Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 52: what you’re looking at

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

- OSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. c ected that these men were one and only thought was to ‘egs of all the camps on the Jn the darkness he Could see the feline. ‘he st ench of their liquor-laden vague outline flitting toward the oot is in her nostrils. woods by the creek and he made after ia © was no drunken joviality in their on the run. His Pace was none too faz ession now. Because she refused to because of the high-heeled nding boots i. Ipate in their revel in the same way wore. Presently Allan gained the shelter the abandoned women of the place of the trees and disappeared among’ them t Harper had placed in his , tney seemed to think that she had The pisto) that - : and cheated them. Their drink -in- holster Was still there, and as he ran he mamed eyes. on a level with her ankles, drew it for a shot at the fleeing figure in looked scarcely human. In all that crowd, front. Then a thought came to him and ow that Babe was gone, there was not one he withheld his fire, thus allowing Allan to Inendly face. The female habitués, de- reach the cottonwoods. The fugitive was . ighted with the opportunity for revenge the man that Alice loved; he must not m upon a woman who had spurned them in jure him if it was possible to capture him _ the past, were as merciless as the men. otherwise. In a flash of understanding, Alice real- Harper did not know that Allan possessed now what a dreadful mistake she had his other gun, the one that had been kicked _ majle when she inflamed these bestial men out of his hand and which Alice had hand- _ to lawless conduct. Deliberately, with the ed to the prisoner. He was soon to find power of her eloquence, she had brewed a out, however. A sharp report rang out in » storm. She had persuaded them to outrage front, a stab of fire cut the darkness, and the law that was her cole protection against the zip of a bullet warned Harper that he their evi} nature. Without the Jaw, she had narrowly escaped being hit. He could not have existed in Geyser. She had jumped behind a tree and returned the temporarily abolished that law without tak- shot. Ing into account that in so doing she had He knew now that it was his missing Swept away the bulwark that protected her. weapon that Allan possessed. Its report Now she stoed alone, unprotected, power- was familiar. Five of its six chambers had fess to save herself from the abyss of an- been loaded, the one underneath the ham- archy that she herself had uncovered. mer being empty as always, and of these “Shake it up. kid! If you think you cartridges one had been fired. There re- | Can get us to do your dirty work and then mained four shots at Allan’s command. tell us to go to hell, you got another guess Harper, on the other hand, still had his a cor in’. Show us the hootchy-kootchy!” belt around his waist, and thus possessed _ A closed fist jabbed at her ankles, and abundant ammunition. she kicked the owner of it full in the face. The sheriff paused for a moment behind His snarl of rage was echoed by the others. his tree. then edged forward to the shelter lany hands reached up at her. of another. Allan’s gun barked again and To en the miracle happened. Her agon- again missed, and Harper heard the man’s ed éyes caught sight of a figure that footsteps splashing in the creek and clam- ed | hrough the open door—2 man with bering up the high rim-rock beyond it. He d on his face and clothing torn, but hurried to the creek and crossed it as nolse- t of determination in his eyes lessly as possible. but not without drawing ht an involuntary prayer of another shot. That left two in Allan's gun. ; to her lips) The man was Also the fugitive disclosed his position, —_ halfway upethe cliff. Pistol in hand. Harper ran to a pathway near by and made his way as fast as pos pris- lay on that side of the town. From the — ~ comicbooks.com