Adventure Magazine Cover — page 176: what you’re looking at

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

' ier we AY sig - Daniel replied. >a, —* =5>,- ae er e-* wy ou know that has s thive to do with it. Siw Ellis hatesme. Always has hated me.” “Never shown any love for me, either,” “But you—you tried to keep her from marryin’ him. Wanted to marry her yourself.” There-was much in his voice that sounded like a taunt. “T know he was jealous of me,” the grotesque Joseph said defensively. ——!’” his brother answered with mean “Tf he killed her it wasn’t ’cause he He was jealous of that scorn. was jealous of you. -tin-horn gambler that was living with her while he was in the pen!” Daniel added a curse of his own against that ‘‘tin-horn gambler.” I inguired.softly if Daniel had had trouble with that fellow. It seemed that he had. He was rather vague and excited, but I gathered from his remarks that he had guessed the aforesaid tin-horn gambler had had something to do with a good deal of the trouble that came upon him about that time. He seemed to think—in spite of the intimation that Steve Ellis had had reason for hating the tin- horn—that the fellow had been a friend of Steve’s. I asked how Steve Ellis had brought about the death.of his wife, but both of them were uncommunicative. They had questions of their own. I persisted. Daniel looked ex- pectantly at his brother, and Joseph said that Ellis was sent up on circumstantial evidence. The woman was found dead less than twenty hours after he had been re-, leased from prison—her skull fractured. Now Steve Ellis was being again released— he had been released. Circumstantial evi- dence and all that, Joseph Cornwall ex- plained exasperatedly, angrily, was the justification for letting him out. Daniel watched me closely and was silent. I remarked that it was strange, exceed- ingly strange. Then Daniel spoke. ‘That —— Walsh—governor—he’s let- ting him out!” I understood something then of how it had come about. 7 I said bluntly and with meaning that I might care to have a word or two with Steve Ellis when he arrived in New York. Daniel Cornwall continued to eye me a little broodingly, but Joseph was full of gratitude. As Daniel was pushing open the idee doors I caught sight of Quiller, looking — quite haggard and anxious, waiting at the foot of the stairs. Bg At the door I glanced back over the shoulder of the nervous Joseph, who was — aimlessly talkative, agitatedly polite. I saw Quiller gripping the arm of Daniel Corn- wall. I heard his excited whisper as, without looking toward me, he pointed. His eyes were on the dazed face of Daniel. I caught > the words— the man that killed Taggart!” The door closed behind me and some- what reflectively I went on my way. Tag- gart had been the name of the shyster law-— yer who had—considering the ways and morals of his sort—taken a step toward honesty in turning burglar. His regenera- tion might eventually have been complete had he not awakened me. I had always thought there had been two of them that - night, and the man with Taggart might — have, in. the tenseness of that moment when the stream of light fell on my face, got such sight years later. that had troubled his dreams. VI "a vivid glimpse of me as to recognize me on | } Perhaps it was my face SEVERAL things happened simul- taneously and in rapid sequence. The Cornwall brothers quarreled, — and Cora, overhearing them, learned such things as caused her to flee the house. Her haste to get from under that roof caused her to remove also a little black box which had been entrusted among her things. Daniel, in constant dread of thieves, had thought they would be unlikely to search her per- sonal effects and had had her keep it for him. Daniel Cornwall, following the quarrel, also disappeared. When he discovered that I was the “tin-horn gambler” and the man who had shot Taggart, he thought he had caught the devil on his hook and was pretty _ much excited. He had sent Taggart and Quiller to try to get back that little steel box so as to avoid all delay and, if possible, ob- viate the need of having to let Steve Ellis get out of prison. Daniel had quarreled because he wanted to run and hide again, but Joseph, the weaker, younger and least aggressive, stubbornly refused. His conscience seemed _ to have been a little easier. He had _— ome ~~ . = == inal Done ays Se