Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 7, 1925 — page 113: what you’re looking at

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

THE VALLEY OF THE STARS. was of medium height and dark. His black hair was long and straight, his nose thin and drooping, his mouth large, the lips thin and loose. His chin receded slightly, and his neck where it was exposed by the open collar of his shirt, was scrawny and corded. His eyes were black, lambent, roving. At the instant Edna looked at him he was grinning up into the face of the red haired man. He was sitting in a chair at the table. “Well, then,” he said, ““I reckon she’s all shaped up?” | The window was open; the man’s voice was clear and distinct. The red haired man smiled. : “Looks that way,” he answered. “ But look here, chief,” continued- the © dark man, “ suppose the soldiers find out about that Indian deal?” The red haired man laughed. The laugh was deep, rich, vibrant. “That’s likely, isn’t it, Naylor?” he scoffed. “ It seems to me Fagin and Adams reported there weren’t any Indians left to do any talking. weren’t you?” he charged, swinging around. ‘“ You saw to that, didn’t you?” Naylor seemed to cringe under the ac- cusation in the red haired man’s voice. He flushed, stammered: 2 Sure. There wasn’t—there couldn’t none of them hev got away. But you can’t always tell. .Mebbe them redskins thet _ busted away from the reservation had talked to some of their friends before they left. An’ thet damned major over to Fort Bayard is just nosey enough to go smellin’ around.” The “chief” laughed again. ‘“ They couldn’t possibly find any thing to if other than just another uprising. Don’t get un- easy, Naylor.”’ “Well, then,” said Naylor, “if thet’s all set, when we goin’ to begin on them herds?” ““We’re not going to be in a hurry about that, ” replied the chief. ‘‘ Haste right now would bring suspicion upon us. We've got to have patience. There’s a lot of cattle to dispose of. Fagin estimates there are more than six thousand head at the Circle Dot. Porter had upward of fifteen bun- dred, though they are pretty well scattered. Haitian must have had a couple of thou- sand. That’s about ten thousand, roughly. beautiful,” he added. You were there yourself, “We can drive some to Deming. We'll get others over to Rincon. We'll have to do it slow and easy.” He paused medi- iatively, and his eyes were gleaming with 2 light so soft and tender that Edna, in- tently watching them, found it hard te be- lieve that she had- anly just now heard him — convict himself of knowledge of the terrible crime of permitting a massacre. She stocd, her knees knocking together, fascmated, paralyzed. She could not have moved from the window if she had known that the next instant he would discover her. “J don’t want any of you boys to go near the Circle Det. Fagin can take care of that,” resumed the chief. Naylor smirked slyly. — ‘“She’s thoroughbred, chief,” he said. “ Meaning Miss Pendleton,” returned the other. His eyes were slowing. “ Yes, she’s ““T saw her in Dem- ing the day she arrived.” He laughed. “It’s too- damned bad Matt Blandell didn’t succeed in hanging that fool dude who came here with her!” - “Faw, haw, haw!” laughed Naylor: “thet sure was a mighty close shave for thet dude! An’ Matt thinkin’ he was hang- in’ Ross Nevins!’ His eyes grew vindictive: “ But anyhow, Matt got Hamlin. She worked out pretty good!” he exulted. “ But not good enough,” said the chief. « Adams says Nevins beat Logan to the draw.” “ Killed him?” “ Yes. I told Logan to be careful. Nevins is ightning with a gun.” “Whar’s Nevins now?” ‘“ Nobody knows. None of the boys have seen him since he left the Circle Dot. We’ve got to get him some way. He’s bad medicine when he’s aroused!” Naylor pursed his lips, frowned. The red haired man slipped off the table, stood up and yawned. He was tall and muscular, and there was a smooth, animal- ike ease in bis movement. “Well,” he said, “bed suits me. We’ve ridden quite a distance to-night.” “Fifty miles if we rede a foot,” con- firmed Naylor. “I’m kind of fagged out myself.” Edna drew away from the SS “She Lt -EComichbooks-co