Action-Packed Western Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 2

Hell's Cargo, by Charles Beckman, Jr., is a riverboat novel set in nineteenth-century New Orleans. Two druggists, Alec Dupree and Frank Peychaud, abandon their apothecary shop to witness a steamboat race between the *Philadelphia* and the *Texas Star*—piloted by Steve Kent and Cass Rolf respectively. Kent and Rolf harbor intense mutual hatred. During the race, with the *Philadelphia* ahead, a fire breaks out on the vessel, forcing Kent to alter course. The narrative establishes a rivalry between the two pilots, suggesting broader tensions regarding theft and romantic betrayal. The issue also contains The Secret of Fox Range by Elton Webster, a Western where rancher Raymond Fox mysteriously restricts access to his property despite owning cattle herds. Additional content includes verse and short stories: The Roping of Drygulch McBain (Edward Garner), The Crimson Coup Stick by A. A. Baker featuring Conrad Bard and hostile Arapaho, and Condemned Hero by H. A. Huff.