Adventure Magazine Cover — page 169: what you’re looking at

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

Law Rustlers ‘ owns is on the crick, and that if Glory breaks the law they’re liable to take away his property as punishment. Kind of a weak way of looking at things, but we can’t all think alike thataway. He offers us five hundred dollars cash if one of us will marry her. This gives her the right to pull her freight out of there and also saves him from their locoed law. Glory don’t want a regular husband, and it’s a cinch that me and Hashknife ain’t noways hankering for a wife, but it’s a sporting chance and we takes it. We never collected that five hundred for the simple reason that the “uncle,” who was financing the law-breaking scheme, turned out to be the sheriff of Yolo, who had been trailing me and Hashknife for six months. Sometimes [I’m kinda sorry we didn’t smoke up that bunch and take Glory along with us. I spoke to Hashknife about it the day we left there. “Easy enough,” -says he. “TI could ’a’ downed her uncle and her pa—easy. Any girl would whoop with joy to see her uncle and paw full of lead. Maybe she’d ’a’ married you, Sleepy, dang your homely face. Maybe she’d ’a’ married me—me bein’ handsome; but any old way yuh take it, we’d ’a’ busted up—me and you. Yuh can’t keep a wife and a bunkie.” ‘“Hashknife,” says I, ‘would yuh rather have me than a wife?” “You danged porkypine, I don’t have to support you.” ; It’s been quite a while since me and Hashknife hit for the open trails. We stayed at the Circle Dot a lot longer than we ever stayed any one place before, but when the snow fades off the hills and the grass shows green on the slopes and you can smell the sunshine—we’re traveling. “Where?” I asks. = “Anywhere,” says Hashknife, jingling three months’ pay. ‘“We’re follerin’ our noses, cowboy. Maybe we'll get to Alaska this time.” I reckon that mostly all human beings have some outlook in life. Some of ’em looks forward to the day when they can set down by the fire and let a hired man herd the sheep, while some looks forward to the day when they can hunt a warm climate in the Winter and know that somebody is at home to do the chores. Me and Hashknife looks forward to Alaska. What in we are going to do, 163 up there has nothing to do with it. It’s something to look forward to, as the horse- thief said to the posse when they comes in sight of a limbless tree. A THREE days after we leaves the nO} Circle Dot, we cuts a wagon-road = and there is that same old sign, sagging a little more and maybe a little more faded, but still showing: THERE IS A CLICK ON WILLER CRICK THE WORST IN ALL THIS NASHUN. THE HITE OF THEIR AMBISHUN IS TO BEAT THEIR OWN RELASHUN. “Still advertisin’, I see,” grins Hashknife. “Them folks sure are a caution to ; Sleepy. I wonder if Sol Vane’s hair ever growed on his head again. Wonder if Glory—say, Sleepy, there was a reg’lar girl. *Member how she used to fill the magazine of her rifle after shootin’ once or twice? Reg’lar little hewoman. If I wanted to git married ms “Which you don’t.” “No-o-o, but if I did I’d ‘ Hashknife squints down the road. “By the antlers on a desert toad!” he gasps. “Here-comes the joker.” Remember the old playing-cards that had a joker which was a picture of a long-legged old pelican riding a little mule? The feller’s legs are so long he has to spread himself to keep from dragging his feet on the ground, and he’s got kind of a funny old face. He’ rides up, insists on shaking hands with us and then reads the old sign. “T have found it,” says he proud-like. “Vou’ve found somethin’,” agrees Hash- knife. “You goin’ to visit Willer Crick?” ‘“‘Name’s. Cobb, Reverend Cobb, and I am God’s pardner. Yes, I am going to visit the place, brother.” “Y’m Hashknife Hartley, and I ain’t got no brother. I'll say to you that Willer Crick ain’t the healthiest place on this earth, no matter who your pardner is.” “T’ve come a long ways,” says he, ‘‘a long ways on a mule. I’ve heard that it’s kinda ungodly.” “Ungodly!” snorts Hashknife, “lemme tell yuh somethin’ about that—uh—no, I won’t either. You’ve come a long ways on a mule.” ‘““Are they as bad as folks has told me?” “Man,” says Hashknife, “man, there ECORMICLOOKS (E@)