Adventure Magazine Cover — page 182: what you’re looking at

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

172 talked turkey, and he sold me the Weepin’ Tree ranch for—sone—thousand—dollars!’’ Brick drew the document from his pocket and tossed it beside the horseshoes. ‘‘There’s the hole in their scheme,” said Brick, and then took out the piece of paper he had cut from the office wall, and tossed it beside the deed. ‘“‘There’s an old reward notice for Carl Garcia alias Jack Carl; wanted in Dakota for forgery and murder. He’s the man who killed or helped kill Scott Martin, and he’s the man that Seldon hired to forge the deed to the Weepin’ Tree. He’s knowed by several names, but I’ll add— “Jack Smith!” As Brick snapped the name his hand flashed for his gun. Smith was game. He threw himself for- ward, with one hand buried in his coat- pocket, grasping a gun, but Harp’s pistol spouted fire and Smith stumbled head first almost at Brick’s feet. Kane threw himself sidewise, shooting from an awkward angle and masking Voor- hies and Seldon. Kane managed to fire three times, but his bullets were going wide of their mark—partly on account of his haste, but more because Brick was shooting deliberately and was not missing. As Kane plunged to the floor with three of Brick’s bullets dragging him down, Voor- hies, slow of movement, swung his gun forward, but before he could pull the trig- ger Lafe’s old Colt roared for the first time ‘in years and Voorhies crashed back into Sel- don, spinning the old man half-around. Selden screamed a curse and shot at Brick from his hip. Brick felt the bullet strike like the blow of a hammer, but he braced himself, shot twice at Bur Partner, who was trying to pull down on Lafe, and fired his last shot at Seldon, just as Seldon staggered through a jumble of upset seats and sprang for the open window. Seldon turned half-around, dropping his gun; but his iron nerve carried him to the window and over the sill, where he fell to the street below. Brick’s bullets whirled Partner around and he sprawled across a chair, but his one shot had torn through Lafe Freeman’s right arm, inflicting a pain- ful wound. Brick looked around, dazed. At his feet lay Smith, with Harp straddling his body. Voorhies was sprawled on his back, with one arm over the seat of the chair, almost ) Adventure on top of Pete Kane, who lay face down. Silent was holding Lafe Freeman by the arm,.and the old man’s face was very white. In the center of the room was a commotion, and above it all came the roaring voice of Le Blanc: ‘““Go “head, Breek! in bot’ hand!’ Judge Grayson had fallen backward out of his chair at the first shot, and remained in that position until now, when he got blindly to his feet, groped for his gavel and struck his desk a ringing blow. “Order in the court!” he cried, but no one gave him a thought. Brick tried to go to Lafe’s assistance, but the room began to spin like a top. He heard Lafe saying: “That’s all right, Brick; that’s all right. I only got hit in the arm.” Then he heard some one saying: “By , they did hit him!” Then everything went black for Brick Davidson, but he felt strangely indifferent. I’m got sheepherd BRICK blinked his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He turned his head on the pillow and looked at the wall, where the dim faces on the old reward posters stared down at him. Near his cot stood a chair, on which were several med- icine bottles and a water glass, over the top of which had been placed a playing-card, surmounted by a sticky-looking spoon. _Brick’s eyes shifted back to the wall. Slowly he remembered the fight in the hall; remembered that he had been hit by a bullet. But what was he doing in a bed in the sheriff’s office. Hadn’t he proved his case? Was he a prisoner? He listened. Somewhere there was music. ““Hong-g-g-g, hung-g-g-g, um-m-m, hong- g-g,”’ sounded the doleful humming of a jew’s harp. “Harp,” called Brick, and his voice was strangely weak. Came .the scraping of feet, as Harp unhooked himself from his favorite seat in the doorway; and he walked up to Brick, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He grinned down at Brick. “Gosh!” he chuckled. ‘Yuh finally did wake up, did yuh, sheriff?” ‘‘Sheriff?’”? wondered Brick aloud. “VY? betcha. The commissioners met and refused to take your resignation; and so me and Silent moved yuh in here. You got a slug through yuh, but Doc Myers fished it out amd he says you'll be all hunkydory COMic ooo S (©) iin