Adventure Magazine Cover — page 95: what you’re looking at

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

“Then welll go that far now,” decided Uncle Dick. With the Indian sectaate him the mountaineer worked down the rough stair- way composed of weathered knobs of rock and suggesting a gully worn out! in ages past by some stream. The winds and rains of each season had kept the way clean of detritus, so there was small danger of their presence being betrayed by dislodged peb- bles. Uncle Dick found this part of the work to be less irksome than the ascent of the other side. As they crawled lower the sound of voices came up to meet them—at first a low murmuring, then audible words. As the voices began to take on individuality, so that one was to be distinguished from another, Crooked Arm came to a halt and seized his companion’s hand. “We can rest here,” he whispered. “I will fix the end of the rawhide fast and when the signal is given we canefinish very quick. Ishall get me a war-name tonight.” Uncle Dick cautiously felt about with his feet and found he was standing on a shelf wide enough to sprawl out on but not extending more than a dozen feet toward the fire. The shack stood between him and the blaze and from its outline he de- duced it was larger and much more sub- stantial than he had supposed when first - viewing it from the top of the wall. As his gaze grew accustomed to: the light and shadows, he saw that some fifty feet re- mained to be covered before he could stand on the floor of the cafidn. What quickly held his interest were the irregular. dark shapes along the foot of the wall, extending from a point beneath him to beyond ‘the shack. He touched Crooked Arm’s hand and pointed at them. The Indian explained they were boulders, presumably once a part of the cliff. The lower and upper ends of the cafion were impenetrable to the gaze, the fan of light from the fire intensifying the darkness. As the two men watched they saw a small band of horsemen ride from the fire, some going up, the others going down ~ the cafion. After a brief period of waiting other horsemen broke through the darkness, coming from both ends of the cafion. The newcomers rode joyously into the light and loudly answered their companions’ salutations with demands for food and drink. “Chan ging their guards,” sented Dace . Dick. men’n that they'll have the Injuns down on ’em in no time.”’ This possibility worried him. The suc- cess of his scheme demanded that the alarmed outlaws should ride off to hold both ends of the cafion, leaving a weak - force, or none at all, to guard the shack. If too weak a resistence permitted the Indians to break through there would be no curbing their war-lust and they would triumphantly press forward until they had the enemy hedged in around the shack. Then the outlaws, superbly armed and ° superb fighters battling for their. lives, would doubtless turn the tables and ad- minister an ignominious defeat. “Wish I’d hammered it into Satanta’s and the Bear’s heads that they was to hold off till they’d decoyed most of the gang up to ’em,” he regretted. Then he continued philosophically: “But it wouldn’t ’a’ done any good. Once the Injuns see’em fall- ing back {they’ll begin to hi-yi and show off.” The outlaws lounging around the fire betrayed no appearance of concern. At some time they had brought in a large amount of fuel from the top of the back | door, where the evergreen growth com- menced, and this they burned lavishly, suggesting to Uncle Dick that the band did not expect to camp in that spot many times. It was also patent that they depended en- tirely upon the guards stationed at the ends of the cafion to protect them from a surprize attack, that they never dreamed of any danger coming over the cliffs. Their attitude was that of careless ease and com- plete relaxation as they lay about the fire, many with their belts of weapons thrown aside, eating, drinking and _ playing cards. This confidence and the string of boulders along the foot of the cliff inspired Uncle Dick with a new ambition. Although the rescue of the girl was the all-important purpose of the night’s venture, he was ex- tremely curious to learn something definite as to the robbers’ identity. None of the gang wore masks, and during his watching he had seen no horsemen ride near the boulders. Invariably they rode in the mid- dle of the cafion. His decision was ab- ruptly made. Turning to Crooked Arm he announced: ‘ a4 ‘7 “Well, if .they don’t’ post more — bare *) ae. eva Mi =. ae”