Argosy All-Story Weekly, May 5, 1928 — page 150: what you’re looking at

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

716 to gunplay, he, alone was capable of killing—he grinned as he thought of Jack’s useless gun with the empty brass shells. One or two short barks from his own automatic and this trusting Westerner would fade out of the picture. It took him five minutes to get the gold lashed to the full pack of the near- est mule. Then a rope slipped and the sacks fell down and burst open, spilling their contents upon the ground. With an exasperated cry he fell to his knees and clutched at the heavy mass, scooping it to a central pile, then he glanced around for something to put it into. 3 Suddenly came theevoice of Smiling Jack Peebles: “ Sa-a-y! You—” The Fox snarled—as nearly as a man can snarl—and with the sinuous swiftness of a fox, he whirled and leaped. And when he stopped he stood ten feet from Peebles. His deadly, flat automatic was in his hand and trained full upon the startled Westerner. Peebles’s right arm slowly went limp at his side and he leaned slightly for- ward. The Fox knew the signs; knew that, once again, he was to see e that gene: fast draw. And he laughed suddenly, laughed aloud with diabolic merriment as he watched the movements that would end in such. futility. Totally unaware of his pitiful help- lessness, Jack Peebles threw his gun and pulled the trigger with the swift- ness of a flash of lightning. The hammer fell on the first empty cartridge with a dull click. Again the hammer rose and fell and then, as he realized the predicament he was in, Jack hurled the useless gun at the now grinning Fox. The latter dodged it with a quick What’s the big idea? ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. duck and slowly, very, very slowly, he advanced toward Smiling Jack Peebles; with the viciousness of an animal he wanted to prolong the moment before he leaped to the kall. He held his automatic at the level of his waist, his arm crooked and rigid. Then the one thing he could not have foreseen happened. The next step toward Smiling Jack Peebles—who at that moment was tensing his muscles for a desperate leap upon the viciously grinning menace— brought The Fox abreast of the Sul- livan mule. And his rigidly held elbow brushed against the tender spot in the mule’s flanks where he had so often applied the alder switch. With a squeal that was almost a scream; a squeal of berserk rage, the infuriated mule whirled. Its long ears were flattened against its head, and the long, pendulous lips were drawn tight against the long, yellow teeth. With one smashing blow of his great shoul- der the mule hurled The Fox to the ground. The Fox’s pistol shot harmlessly in- to the air and the man’s terror-mad. scream mingled with the crack of the weapon. He screamed again, just once, as the squealing mule reared and descended, to chop and crush and smash the hated figure on the ground. Then he screamed no more, nor moved again, After he had done all that could be done, Smiling Jack Peebles took to the trail with the gold securely packed; but not before he had paced out the claim and posted notices. After awhile Peebles walked beside the drooping head of the man-killer mule. “It was his life or mine,” he said aloud, and the mule’s ears twitched. “He sure had it figured out to a T. Pretty foxy scheme, at that. But it took a foxy guy like you to upset it. Giddap !”’ THE END EORNIE OOOKS (C@