Per the consensus of the members of The Reed Crandall Appreciation Page on Facebook on 6 August 2021, this work is not by Reed Crandall. The original indexer suggested maybe the pencil and ink work was done by Crandall.
The members of The Reed Crandall Appreciation Page suggested maybe this was Al Bryant. However, Per Bails' Who's Who, Bryant left comics by 1948 due to a self-inflicted car crash and subsequent eight-year hospitalization, placing any 1948 credits for Bryant in doubt. So currently, no creator can be confirmed for this cover.
Art is not by Al Bryant who left comics by 1948.
All Gustavson credits verified and courtesy of Terry Gustafson, son of Paul Gustavson.