Adventure Magazine Cover — page 107: what you’re looking at

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

Pay Gravel Satisfied he was not in the tent, Dinsdale wandered to the faro layout and placed a few bets, staking green backs to the envy of the other players. He quit the game a hundred dollars winner and without any enthusiasm passed on to a roulette wheel and quickly dropped the gold he had won at faro. He smiled as if pleased when a man exclaimed— “There goes the greenback man!” He was slowly making for the exit when a shrill voice halted him. He turned to face the grinning Scissors. The fellow had his paper and scissors in hand, but what made Dinsdale’s eyes widen was the great horned owl perched on Scissors’s shoulder. A Sioux warrior would have paid high to have the owl’s feather for dress ornamenta- tion. “T want you to meet Sitting Bull,” said Scissors, reaching up a hand to tickle the owl’s head. “Howdy-do, Sitting Bull,” gravely greeted Dinsdale. “Chief, this is the young man I was tell- ing you about. Friend of mine.” The owl blinked his yellow eyes and. turned his head to avoid the glare of the sun now pouring through the entrance. There was a grotesque similarity between the solemnity of the owl and the round eyes of its master. *“‘Ain’t many folks that can tame an owl and have him like Sitting Bull,” Scissors proudly informed Dinsdale. “T should say that is true. No more trouble with that bow-legged cuss, eh?” Scissors chuckled and idly snipped out the profile of a swarthy Mexican, big hat and all, and replied: ‘Allen wouldn’t dare bother me in here. I have too many friends among the cus- tomers. Joe lets me circulate around and pick up a living. He wouldn’t take kindly to any man trying games on me or Sitting Bull. “Winners often buy my paper pictures to keep their good luck strong. Losers buy them to drive away bad luck.”’ He held’ the silhouette before the Mexi- can and raised four fingers. The Mexican gazed with much pleasure at the likeness. The big hat intrigued him, and he handed over four bits and tucked the paper in his shirt. Scissors turned back to the amused Dinsdale and confided: “That’s the way it goes. If Joe knew Io! how much I take in he’d probably ask for a rake-off. Took in most an ounce today. The night ought to bring it up to two ounces, maybe more. ”’ “Vou don’t say!’’ exclaimed Dinsdale. ‘And what do you do with all your gold?” Scissors’s amiable grin gave place to an expression of fear. ' “That’s telling,” he muttered. ‘Sitting Bull knows, and I know. That’s enough to know. And no one else has time to think about me. They’re whispering on the street today that some new men are in town, some that have robbed a railroad train. I don’t want those fellows to hear about my savings. They’d like nothing better than to hold up Scissors, the paper- picture man. Still I hope they are here. They throw their dust around mighty free- hike.” ‘How do you know that unless you know them by sight?” quickly asked Dinsdale. “Why, road-agents always do. Very liberal. I can always tell when any of them are in here. I can’t pick out this man or that and say he’s a robber, but when my earnings for a night take a high jump I know some of them have been in here. “They throw away lots of money at Kitty the Schemer’s place, too. Why, after the treasure-coach was robbed of twenty-five thousand I got fifteen ounces of dust in one afternoon and night. Think of it! Every time a big haul’s made I’m sure of extra good profits within two nights after it’s happened. I just say to Sitting Bull: “Sidney coach held up two nights ago. Agents made a good haul. We'll get some- thing fat tonight.’ ‘‘And it never fails to happen.” “But if these gentlemen of the road knew you talked like this they might not like it. They might give you some lead instead of gold,” warned Dinsdale, and he extended his hand to scratch the owl’s head and yanked it back just in time to escape the clashing beak. Scissors’s fatuous face showed much alarm. “Don’t you tell them that I’ve talked,” he begged. ‘“T’ll keep my mouth shut after this. If any of them hear I’ve talked and speak to you, you just say it isn’t so.” Dinsdale smiled curiously. “So you’re taking me for one of them,” he murmured. Scissors became flurried and backed away Go OOO) AMUG SS (C@