Adventure Magazine, March 1916 — page 152: what you’re looking at

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

‘ ah a os fe ‘. Le te oo fs Purl e Hi ‘ ’ of ’ i . nh \ mm beat "3s? Gin’ me hia >, iS s YY AW 4 lA . . » Oe be Pk eel vty qra® aX = : re WS " 4 Niky) we. 't poet : : ve 4 4 » "Ay J , PEAS * Ste Sa | it). a y , t epi ve ty > 150 to tell me. Ain’t that what ye come here for?”’ “Ramsay’s shot—that’s all we know,” interposed Mr. Saltoun hastily. ‘An’ there’s a cow an’ calf o’ mine over yonder. Skinned, both of ’em.”’ ‘An’ the cow had been branded through -a wet blanket,” said Loudon, not to be fobbed off. ““The Bar-S was underneath an’ the 88 wasontop. Johnny an’ me found the dead cow an’ the live calf yesterday. [I left Johnny here an’ rode in to the Bar-S. When we got here we found Johnny shot an’ the cow an’ calf skinned. What do you guess?” “T don’t guess nothin’,”’ replied the sheriff. ‘But it sure looks as if rustlers had been mighty busy.” “Don’t it?” said Loudon with huge sar- casm. “I guess now——” “Say, look here, sheriff,” interrupted Mr. Saltoun, anxious to preserve peace, “I ain’t makin’ no charges against anybody. But this rustlin’ has got to stop. I can’t afford to lose any more cows. Do somethin’. Yo’re sheri “Do somethin’!” exclaimed the sheriff. “Well, I like that! What canI do? I can’t be in forty places at once. Ye talk like I knowed just where the rustlers hang out.” “Ye probably do,” said Loudon, eyes watchful, his right hand ready. “Keep out of this, Tom,” ordered Mr. Saltoun, turning on Loudon with sharp authority. ‘‘I’ll say what’s to be said.” ‘Show me the rustlers,” said the sheriff, electing to disregard Loudon’s outburst. “Show me the rustlers, an’ I’ll do the rest.” At which remark the seething Loudon could control himself no longer. “You'll do the rest!” he rapped out in a harsh and grating voice. “I guess ye will! If ye was worth a ye’d get ’em without bein’ shown! How much do they pay ye for leavin’ ’em alone?”’ The sheriff did not remove his hands from the saddle-horn. For Loudon had jerked ~ out his six-shooter, and the long barrel was in line with the third button of the officer’s shirt. . “Ye got the drop,” grunted the sheriff, his little eyes venomous, “‘an’ I ain’t goin’ up agin a sure thing.” “You can gamble ye ain’t. I’d sure ad- mire to blow ye apart. You git, an’ git now.’ The sheriff hesitated. Loudon’s finger Adventure dragged on the trigger. Slowly the sheriff picked up his reins, wheeled his horse and loped away. “What did ye do that for?” demanded Mr. Saltoun, disturbed and angry. Loudon, his eye-corners puckered, stared at the owner of the Bar-S. The cowboy’s gaze was curious, speculative, and it greatly lacked respect. Instead of replying to Mr, Saltoun’s question, Loudon sheathed his six- shooter, squatted down on his heels and be- gan to roll a cigarette. “T asked ye what ye did that for?” reiter- ated blundering Mr. Saltoun. Again Loudon favored his employer with that curious and speculative stare. “Yl tell ye,” Loudon said gently. “I talked to Block because it’s about time some one did. He’s in with the rustlers—Blake- ly an’ that bunch. If you wasn’t blinder’n a flock of bats you’d see it, too.” “You can’t talk to me this way!’ cried the furious Mr. Saltoun. ‘T’m doin’ it,’”’ observed Loudon placidly. “Yo’re fired!” “Not by a jugful I ain’t, I quit ten min- utes ago.” “You—” began Mr. Saltoun. “Don’t,” advised Loudon, his lips parting in a mirthless smile. Mr. Saltoun didn’t. He withdrew to a ‘little distance and sat down. After a time he took out his pocket-knife and began to play mumblety-peg. Mr. Saltoun’s emo- tions had been violently churned. He re- quired time to readjust himself. But with his customary stubbornness he held to the belief that Blakely and the 88 were innocent of evil-doing. Until Chuck Morgan and the wagon ar- rived early in the morning, Loudon and his former employer did not exchange a word. CHAPTER V THEIR OWN DECEIVINGS OHNNY RAMSAY was put to bed in the Bar-S ranch-house. Kate Saltoun promptly installed herself as nurse. Lou- don, paid off by the now regretful Mr. Sal- toun, took six hours’ sleep and then rode away on Ranger to notify the Cross-in-a- box of Ramsay’s wounding. An angry man was Richie, manager of the Cross-in-a-box, when he heard what Loudon had to say. Gomichooks