Adventure Magazine Cover, February 3, 1921 — page 51: what you’re looking at

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

The Road to El Dorado friend seated near the girl’s wagon, raptly — listening to her and Natchez softly singing negro melodies. It was with difficulty that Joe got him to one side and explained his bewilderment over the crew’s strange be- havior. Reason promptly pulled his knife and avowed his intentions of preventing any treachery by the simple safeguard of cutting Shirley’s throat. Joe had induced him to restore his weapon when a movement of the men in a body at the other end of the camp sent him on the run to learn what was happening. He found Laramie leaning negligently against a wheel, his thumbs hooked in his belt, his lustrous eyes studying the red face of Shirley. Back of the wagon-boss crowd- ed the men. Shirley announced— “Pete, th’ boys has a word to say, an’ they asked me to speak it for ’em.” He paused; Laramie nodded for him to continue. Shirley cleared his throat and announced: “We don’t think we’ve had a square deal. We risk our lives to git ye an’ yer freight to th’ mountains where ye'll clean up a fortune.” “But behold! I pay you wages!” “Wages! Bah! An’ ye makin’ a for- tune,” cried Shirley, striving to work him- self up into a rage. “But, m’sieu, at Fort Laramie you said ~ “Ve listen to what I’m sayin’ now,” Shirley viciously interrupted. “We want a share in this business. We ’low we’ve earned it, offerin’ our lives to pretect yer property. Long ’n’ short of it all is, we want a third o’ th’ profits.” “Tf T say no?” “Wal, ye’re out here in a rough country with yer gal. I don’t say we’d dig out an’ leave ye alone. I don’t say I could even keep th’ reins over th’ men an’ stop ’em from takin’ what they ’low to be theirs. I jest say we want a third o’ th’ profits. Not a bit less.” Laramie was meditating over this veiled threat to do violence to him and his when California Joe innocently asked: ~ “Why’n sin do ye fellers work for nothin’ for? Why don’t ye take all th’ goods as yer a ?” ; = Shirley’s huge frame seemed to swell with passion as he hoarsely reminded the other: 45 “There ain’t no Injuns round now, ye prairie tramp. ‘Nother mouthful o’ words out o’ yer trap an’ I'll lambaste ye so ye won’t give any lip to no one for two months.” Natchez, deadly pale, glided toward the speaker, but Joe flung him back and Rea- son’s long arms held him helpless. Joe sug- gested: “Then s’pose we settle th’ difuglety in that way? Ye ’n’ me will have a little b’ar tussle. If ye win Laramie gives ye a third share in th’ outfit. If I win ye keep th’ men to work till we hit Cherry Crick. Is that a go, Laramie?” Laramie Pete knew the trapper of old. His French cunning instantly took charge of the situation. He hesitated and looked very dubious, as if reluctant to risk a third of his goods on the speaker’s prowess. “Of course if ye’re scared—” said Joe. “It is a great risk,” mumbled Laramie. “Vou are one brave man, m’siew. But how do I know how you can fight this big moun- tain of a man? If with rifle, or pistol, or knife, if against Indians, yes; I'd stake my whole train. But this fight you name——” gs ile fight he names he'll go through with, profits or no profits,” yelled a teamster. “Tf Shirley don’t take him on I will.” Red Shirley shot an oath at the speaker, then fell to comparing his bulk with that of the trapper. Joe’s unusual height gave him an appearance of leanness. Shirley knew that his own physique was that of an oak. As a knife or gun fighter he sought no trouble with the trapper. But when it came to fisticuffs he believed he could quickly polish off his man. “Ye ’greeable to what he says?” he asked of Laramie. “He is my friend. His honor is mine,” groaned Laramie. “Bien! Let it be so.” Then to Miss June— “Ma fille, withdraw to your wagon.” A slight doubt as to the wisdom of the wager stirred sluggishly in the back of Red Shirley’s slow mind. He had animal confi- dence in plenty, and yet he was conscious of a lack of relish. He was convinced that he could overwhelm the tall trapper, but there persisted a shadow of uneasiness lest he had been inveigled into playing the other man’s game. Red endeavored to shake the feeling from him, for his leadership of the rough band demanded that he be always ready to COMMiCLoookKks (E@