Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 18, 1928 — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

$14 dations the past few months, I have stood aloof, tried to be a Christian, and to give my neighbor the benefit of the doubt. “This stampede to-night, though, breaks things wide open. The man that’s behind all my troubles is Jeremiah Steele. All right,” he added grimly, “‘ he’s had his fun; now he’ll pay for the entertainment.” Old Tom Tolliver was standing there, his white goatee sticking out belligerently. “ Any more forbearance on my part would be a little short of cowardice,” he con- cluded, “and to-morrow—yes, sir—to- morrow morning, not a minute later, the day of reckoning will be at hand!” CHAPTER V. BUZZARDS. LD Jerry Steele, his face rigid and stern, stood the next morning look- ing at the smoking ruins of his barn. Blackie Sanderson, at his side, had an expression on his face both rueful and sympathetic. A few other hands of the Wagon Wheel, Billy Perkins among them, stood a little distance away. The atmos- phere seemed charged with something ex- pectant and ominous. “Thar’s no doubt about it,” Blackie asserted. ‘“ Thet’s some more o’ the un- derhand work o’ the Lazy S. Naylor, prob’ly, an’ some of his men, must ’a’ did the real dirty work; but I'll bet a cookie thet Tolliver himself was behind ‘em. The Lazy S gang acted purty cocky last night when they was in the Corral. Like as not they was fixin’ things up right then to set fire to yore barn. “ Well, there’s one thing about it, Mr. Steele. They say thet thar’s Lazy S cattle a-roamin’ all over the country this morn- in’, Thet stampede last night ‘Il cost Tolli- ver a purty penny. Three or four hundred head, they say, was killed by the barbed wire along the road, an’ thar was a lotta fence rooted up an’ ruined. sg Steele turned on Blackie and fixed him with a penetrating stare. “ Sanderson,” he asked, “ did you or any of my men have anything to do with that stampede?” ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. The puncher regarded the old man with an expression of innocent surprise. “I didn’t, Mr. Steele,” he protested. “TI allus followed yore orders to leave the Lazy S alone. It was hard sometimes,” he admitted, “ not to try to get even with Tolliver for the dirty tricks he played on you, but I knew how you felt about it, an’ I ain’t tampered nohow with the Lazy S.” “But the other men?” Steele persisted, still keeping his eyes on Sanderson. “All of ’em say they didn’t have nothin’ to do with it,” asserted Blackie. ‘“ Be- yond thet, I don’t know anything about it. The hands, o’ course, is all strong for you, Mr. Steele, an’ they ain’t been likin’ the things thet have been happenin’ on the Wagon Wheel. “When water holes is poisoned an’ fences cut an’ mavericks rustled, an’ sich like, it’s hard for cow hands to keep from fightin’ for their boss. They all know thet Tolliver’s at the bottom o’ the dirty work. Why, he must be, Mr. Steele! An’ I ain’t sayin’ thet mebbe jest a few of ’em ain’t sneakin’ out once in awhile an’ trying to even things up a little.” ‘““1’d be sorry if I knew that they had,” said Steele. “ There was a bitter feud be- tween the Steeles and the Tollivers back in Kentucky, for more’n a hundred years, but when Tom Tolliver an’ I both happened to settle out here it seemed like we thought about the same time that it would be just as well to bring the years of bloodshed an’ killin’ to an end. We couldn’t speak to each other, of course, but we didn’t pester each other for years. ‘Sometimes, Blackie, it seems to me that something’s wrong about it all. Some- times I think some one besides Tolliver might be at the bottom of the trouble. I reckon I'll go over an’ have a sensible talk with Tom if he wants to listen to me.” ““D’you want I should ride along with you?” asked Blackie. “ ’Tain’t jest ex- actly safe, Mr. Steele, facin’ Tolliver alone. He’s a hot-headed hombre, an’—” Blackie’s voice trailed off in a worried note. “T reckon, Blackie, that I can take keer o’ myself,” replied Steele calmly, “In .OOKS (ECO AMIE (E(9)