The Argosy, Vol. 82, No. 3 — page 181: what you’re looking at

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

THE OLD WEST “Vou have brought on this show-down, Pecos,” drawled the voice of Gentleman Jim, his blue eyes snapping, “and now you’ve got to see it through. Your ammu- nition is gone and your guns are useless, so if there is any shooting, it will be on our side. ‘‘All but two of the horses have been run off, so we can’t be followed. ‘The don is in front, with our mounts, and behind each saddle is a pair of roomy saddlebags. Al- ready we have dropped into the bags what little plunder we could get from Perdue and Middling, and we're on our way through the camp collecting tribute. All you have in ready cash, gentlemen! Never mind watches or articles of personal adorn- ment. Come across!” Through a window Don Quesada could be seen sitting one horse and holding an- other. He was armed, and held a revolver in readiness for use. Silence fell over the four in the judge’s living room, broken, at last, by Castle. “What do you mean by this? Rayner, if this is a play—” “Tt’s the real thing, Castle,” cut in Gen- tleman Jim. “If I can’t grab off a good- sized stake one way, I’ll do it another. Que- sada and I have the only usable guns in camp; what’s more, we’ll shoot if we have to.” Putting one revolver under his arm, he removed his wide-brimmed hat and dropped it crown down on the floor. “Drop your money into the hat,” he added, “‘one at a time. You first, judge!” For once the resourceful Brand seemed at a loss. Slowly he began removing his money from his pockets, advanced under a threatening muzzle and dropped a roll of yellowbacks and some gold pieces into the hat. “Very pretty,” he said, as he backed away; ‘‘a stick-up in old time style.” “T hope it gives you a thrill,” chuckled Gentleman Jim. ‘‘Now, Castle!” Castle came forward and flung some gold into the hat. Robbins followed suit. “T feel like boring you, Reeves,’ pro- ceeded the gambler, an ugly gleam in his eyes as the Tenderfoot stepped up to make his own contribution. ‘The slickest scheme a man ever had for pulling down a bunch of coin has been back-capped—and I think you were mainly responsible. You’re a buttinsky all right. “f hoped you would starve to death in PER CONTRACT. 555 that hole in the hills, but I missed out in my calculations. I discovered that steep- walled basin a couple of days after we ar- rived here, and I saw its possibilities in your case. It was the way out that fooled me. When I went back there to look the ground over, I saw your fool notice stuck up on the rock-pile. The notice has been re- placed with another, and that other will go on record. Get that? It’s a bonanza ledge, and Juan Rosario Rayner will take it up.” ‘Who is Juan Rosario Rayner?” inquired the judge. “My son, known to the Forty-Niners as Don Quesada. Some of the best blood of old Spain flows in Juan’s veins. Possibly you are surprised?” And Rayner laughed. “Tf Juan Rosario Rayner tries to hold that claim,” said the judge calmly, “he . will have a job on his hands. I'll get to him for this morning’s work.” “Don’t think that, either,” returned Gen- tleman Jim. ‘‘You’re a keen old sourdough, Judge, but here’s once I caught you nap- ping. I’m making this a real show-down, see? Is that all you’ve got, Reeves?” “Ves,” answered Reeves, as his last gold- piece jingled into the Stetson. “Then back up! I ought to put a bit of lead into you as a souvenir, but I refrain. Where’s the chink? Hello, there, Sing Lee!”’ The Chinaman shuffled in from _ the kitchen. He halted with a gasp when he found a gun trained on him. “Whatee want, huh?” he asked in a tremor. “Dinero! ”’ “No gottee dinero.” “Oh, come! Where’s that nice little grub- stake Robbins gave you? Put it in the hat, Sing, or this camp will be short one Chinaman.”’ Sing Lee groaned as he fished his gold out of the depths of his blouse and allowed it to trickle into the Stetson. “Vou may have held out a little on me, gentlemen, but I am not disposed to be critical,” continued Gentleman Jim. “TI got next to you, judge, during Robbins’s talk with Castle in Los Angeles. J overheard a little of that conversation, and I gathered that you were the Judge Brand who came West a year or so ago looking for the old times and a daughter of your old partner. What I did not pick up from Robbins and Castle I got from Adams himself. I hap- pened to be in Moccasin, Utah, when EORMICLAOO (SC cS (E@)