Adventure Magazine Cover — page 159: what you’re looking at

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

Till the Wolves Come Home When they had finished eating Bover - handed the Giant a small can of snow-water which he had melted on the stove and al- lowed to cool on the floor. The Giant drank greedily. : Bover again thought of the handcuffs but refrained from putting the irons on the Giant's wrists because it would increase the man’s task of walking ahead, as Boyer planned he should do, to make a trail in the snow. Bover threw the Giant’s mackinaw to him. “Put it on,” he commanded, as he drew the gun from its sheath and laid it on the window-shelf within easy grasp while he donned his own coat. The Giant had not spoken a word, nor did he speak when they had put on their coats, pulled down their caps, donned their hand-coverings. The Giant had warm fur- lined mittens. Boyer held the gun in his gloved right hand as he stegped out ahead of the Giant and motioned for him to follow. 7 “Go on ahead, Hooper,’ commanded Bover, pointing east to the low-lying range of mountains which separated the high pla- teau from the basin. The Giant’s eyes blazed with hate and rage but he did as he was told and struck out through the snow which was two feet deep. Boyer followed, stepping in the tracks left bv the big man. The air was almost still and Bover realized that they faced an ordeal which would tax their strength and endurance in the Jong march through the snow with the temperature around forty or fiftv below. . The big man plodded on; but now and then he would turn and dart a swift and venomous glance over his shoulder at Boyer, who continued to hold the gun in readiness in his right hand. “We're going down into the _ basin, Hecoper,” said Boyer evenly on one of these occasions. ‘‘We’ve got to make the basin before night or freeze to death up here. I guess vou know I’m taking you in for the murder of Charley Rand and I’ve no inten- tion of letting ycu get away or of freezing to death myself. If you make one false move 1’ll shoot you and leave your carcass in the snow for the coyotes.”’ Thev passed the farther end of the west corral and came toa space of about a mile 149 between the west corral and the east corral. Scon they passed familiar depressions in the snow and Boyer learned the secret of the Giant’s plight the afternoon before. The man had swerved to the south before the storm to find level ground where the walk-- ing was easier than on the limestone ridge, had got into the storm and walked into the space between the two corrals where he had gone about in a circle.. When the cold be- came so severe he had had recourse to the bottle and the fury of the storm had done the rest. They left the second corral behind and before noon reached the low-lying eastern range. The sheep-trail was easily discerni- ble and they worked their way up this to the summit of the range and down the other side. As they neared the higher rim of the basin the Giant plainly became more ner- vous. Safety was in sight, he reasoned, if he could escape from the trailer behind. He shot furtive glances over his shoulder at frequent intervals while he slapped his mittened hands about his body to bring the life back into his fingers. But always when he glanced back he saw the gun in Boyer’s right hand aimed di- rectly at him and caught a warning flash in Boyer’s steady black eyes. As the afternoon wore on the cold became more and more intense. The Giant stopped frequently, staring straight ahead when he did so, to fling his arms about him. When he looked back he saw.Boyer holding the gun in his right hand while he also slammed his left arm about his body to beat out the terrible numbness. The faces of both men were numb, senseless to feeling, and both knew their cheeks were frozen. As dusk began to gather the pair lurched around a point of the last low ridge and saw the basin stretching out before them. A lump came into Boyer’s throat as he saw an automobile in the white road before the ranch-house nearest to them. The Giant halted suddenly and turned. His eves burned in dangerous haii-decision. He took a step toward Bover. It was the last, the only chance he would have to at- tempt to get away. He took another step. The gun in Boyer’s gloved right hand was held as it had been held all afternoon— aimed directly at the Giant. And now that the Giant had turned about it was aimed at his heart. CO MICLOOOKS C©