Argosy, Vol. 120, No. 1 — page 96: what you’re looking at

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

CN ee ewe mer, ee See SEEDe a 86 . THE ARGOSY. against the cabin door and sending it crash- ing inward, against the wall. He halted just inside the door, his pistol ‘rigid in his right hand, which was pressed tightly to his side; for directly in front of him, standing, his ‘arms folded over his chest, was Antrim, a huge, venomous grin on his face. “Well, you got here, Lawler,” he said huskily. ‘‘ You come a runnin’ didn’t you? Well, I had your cattle run off, an’ I burned your buildin’s. What are you aimin’ to do about it?” Lawler did not move. He might have killed Antrim, for the man’s weapon was in the holster at his hip—Lawler could see the stock sticking above the leather. He had expected Antrim would be in the cabin when he opened the door; he anticipated that the outlaw would shoot on sight, and he had been prepared to do the same. But there -was something in the outlaw’s manner, in the cold, measured tone of his voice, in his nonchalant disregard of the pistol in Lawler’s hand that brought a swift suspicion into Lawler’s mind. It was a presentiment that the outlaw was not alone in the cabin; that he had carefully laid his plans, and that they did not include a gun fight in which he would have to face Law- ler upon equal terms. Lawler did not look around. He kept his gaze unwaveringly upon the outlaw, know- ing that if other men were in the cabin with him they were waiting for Antrim to give. the word to shoot him. Otherwise, they would have shot him down when he - had burst into the cabin. “Not sayin’ anything, eh?” jeered An- trim. ‘ Well, come a shootin’. You bust in here, seein’ red, with a gun in your hand; an’ then stand there, like you was wonderin’ if you was welcome.” He peered close at Lawler, his eyes nar- rowing with suspicion, and then, finally, with savage amusement. ‘“‘T reckon I ketch on,” he sneered. “You know there’s some one here with me, an’ that they’ve got you covered. I know you, an’ I knowed you’d come rushin’ in here, just like you did, killin’ mad. Bah! Did you think I’d give you a chance, you short-horned maverick! ‘““There’s Selden behind that curtain, there—back of the cupboard. An’ Krell watchin’ you from the door of that room, on the side. They’ve got you between them, an’ if you bat on eyewinker they'll down you. I’m goin’ to gas to you—I'm goin’ to tell you what I think of you for ropin’ me an’ draggin’ be back to Willets, to show to the damned yaps on the station platform. An’ after that I’m goin’ to hog- tie you, an’—ah!” Antrim’s exclamation was a mere gasp. It escaped his lips as Lawler jumped back-_ ward, landing outside the door, ov anced, trying to stand upright while he snapped a shot at Antrim. - Antrim, however, had reached for his gun. It came out before Lawler could steady himself, and Lawler saw it. Lawler saw the weapon belch smoke and fire as it cleared Antrim’s hip; he felt a shock as the bullet struck him; felt still another sear his flesh near the arm as he let his own pistol off. He saw the outlaw plunge forward and fall prone, his arms outstretched. - From inside the cabin came the sounds of steps—Antrim’s confederates, Lawler supposed. He heard them approach the door and he leaped, swaying a little, toward the corner of the cabin nearest him. He had reached it, had just dodged behind it, when Selden and Krell rushed out. At the same instant Shorty thundered up, slipped out of the saddle and ran toward Lawler, drawing his guns. Shorty had approached the cabin from the rear, having cut across the space behind the bunk-houses when he heard the shoot- ing. He could not be seen by Selden and Krell as they plunged out of the door, but he had seen Lawler when the latter dodged behind the corner of the cabin, and as he ran toward Lawler he drew his guns. As yet Shorty had seen no oné but Law- ler. He supposed Antrim and Lawler had exchanged shots and he knew Lawler had been hit—his swaying as he came around the corner-of the cabin proved it. Know- ing something of the terrible rage that had seized the man, he suspected Lawler had burst into the cabin, recklessly expos- ing himself to Antrim’s fire. And as Shorty ran toward the spot where EE GOMMIGIOOOKSrs - ii