could swing. Pain ran all the way up to his shoulder and he knew he’d broken some knuckles. Duggard’s nose was bleeding in great red spurts. He put his hand over his nose and then took it away and looked at it. “T'll kill you,” he gasped, sobbing now with pain and rage. “I killed Sam Cock- 93 A erell with this gun and now I’ll kill you, ° Dan Skeels. And if I have to, Ill kill that cheap little wife of yours.” For the first time in his life, Dan Skeels got mad. A red haze came down over his eyes and the savage instinct to kill with his bare hands gripped him. He lurched forward, clutching at Mel Duggard. He scratched and bit and gouged. He didn’t know that he had Mel on the floor and was swinging with both hands, beating the red-headed bully’s face - into bloody pulp while Duggard screamed for mercy. He didn’t know when Dorothy came in with the police—the two patrol officers she’d found cruising in this neighbor-. hood in a squad car. He didn’t hear them say, “It’s all right, son, you can stop now. We heard Dug, ard say he killed Sam Cockerell.”’ He felt them tugging at him, trying to pull him off what was left of Mel Dug- gard. “Let me hit him once more,” he panted. And he heard his wife, Dorothy Skeets, tell the other policeman proudly, “He's my husband.” Also, thrilling detective stories by John D. MacDonald, William P. McGivern, Charles Larson, Preston Grady and others—in the smashing October issue . .. on sale NOW. While the killer stews— RACE WILLIAMS CUUhS A GUUSE Boiling mad over a lass who was dead, Race Williams faced her slayer... . with a faded photo—and an empty gun. By CARROLL JOHN DALY GoOmiGdoo (©