Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 7, 1925 — page 122: what you’re looking at

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

chambers he had emptied, snapped the ae inder back into place and replaced “the weapon in its holster. He had made no attempt to use his left hand; during the. process of unloading and reloading the revolver the left hand had - hung limply at his side. With an inward gasp, Edna remembered that his left arm had been imjured in the hght with Logan, the deputy. ‘She stiffened as she looked at his hand. It was swollen badly and inflamed. The fingers were puffed and stiff. She knew what had happened. Fever had set in; the arm and hand were infected. For an bad at 9s a chill of apprehension stole over her, she sat nerveless and be- wildered. And in that instant she realized that upen awakening and seeing him sitting near her, she had depended upon him to extricate her from the danger that threatened her. Now she knew that if Nevins’s condition grew worse her chances of escape would be lessened, But she knew also that she would not desert him. The thought of doing so never occurred to her. A queer, cold calm stole over her as she watched him. He sat, his head bowed a little, his shoul- ders swaying a little. He was apparently unconscious of her presence, and she knew that the fever, raging through him, had weakened him. She got up quickly, took a tin basin from _ the kitchen, went outside and filled the basin with water, tore a piece of cloth from an undergarment and reéntered the room where Nevins still sat, his chin on his chest. . He said nothing as she ripped the sleeve of his shirt open and folded it back mto the arm hole of his vest. She grew very white as the arm was disclosed to her sight, for it was much puffed and great, angry- looking streaks ran for a considerable dis- tance from a wound in the forearm. Logan’s bullet had gone clear through the arm at a point several inches from the el- bow, cr about midway between the elbow and the wrist. The wound was through the big muscle, and she feit it had —— the bone. — =e * ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. He must have lost much blood, although the wound would not have been dangerous had it received proper treatment. _ Twice while she bathed the arm she was compelled to leave the room to regain her composure, for there were times when her hands trembled so much that she almost dropped the basin of water. Nevins watched her. His eyes were clear and sane. The fever had not attacked his reason; he was merely weak from loss of blood. And he seemed indifferent to the danger that now threatened both of them. Later, when she had finished bandaging the arm, he stood erect and looked at her. His face was unnaturally flushed. “Thank you,” he said, “that feels a lot better. But if this place is what you say it is, we’d better be makin’ tracks out of here. You don’t want to be around here when Travis an’ his gang get here.” He stood, reeling just a little as he gazed at some shelves on the kitchen wall. ‘““There’s grub,” he said. ‘ You’ be needin’ it. You'll have to hide out for a few days. I know a place where nobody will find you. You can’t go back to the Circle Dot. Fagin’s there, an’ Fagin ain’t ‘to be trusted. An’ there “ll be others there. You'd never get to Deming.” He pointed to a gunny sack lying on the floor in a corner of the kitchen. “ We'll fill that with grub,” he added. “Then Tl take you to that place I was tellin’ you about. After you’re settled, Ill come back here an’ lay for Travis an’ his bunch. An’ after I’ve settled them I'll ride to Fort Bayard an’ have a talk with that major. I’m not trustin’ Callahan, after him sendin’ that deputy after me.” Not waiting for her to reply, he got the sunny sack, instructed her to hold it and filled it with various articles of food frofn the shelves. He made his selections with deliberation, and there was little left of the meager store when he had finished. He tied the bag with a short rope which he found on the floor—the rope that had been around Edna’s wrists; then he swung the bag under his right arm and carried it outside. Edna followed him, observing with dismay that he staggered a little. But with her help he got the bag on his {=.= “comicboo oe aye - ——_ » ~~ = — . ~~ s. oe na +. 0 ge a & en