Adventure Magazine Cover — page 38: what you’re looking at

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

32 put in their time rustling stock down along the Mexican line, driving it from Sonora to New Mexico and selling it to cattlemen; and had fallen in under the Murphy & Dolan banner some months since. They were Bill Morton, George Davis, Tom Hill, Frank Baker, Jesse Evans and “Shotgun” Roberts. Made up of this mixture, the posse rendezvoused down at Seven Rivers and started up the Pecos for the Rio Feliz. One night they made camp near the mouth of that stream. That same night a rider spurred his jaded horse across the hills on the last lap of a hard journey from Lincoln, where Alex MacSwain had heard the news of what was taking place. He never pulled up until he reached the ranch-house by the river Feliz. And young Tunstall listened to his tidings surrounded by a little group of cowboys in the main room. He was, those say who knew him, a green English tenderfoot, and of that unsophistication what was to follow gave abundant proof. “You go out and get the horses as soon as it’s daylight,” he told his foreman, Dick Brewer, when the rider had finished his recital. ‘We'll start for Lincoln in the morning.” But Brewer was old in the ways of the country and shook his head. “There are more’n thirty of ’em,” he said, “‘and they must be near here now. They’d sure catch up to us, and if they did we'd never have a living show there in the hills. Best thing we can do is to stick to the house and stand ’em off till help comes.” “But,” young Tunstall cried, ‘this is a legal matter; and my lawyer will look out for my interests. The sheriff é “Listen,’’ Brewer interrupted him, “you don’t know Lincoln County. That outfit’s not going to bother with serving any papers if they can catch us in the open. They’re coming to gef us; understand; that’s what they’re for.” The cowboys raised their voices in sup- port of their foreman and backed their arguments-with the tale of the Herald killing back in ’seventy-three. But young Tuns- tall’s ruddy cheeks grew brighter red and his jaw set. “We'll ride to Lincoln and [ll accept service from Sheriff Brady and there won’t be any fight. We must do things in the regular way, you know.” Adventure He turned again to Brewer. “Go get the horses,” he ordered. Dick Brewer went. At dawn they started northward across the hills, a half-dozen of them, riding hard. Tunstall was mounted on his sorrel thoroughbred which he had brought out with him from New York. They traveled all day, and as evening was coming on they were down in the cafion of the Ruidoso. Brewer, who had looked over his shoulder many times during the journey, glanced back now and saw the members of the posse topping the last rise. There was but one thing to do, and the cowboys knew it. They clapped spurs to their horses and raced for the pine timber which cloaked the mountainsides above them. But young Tunstall kept his sorrel thor- oughbred to the walk. Dick Brewer reined up after the first two or three jumps and called to his employer. “Make a run for it. yet But the British youth shook his head and said something, which the foreman could not catch, about the law. Already the horsemen in their rear were drawing nearer, coming on at the dead run, deploying to surround them. Brewer left Tunstall riding on at unchanged pace. He had barely gained the timber when he heard shots down behind him in the cafion bed. The thirty-odd possemen surrounded the solitary rider, and six of them rode up to him. They were the half-dozen warriors of whom mention has already been made— Tom Hill, Jesse Evans, Frank Baker, Shot- gun Roberts, Billy Morton and George Davis. They shot him down and killed his blooded horse; and then they laid his body in the trail beside that of the animal. There. were good men in that posse, enemies of John Chisum who had been fighting against just this sort of thing down in the valley; Milo Pierce was one of them and he voiced their sentiment when he told Bill Morton— “Tf this is what you’re up to, I quit right here.” He made good his words by striking off for his home ranch at once. But Pierce and his companions stuck to their faction through the days that followed just as other reputable men stuck to the opposition, in spite of deeds which they found it hard to countenance. And in following this chronicle We'll dodge ’em CORNICLOO© Ss (C@