1939-06-01 — Page 8

MUTT AND JEFF

I'M WRITING A PLAY

THAT'S GONNA BE THE SENSATION OF THE COMING YEAR--- THIS IS THE LAST

ACT!

MIND IF I

NO! GO AHEAD!

READ

THE

FIRST

ACT?

Page

MY, MY, WHAT BAD LANGUAGE!

SUCH CUSS

WHAT DO YOU MEAN,CUSS WORDS?

I DIDN'T USE ANY BAD LANGUAGE!

WORDS!

OH, I KNOW YOU DIDN'T, MUTT-

- BUT THE

AUDIENCE WILL!

THE CHINA MAIL, JUNE 1, 1989.

By BUD FISHER

TOMOSTING, ANNA VE 36. C. (NA)

Just a minute, please

You have a lot of cargo lying idle in the godowns and you are anxious to ship it to Haiphong for inland China.

Will you please bring the problem to us?

We know we can offer you service to your satisfaction.

AVA TRADING CO.

Phone:

Transportation Dept.

31433

Cable: "0099”

22, Des Voeux Rd., C., 1st Floor

HONG KONG

Also Offices at

Haiphong, Kunming, Kweiyang, Chungking, Chengtu & Sian, etc.

MAJESTIC

CIGARETTES

PLAIN OR CORK TIPPED

MAJESTIC alo

CIGARETTES

EXCEPTIONAL

QUALITY

AT A VERY

LOW PRICE

50 FOR 60 cts.

THE DAILY SHORT STORY

GUN

PLAY

would

Langdon's face was composed as he vors, Langdon knew, McElroy knocked on the door and stood waiting, have a gun. It would be necessary to No casual observer would have guessed keep out of range of that gun when that the next few minutes were to de- the time came. termine his future as sheriff of Apache Langdon stooped over the bed and county; indeed, his future as a citizen reached out as though to remove the of that county. These short few min- bandage. As he did so the sleeve of utes were to be the culmination of six his coat slid up over his wrist reveal- months of gruelling work.

ing a white crescent-shaped scar. Presently footsteps sounded and the Langdon's arm suddenly stiffened. door was flung open, A burly, red- McElroy's eyes had fallen on that scar, faced man stood on the threshold. His and in that instant Langdon knew that chin was covered by a three-day growth the scar had betrayed his identity. of beard. His eyes were small, close- Somehow McElroy knew about that set.

crescent scar; it was like a badge of ' "Well?" he rasped.

office. "McElroy's expecting me," Langdon

said.

The burly man eyed him a moment, suspiciously. "You the doc?"

For a moment Langdon and the man on the bed were frozen in tableau. The burly man could not see his chief's eyes because of the sheriff's body. Lang- "That's right," said Langdon.

don knew this and took advantage of The big man hesitated a moment it. With his left hand he gripped the longer, then stepped aside. "Come on wrist of the man on the bed and held it inside."

flat against the blankets. As he did The room was small, sparsely furn. so the wounded man cursed a warning. ished. There was a table, four chairs, Langdon whirled. Briefly there a cupboard well filled with provisions, flashed across his mind a picture of the a sink and water spigot in a corner. burly man crouching, reaching for his

The burly man was eyeing him close- gun.

ly again. One hand was resting light- Then Langdon's own weapon was ly on the worn walnut.handle of the out, exploding the moment it came six shooter that swung at his hip clear of his lapel. His first shot aplin- Langdon began to feel uneasy, but his tered into the wood behind the burly face was inscrutable.

man's 'head. Then smoke and flame "Well, where is he?" ..

streamed at him from the gun in the "Wait here." The big man crossed burly man's hand. He heard the whis- to a door against the farther wall, tle of a bullet as it grazed his ear.

By Vic Yardman

taking care not to turn his back. He well placed shot. It was McElroy who opened the door and slid through it. needed watching Beneath the bed co- Langdon waited, conscious that his Then he shot again, a third time. He pulse had quickened. The feeling of saw the burly man begin to pitch for the gun beneath his left arm pit was reassuring.

Suddenly the door opened again an the burly man appeared. "Come here," he said.

in

ward, And at the same time he knew the man on the bed had gotten his gun clear and was aiming. Langdon whip- ped around and snapped his trigger twice. There was a crash of metal, a Langdon moved to the door, passed thump, a shrieked curse. The six the burly man without looking at him shooter spun out of the wounded man's entered the room beyond. There were hand and crashed against the wall. two bunks here against the wall. Ir. Blood spurted from the shattered hand one of them lay the figure of a man. that had held that gun. He too was bearded, and his head was swathed in a bloody cloth.

with me.

"All right, McElroy. You're coming

Silence fell. Blue smoke filled the still air. Langdon stood in a daze. Langdon moved toward the bunk w

The burly man lay at his feet. In the measured steps. Now his pulse had r

bed McElroy cursed fiercely. · Langdon turned to normal. His nerves felt turned toward him. steady, his mind clear and alert. In a' minute it was going to happen. This man who lay on the bed was Nic! McElroy, killer and desperado. He ha succeeded in evading the law for tw years. He had kept clear of Stark Langdon, and rumours had gotten around that Sheriff Stark Langdon ha been just as well pleased. Nick Mc Elroy was chain lightning on the draw Rumour was hinting that Langdə dreaded meeting him.

So, to maintain his self-respec Langdon had tracked the killer dowr It had taken him six months, had re quired skill and shrewdness, and al the time there had beat in his brain the thought that these rumours wer not idle. Always uppermost in h mind was the possibility that Nick Me Elroy was faster with a gun, woul kill him.

But there was no turning back,, n refusing to meet the issue, and now that the moment had arrived all fear and uncertainty were gone.

"I had a little accident, doc," the man on the bed was saying, "Got fool: ing around with a gun and it went off Reckon you better look at it.”.

Langdon stopped at the bed's edge He knew that the burly man had back- ed against the wall and was watching alertly. But the burly man was the least of his worries. He could dispos lof him, if occasion demanded, with one

The man in the bed stopped cursing and stared. "Why, you big, lop-headed fool! I ain't McElroy. That's him on the floor! The fool! And him think- in he was fast with a gun!"

(Copyright 1939, by The Associated Newspapers.)

POLICE SEARCH FOR WOUNDED MAN

Police are to-day scouring the Colony for a man with a bullet wound in the abdomen.

He is alleged to have been one of the five robbers who took part in the goldsmith's shop robbery in Yaumati on Tuesday and in the subsequent gun battle.

Three alleged participants are already in police custody. That one of the gangsters was wound- ed in the shooting is believed to have been disclosed by now detained.

those

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