A. Merritt's Fantasy Magazine, February 1950 — page 25: what you’re looking at

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

THE SMOKING LAND 25 .But my smile was extinguished on the spur of the moment, I give you my word, because our stranger, in answer to that long laugh, pulled out a knife that looked as long as my arm, and made a pass for the other lad’s throat. It was not a detached gesture, either. It was followed up by a good long lunge that would have speared my boy as he . rolled in the snow, squeaking like a rabbit with fear. But an accidental upfling of his arm parried the lunge and then my lad, getting to his feet, grabbed the arm with which he had made the lucky parry and ran. I never before had seen any man run over deep snow as though he were wear- ing spikes on a cinder track. The big stranger made two steps in pursuit; then he thought of a better idea. He waved to his dog, and the white beast jumped up with a little whine of eager- ness, and bounded away in pursuit. That was a good deal too much for me. Ordinarily, I had let the Esquimaux fol- low their own little racial whims and fancies without any interference on my part, but I could hardly stand by and see a boy pulled apart by a man-eating dog. And it looked fairly certain that the white devil was not running this game for the first time. So I pulled out Judge Colt and leveled it at him. “Call back that dog!” He gave me a horrible squint, but with- out a word, he waved his arm, and I saw the dog, in the distance, come to a reluc- tant pause, and then swing slowly about toward his master. That was not the end of the little parley, however. Mr. Esquimau, having his at- Be counter today. tention taken from my boy, was giving all] of his most private thoughts to me. He leaned forward a little, and without a word, came straight at me with his knife. The folly of that staggered me. The man might come from a land very far north, but he surely must have known about firearms—and there was I, covering him! I never hated to do anything so much, but it looked like my neck or nothing. I fired a bullet straight into his breast! I say that I fired the bullet “into” his breast, because as a matter of fact I saw where it hit, and saw him half stopped by the weight of the impact, but he wasn’t entirely stopped, and he failed to drop. Also, the sound it had made was not the sickening chug of a slug driving into flesh. It was a hard, flat sound, like that made by banging a hammer on a thick board. I was dizzy with the thought; my head spun about. But I put the twin brother of that bullet right on the spot where the first one had landed. Yes, I saw that big brute of a man be- gin to laugh with a murderous fury of exultation as he sprang in on me with his arm strained back for the finishing stroke. CHAPTER 7 The Frightened Liar HERE are not many things that one can trust in this world, and I had always known it, but I made an exception in favor of Judge Colt. I had worn him next to my heart for a good many years, and if I treated him with BROMO-SELTZER FIGHTS HEADACHE THREE WAYS ordinary headache sl mo-Seltzer. It fights head: For fast ways take ar a of Headache. ; 1. Relieves Pain 2. Relieves Discomfort of Upset Stomach. 3. Quiets Jumpy Nerves. \ Caution: Use only as directed. Get Bromo-| Scltzer at your drug store fountain of | A product of Emerson pe Drug Company since 1887. Eoress(