Adventure Magazine Cover — page 166: what you’re looking at

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

152 “Red Cullum lies!” he bellowed. Randolph laughed. “Then you know what Red has to say?” “J—JI don’t know or care what he says!” “Then how do you know he lies?” the ranger asked with huge politeness. The grizzled timberman raged in silence. The bookkeeper whispered to his assistant, who slipped quietly out of the office. Florence White was typing erratically. Randolph leaned across “the counter eres separated him from the manager’s esk. “Brant, you bit like a hungry trout. I couldn’t get it on you when you spiked those logs, but this time you’re sewed up so tight you can’t move. wasn’t out of town I’d swear out a warrant right now. But as he’s away I’m warning you not to leave town. I may want you any minute.”’ He left the office and strode down the unpaved street toward the Lone Star sa- loon, thoroughly satisfied with himself and his handling of Old Brant. As he halted before the swinging doors of the saloon the Black Creek Mill’s assis- tant bookkeeper stepped out. He was pale and glanced startledly at the ranger as he _ hurried past in the direction of the office. Ogle SS oe cae es ee et ei Randolph wondered at the strange ac- tions of the young fellow as he pushed open the doors. Then he understood. Perhaps twenty men occupied the barroom; but instantly his eyes fell upon Red Cullum and his three companions, who faced him from in front of the bar. A silence, electric with expectancy, per- vaded the place. All eyes were turned upon the ranger. The doors swung closed behind him; with almost military preciSion the four strangers drew revolvers. Three of the weapons covered the men at the bar; Red Cullum directed his toward the ranger. “Hands up, everybody!” the red giant bellowed. He motioned with his revolver to the ranger. “Over there with the rest of them.” Randolph slowly raised his hands and followed the direction of the barrel. He felt keenly the eyes of his friends upon him; he knew that the moment he had feared was at hand. The four strangers, still covering the oc- cupants of the room, backed quickly to the door. i e s a eS ak pe re oe ee ed oe, be mo FS ew Se * ee If the sheriff: Adventure “If anybody comes out of this door in ten minutes he’s a suicide,” Red Cullum shouted. ““Good-by, Mr. Bad-Man Ranger. You’re a laugh, you are!”’ The doors swung closed behind the re- treating figures. A fusillade of shots sounded; the swinging doors trembled and were splintered as the strangers fired upon them to impress the veracity of their warning. Instantly there was a stir among the men at the bar. Several of them ‘loudly expelled the air from their lungs; some- body snickered; the bartender said— “‘There’s going to be popping around - here!’ The ranger was whipped to action by the implication of the words. He ran swiftly across the room, flung up the sash of the side window and leaped to the ground out- side. The others in the room rushed to the window and peered circumspectly around the frame. They beheld Randolph running swiftly across the street. A block below the stran- gers’ horses were tied to a hitching-post where they had first dismounted. It was plain to the watchers that the ranger was attempting to cut them off from reaching their animals. Half-way across the street they saw Ran- dolph raise his revolver and fire twice. As he had drawn the fire from the swinging doors some of the men ventured to peer out above them. Two of the strangers lay in the middle of the street; Red Cullum and “his remaining companion dodged swiftly behind a pile of boxes standing near the general store across the street. Randolph had won the first point; he had cut them off from their horses. a ‘“AIN’T that ranger a heller!” the San barkeep exulted. ‘And he’s got to do it alone—sheriff’s out of town!”’ “He ain’t done anything marvelous yet,” some one objected. he comes to taking Red Cullum!” “Let’s see how close — Randolph reached the opposite side of — the street amid a hail of bullets and sank gratefully behind a horse-trough at the curb. The trough was constructed of stout two- inch pine and was filled with water. It formed an adequate barrier to Red Cullum’s bullets. He glanced cautiously around the end of the trough. The pile of boxes behind which _ ~ . > = - - “ ee ema al ee ee ee SR eee ss Te & D> ie cae . nae i i, S- .. Rt at | ae pee ae oe cx oe a eae ote rae, Sco a ma aes