Argosy All-Story Weekly, July 7, 1928 — page 66: what you’re looking at

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

206 me what he said last night, I think it’s all part of th’ game tuh get th’ ranch away from Miss Shaw. An’ I reckon this bird they calls th’ Chief has a hand in it some way.”’ “I don’t know about that. From what Willis said last night he was ‘kinda doubtful about the Chief likin’ th’ play. As for this feller MacGill, I for one, ain't gonna let him get away with it.” Solitaire looked thoughtful and then he began to whistle softly, and to Lar- kins there was an ominous note in the sound; finally the two-gun man ceased his musical efforts and smiled. ‘‘ No, I figure yuh and me will do right con- siderable shootin’ first !’’ CHAPTER VII. NO TIME TO MAKE A PRESEN’. OR over half an hour the two men sat in the bunk house talking over the situation. Solitaire was quite inclined to agree with Larkins’s theory that MacGill and his men were the cause of the mysterious disappearance of the four Cross Bar J punchers. Neither of them doubted for an in- stant that the Lazy X outfit, of which Jake Willis was the foreman, would stop at anything, even murder, to grat- ify the hidden commands of the man known only as the Chief. Both Larkins and Stevens thought it advisable for the whistling waddy to remain under cover as mitch as pos- sible. Solitaire had told Buck of the attempt that was to be made to place the blame for the murder of Major Marsh upon the two-gun man’s shoul- ders should the latter be discovered and identified by the hunchback. Such being the case, it was up to Stevens not to let any one of the Chief’s band get a glimpse of him if it was humanly possible not to do so. “T ain’t figured out yet why yuh de- cided tuh take a hand in this game,” said Buck Larkins finally. He smiled. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. “Not that I ain’t thankin’ my lucky stars that you are in on it, but how come?” “ Well, in the first place, I gets my- self intuh something by going nosing around the Circle T—and there’s no one ‘ever said that Solitaire Stevens runs away from trouble. The wandering puncher laughed. * But that ain’t th’ only reason. Maybe I’m what I heard a feller say he was in an election speech once, ‘A righteous defender of the oppressed.’ And it sure looks as though this MacGill had got this outfit oppressed plenty right now.” “Nothing would please me better than tuh put a bit of lead through his dirty heart,” growled Larkins angrily. “ An’ I’m sure gonna do it when I meet up with him.” “ Uh-huh! I haven’t any what yuh could call right serious objections tuh seein’ him all stretched out with pretty flowers around him and kinda tiptoein’ by an’ sayin’, ‘ Don’t he look natural ?’ ” Solitaire shook his head. “ But Mac- Gill is only one man and he’s takin’ his orders from the Chief. “If we get MacGill the job is only half done. There’s only two of us, re- member, and from what I’ve learned the Chief and his gang are sure a tough bunch of hombres. We can’t fight out in the open, Buck; th’ odds against us are too heavy. What we better do is work things as the feller says, ‘ sorta subtle!’ ”’ “Subtle? What ’d yuh mean by that?” Larkins looked puzzled. “ Under cover like. Listen, MacGill don’t know me. He seen me in the Full-House Saloon that was all. I was wearing a handkerchief tied around my face when I drawed down on the sheriff and the deputy out on the road. So they don’t know what I look like. Same way when I held up Lomond, and Lagrew, and the hunchback, Juan. They don’t know who I am either. “Of course, Juan seen me through the window when I found the major’s COPMICOOOKS (E©)