Adventure Magazine Cover, February 3, 1921 — page 157: what you’re looking at

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

The Heart of the Range m4 RACEY stepped across the door-sill and halted just within the room. The thumb of his left hand was hooked in his. belt. His right hand hung at his side. He was ready for action. ‘“Lanpher,” said Racey without prelimi- nary, “I wanna serve notice on you here an’ now that if I catch you within one mile of Moccasin Spring you’ll come a-shootin’ ‘cause I will.” Lanpher’s hand remained motionless on the desk-top. Then the man picked up a pencil and began to tap it on the wood. He licked his lips cat-fashion. ‘Ts that a threat or a promise?” he asked. “You can take it she’s both,” Racey told him. “You hear that, Luke?’ Lanpher turned to Luke Tweezy. ‘“Threatenin’ my life, huh?” “Shore,” nodded Luke Tweezy. ‘‘Action- able, that is. Mustn’t threaten a man’s life, Racey. Against the law, yuh know.” Racey moved to one side and leaned his back comfortably against the wall. “Against the law, huh, Luke?” he said nervously. “Then I can be arrested?”’ “Vuh can.” Luke Tweezy declared with ’ evident relish. ‘That is, yuh can if Lanpher wants to make a complaint.”’ “You hear, Lanpher?” asked Racey, still more nervously. ‘You wanna make a com- plaint, huh?” _Lanpher had not failed to note the ner- vousness of Racey’s tone. Now he licked his lips again. He felt quite cheerful of a sudden. It gave him a warm and pleasant feeling to think that Racey Dawson was to a certain degree in his power. Having licked his lips several times, he rubbed his chin judicially and coughed, likewise judicially. “Well, I dunno as I wanna make a com- plaint exactly,” he said slowly. “But you wanna walk a chalk-line round here, Racey. You got too much to say for a fact.” “What do you think, Luke?’ queried Racey. “Have I got too much to say?” “You heard what Lanpher said,” replied the cautious Luke. “Vep, I heard all right. I just wanted to get yore opinion, because I ain’t through yet—through talkin’, I mean. What I was goin’ to say is that I wouldn’t wanna be particular about catchin’ Lanpher round Moccasin Spring. If I only heard he’d been hangin’ round there it would be enough. “Meanin’ you'll drill him on suspicion?” “Meanin’ Pll do just that.” r5!I ‘“‘Now yo’re threatenin’ me again.”” Thus Lanpher. “Takes you a long time to wake up, don’t it?” The nervousness had vanished from Racey’s voice. ‘Lanpher, you lousy skunk! Why don’t you pull? There’s a gun in that open drawer not six inches from your hand. Go after it, you hound-dog!”’ Lanpher was not inordinately brave. He would go out of his way to avoid an appeal to lethal weapons. But Racey’s words were more than he could stand. His hand jerked sidewise and down toward the six-shooter in the open drawer. Bang! Shooting from the hip Racey drove an accurate bullet through the mana- ger’s right forearm. Lanpher grunted and gurgled with pain. But he made no attempt to seize his weapon with his left hand. Luke Tweezy picked himself up from the floor where he had thrown himself a split second before the shot. Luke Tweezy’s leathery faceywas mottled yellow with rage. “Tll get you ten years for this!” he squalled, pointing a long arm at Racey. “You started this fight! You tried to mur- der him!’ “Oh, say not so,” said Racey “If I’d wanted to kill him I wouldn’t ’a’ plugged him in the arm, would I? That wouldn’t a’ been sensible.”’ “You provoked this fracas!’’ snarled Luke, disregarding Racey’s point in a true lawyer- like way ‘You ft “Why no, Luke, yo’re wrong, all wrong,” interrupted Swing Tunstall, leaning over the window-sill at Tweezy’s back. “TI seen the whole thing, I did, an’ I didn’t see Racey do nothin’ he shouldn’t. I could swear to it on the stand if I had to,’ he added thoughtfully. Came then Rod Rockwell, Bill Allen and Tile Stanton from the bunk-house. None made any comment on the state of affairs. But while Rod fetched water in a basin, Bill Allen cut away the sleeve of his groaning employer and made all ready. A few minutes later Alicran Skeel entered the office. “TI thought I heard a gun,” he drawled, his calm eyes embracing every one in the room. “That man,’ bubbled Luke Tweezy, shaking his fist at Racey. ‘That man tried to kill Lanpher! I call upon you not to let him leave the premises until I can go to Farewell an’ swear out a warrant for his arrest.” = A (© lDOOLKS (C@