Argosy All-Story Weekly, May 5, 1928 — page 109: what you’re looking at

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

ROPE NECKTIES. daughter is safe home. There must have been a drive of cattle to the rail- road, that has reached near to Gorge City, and all the boys are staying over to celebrate.” “Pretty well schemed,” admitted Shorty. ‘‘ And now-what do you chalk down as our first move?” ““Act innocent and aboveboard, so there will be no underhand suspicions we have anything to do with Leary’s taking off. We'll report directly to the sheriff, and tell that peace officer how we finds the body, and proceeds on to town. “We don’t even know how it is. The killing might easily have been one of revenge, I guess; this yere foreman don’t strike me as a very lovable char- acter.” ‘No, you couldn’t say that,” retorts Shorty with a grin. “ Has you schemed any further ahead?” “Not ’xactly,” I confessed. “ I have learned two things: that Renwood is one of the cattle owners mixed up in the conspiracy to get other people’s stock, that killed my folks as a side line, and that Boss Deveture is the brains and head of the ring. And that he’s feared. “T want to get both of them, see them stretch rope—a slug of lead is too good for such felons—but we'll have to wait on how things shape up.” Shorty mused a bit as we rode side by side, slouched in our saddles. ‘May I make a suggestion and have you take it kindly?” ‘Sure thing, pal,” I replies. “I’m as open to conviction as any caught coon,” “ Well, then, Harry, don’t get sweet on Mary Renwood; | see it kind of coming on, and it might complicate matters.” ““Not in a case like this,” I states, firm and proud. “ My vengeance comes before life, love, or happiness.” “Then we won't play our cards on- til the dealer gives ’em to us. I allus thought that sensible, instead of try- 675 ing»to read the back of them. Still” —he wags his head doleful—‘ this trusting women don’t appeal special to me.” I laughs back at him. ‘You heard some’eres that females can’t keep secrets, eh? That’s a libel, in my humble opinion. They even en- courage it, being deceptive like,” I ar- gues. “That bridge is burned behind us, anyhow, Harry; we has to find new ones to cross.” Everything well thrashed out, on leaving coming affairs to do their own shaping, we rides along in the same gen’ral direction for a couple of hours. Then it starts to get real dark, sudden, and at the same time we see gleaming faintly in the distance, mebbe a few miles, lights that can mean nothing but Gorge City. “I’m darned glad we are not trail- ing this rough cow town blind,” I elu- cidates. “ Since we know the lay of the land and the names, anyway, of the two parties with whom we has to deal, it is possible the going won’t be so hard.” “ Well, Harry, I hears you tell *bout your earnest desire to deliver said bad hombres to the gallows, for a nice col- lar dance on thin air; vou have given you 'self a large order to fill.” But luck was playing my way so far, and I’d force my hand. The lights came nearer and nearer, and we has our ponies pick up their pace. “ After all, we are bearing news that might be of importance to this yere sheriff; so we don’t want to make our entrance with our hosses asleep on their feet.” In ten minutes at most we follows into a well traveled wagon road that winds right into the main street of Gorge City. “Let’s tie our hosses at the first hitch-post we comes across,” I sug- gests, and hardly is the words out of my mouth than I sees one before a big COPMICGLOOKS (F@)