Adventure Magazine Cover — page 148: what you’re looking at

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

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I’m even - scairt to let him make ch—change fer me!’’ - Elbe leaned heavily against the bar while his _ change was being counted out. Then he stag- gered—or seemed to stagger—toward a table in the rear under a hanging oil lamp. Henry gasped with surprize when he saw the e 2 man who was playing cards with Elbe. It was Coyote Jim. Henry finished his soda and walked quietly "The two men were playing stud and Coyote was dealing. Henry saw him tip the deck on = _ end to straighten the cards and caught a flash of the bottom card—the ace of spades. Two cards had been dealt to each hand, the hole cards turned down, and one card face up to each. When Coyote’s third card fell Henry’s eyes bulged. It was the ace of spades. Coyote had dealt to himself from the bottom! Henry tried to rally his whirling senses. Coyote playing for money with the man Elbe— all men! Winning the money that Elbe d be saving against the Winter’s needs; par winning it by cheating. There must be some mistake, the store- keeper argued to himself. He had doubtless been mistaken as to the card. It could not have been the ace of spades he had glimpsed on the bottom of the deck. Yes, he was mistaken; his faith in his old friend of the hills could not be shaken so easily. Coyote raked in the money in the pot while Elbe cursed and shuffled the cards clumsily. _ Coyote’s left arm was on the table. When Elbe wag dealing the third set of cards Henry saw Coyote shift his arm and in a twinkling the prospector had substituted a card which he had had concealed under his arm for his hole card— the one Elbe had dealt him fairly. Henry wiped a bead of sweat from his fore- head and walked unsteadily to the bar. He might be mistaken once, but twice in as many hands—never! Coyote was deliberately cheat- ing. Doing it in bungling fashion, too. If Elbe were not so drunk he could detect the fraud in an instant. But Elbe‘was drunk, and there were no spectators. Coyote had it all his own way and he was getting Elbe’s money ast. In a loud voice Henry Morton ordered whiskey. As he poured the liquor into his glass Coyote turned and gazed at him reprovingly. Henry didn’t drink hard liquor as a rule; but to have Coyote, the double-dyed cheat accuse him when he, himself, was stealing another man’s money “Have a drink, “Coyote?” . invited Henry with a sneer. Adventure Screamed Elbe, his face purple. “Not drinking this trip, thanks,” returned Coyote. - “That’s right—don’ t let the liquor interfere. | = your business,” answered Henry, point~ z There was no reply to this. Henry won- Se dered if any of the others had noticed tle ot nefarious thing that Coyote was up to. He | was glad to see that the two men playing cards = were disregarded by the others. And then he = = reproved himself for this satisfaction. Why — ges = should he wish to shield a thief? Did it not — make him a party to the unsavory transaction? _ Elbe came again to the bar. aS “Las’ twenty,” he chortled. “Never had such a run of luck in the thirty years I been playing ca—cards in these frost-bitten moun- tains. Gimme a drink to change my luck, barkeep.”’ Henry shot a quick glance of anger and con- | tempt at Coyote as Elbe drained the glass of | liquor set before him and weaved his way back © to the card-table. - EG: Coyote had been stacking the cards in his me crude way—Henry had seen him doit. Cheat- ~~ ing! : Where was Coyote’ Ss professed code = : now 5 “Do a good turn when I can and work anne pay for what I get,” was what Coyote had — described as his code. And now he was debe thts nan. Se | “good turn” by cheating him out of his money; x = getting some three hundred dollars by stealing _ . it instead of working for it. And it was too a = late for Henry to stop the thing because Elbe’s money was about gone. He could prove ~— nothing. Maybe the proprietor of the place = was in league with the errant prospector, for = — that matter. So Henry took another drink to brace his = nerves against the shock they had received. Then with a grim and saddened face he went back to watch the end of the game. ic Again Coyote was dealing. But as a card fell face up on his hand Elbe lunged et Sy the table with a roar of rage. ene “IT saw that, you dirty ——!” he swore. aspen “You dropped that one from the bottom!’ = = Coyote, surprized and much taken aback, eae held the deck high in the air. preee “You _ cheated—you’ve been cheating!” Sr _“Ain’t you imagining something, Elbe; ain’t you seeing things, maybe?” asked Coyote . ae softly. “Maybe that card didn’t come ofthe «= Se; bottom like you think a’ tall.” rae “You lie!’ yelled Elbe, getting to his feet. The sudden shock had sobered him. “Gimme that money.” He reached for the pile of bills and silver on the-table before Coyote; but Coyote was the quicker of the two. “Keep your hands off that, Elbe,” he warned connicibooks