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Show I Vanished Men S' i By CtCRCE MARSH &f&Ca Q fl l 7 fl If 80 FAR: Bound ,or the ,1 t ,0id country, tlx men lost y t It NotUway river. Bed M L(tt Klnlay, brother of one i il Blaise, half-breed guide, U I p05,n " urveyr- 1 r INSTALLMENT THIRTEEN Suspicion prevail! that Isadore, rich fur I man has made a (old strike and alms I to keep prospectors out of the country. 1 En route to the Hudson's Bay post they I visit Isadore in his palatial home, meet i his wife and Use, Isadore's stepdaufh- ! 4t J J, H ter. Answering; an appeal from Use, Finlay U ambushed and rescued by Walone and Blaise. It develops that bey are Mounted Police officers. They rtsit McNab. Hudson's Bay trader, and lde when Isadore arrives unexpectedly. tr iv IV w "I don't know, but he murdered them in cold blood. He's a gunman, a dead shot, gent here by a Montreal Mon-treal syndicate to locate our placer strike." "To avoid a rush of prospectors In here we've never registered our claims. The minute we did that the lake would be over-run. But they've found out we ship gold to Montreal. So they're out to jump us. Of course he can make a map. He's a mining engineer." Red's fingers closed on Finlay's arm as McNab exploded: "Well, I'll be skinned! A gunman! Killer! That's what he's here fori To locate your gold strike!" "Exactly!" The conversation below was approaching ap-proaching the boiling point for the three men rigid in the fur-loft "Well, I'm waiting for your proposition, propo-sition, Isadore." "Just a minute until I give you the picture. Finlay's going back up the Waswanipi to hunt for our placer beds. And he's going to disappear. He'll either drown as the other men did, in that white-water, or the Mon-tagnais Mon-tagnais will wipe out his party. When the police are sent in here to investigate, investi-gate, they'll blame me for losing control of my Indians and not notifying notify-ing the authorities. They may even charge me with knowing too much about those men who were drowned!" "All right! Where do I come in, Isadore?" "You're going to say when they take your testimony that you know "My whiskey? That's a criminal offense!" a the scuffing of mocca- li , trade-room below. "Ser- Jed McNab, in a voice ; excitement, "Who do you J jding in here in that ca- tl Tete-Blancle, McNab, ' ; step. Have David and j nd by, outside. We can't 'through these cracks." ;ei Isndore!" ; The three in the loft ed where they lay. Fin-. Fin-. rs bit Into Red's arm. Isa- ;ing right into their hands! 'me was not ripe. There 1 There was that plane f 3ay and the evidence they I e Isadore disappear, now, I i them all on their guard, I mipi. Lise must be safe, the time was not ripe to jei Isadore. n to talk his head off!" jed. "Carry on as we we! I'm off to meet the i 'J!" 5,fhat the hell?" drawled flat's he after, here? He J ri we ran his guard on Water. He's come here fr' McNab." x lorried," said Finlay. "He ' e've slipped him and are 16 r the steel or Rupert." e knows if we reach there k his goose!" a interval Finlay recog-iiore's recog-iiore's voice as he entered 10lroom with McNab. "dm J McNab," began Isadore jjpurr of a cat in his voice, 2e to let by-gones be by- ji I hope you are. We've r the fur in the past but , proposition, now, that's to il advantage." There was yic pause, then: "McNab, i I can make big money to- , elbow pressed Red's arm. know how to take a lick- Ighcd McNab. "Before you t sit down and have a :he best whiskey the Hud-. Hud-. ever imported." s, I wiU!" There was the pulled cork, the tinkle of d an interval of silence, y the way, did a party pos-jvernment pos-jvernment surveyors stop ane?" Jt they stopped yesterday." , d a crack between the ?inlay saw Isadore's hand :th the glass it held half is lips. Then the hand re-he re-he glass to the table at e two sat. "Went through y?" Isadore's voice was as i s ice. ijound for Rupert." lied. McNab. They came supplies. They're bound ft'aswanipi. What kind of nd-bull yarn did they tell j laughed. "Why, they had ale about a medicine-man e Montagnais' heads with ,-imbo and their stomachs .r whiskey, Isadore." hiskey? That's a criminal Do they think I'm a fool? ans believe Finlay's transit i.il eye that has sickened i the children. There are j of Montagnais hunting for ." ire wasting their time. He's Irth." tt think so!" There was an of silence then the trade- iltled with Isadore's metallic "McNab, let's be frank! Just d they tell you about Jules v. iMcNab's turn to laugh. "It :omplimentary. They seem you know something about t'ning of those six men." muscles in Finlay's body d as he listened. " Isadore replied, in a voice as wind off frozen tundra, ople found two bodies and ans picked up pieces of ca-year ca-year before that. But here's iosition, McNab. It means for you and your family for in, I'll make you rich if you ! brains I think you've got." mean you've struck gold faswanipi?" e. And I'm here to cut you could hear Red's breath eave his mouth. So Isa-d Isa-d been protecting a gold i the river! That was the to it all. You've found gold in those s?" re as rich as the beaches Nome, McNab. And I'm you an interest. Are you ?" I listening? Man, you've me flat as a wind-fall! A scotch with you, Isadore. good luck!" your good luck, McNab!" i f a bottle clicked against a the drinks were poured, ore we talk business I want 'u if this fake surveyor told hot three men and wounded three men? Why wnat w w- Again McNab cleared his throat. "Now a what do you say to a bit of writing, so there may be no misunderstanding mis-understanding and everything'll be shipshapel" Finlay's elbow found Malone's ribs. There spoke the true Scot. "Get him on paper, McNab!" Garry Gar-ry breathed. "We'll use that some day if we live." "Ah yes, of course," Isadore assented. as-sented. "Give me a pen and paper." pa-per." Shortly the men in the loft heard McNab read aloud: "For value received and in consideration consid-eration of his future services I, Jules Isadore, President of Waswanipi Was-wanipi Gold, Limited, of Montreal, I hereby bargain, sell and assign one thousand shares of the common stock of said company, when issued, to Duncan McNab, now of Mata-gami Mata-gami Lake. "Waswanipi Gold, Limited "By Jules Isadore, "President." "How's that, McNab?" "Fine! And it's mighty generous of you, Isadore. I'll never forget it." There was the sound of voices outside out-side the trade-house. The door creaked on its hinges. "What's the matter, Labelle?" asked Isadore. "Comin on to blow, soon! Beeg wind cloud een sout'-wes'! We gotta start to camp at de inlet." "All right, I'll be with you in a minute!" The men left the trade-house. "McNab," said Isadore, pushing back his chair, "you're a shrewd man and know where your bread's buttered. Stick with me and I'll make you rich!" The ice suddenly returned to Isadore's voice. "But if you change your mind if the police scare you and you double-cross me, you won't live long! Understand me, McNab?" Isadore snapped his fingers. fin-gers. "You'll disappear like that!" But the trader laughed, "You think I'm crazy, Isadore?" he blurted, blurt-ed, and Finlay was relieved. "Leave the police to me, man. I'll handle them. We're partners now, aren't we? You've cut me in on a bonanza! bonan-za! Don't worry about Duncan McNab!" Mc-Nab!" The two men left the trade-room bound for the shore. Shortly the put-put of the outboard motor drifted drift-ed up from the lake. With a grunt of relief Red rolled over on his back and stretched his long arms as Blaise and Garry sat up. "So it's placer gold on the Waswanipi Waswa-nipi he's covering up, after all! What a line of hooey he handed McNab! And did McNab do a job on him?" "We may have use for that fake bill of sale, some day. Well, Blaise, how about it?" "Kiputch!" Blaise grunted, regretfully. regret-fully. "We make big meestake to let dat fallar go! He hunt us all de more hard now he t'ink he got McNab Mc-Nab in his pocket!" "That's true! He'll make the lake hot for us, now, but we haven't got the evidence I want, yet. What puzzles me, Red, is this plane from the Bay. It doesn't fit into the picture." pic-ture." McNab found his guests waiting in the trade-room. "Well, how was that?" the Scotchman chuckled. "McNab, you'd have made a great actor! It was perfect!" "A fifth interest in Waswanipi Gold, when issued!" exploded McNab. Mc-Nab. "He must think I'm a numbskull numb-skull to swallow that. It'll never be issued. If he gets out of this scrape, all he has to do is to incorporate incorpo-rate under another name and McNab Mc-Nab holds the bag. It took will power, Sergeant, not to smash that sneering face of his. He forgot I'm Scotch." "So am I," Garry laughed. "But Isadore's badly worried. He knows he'll need your help with the police." "Anyhow, I'm richer by a thousand thou-sand dollars, if it's not counterfeit." "That's also evidence we may use," said Garry. "Well, if this storm blows over, we're going to paddle all night, so we'll say good-by." good-by." Red lingered behind as Garry and Blaise left the room. "I want a word with you, Mr. McNab, before we go," he said. The trader stared curiously into Red's candid, blue eyes. "Well, constable, what's on your mind?" "Thistle!" "Thistle? Why, you've only known her since yesterday." "That's true." Malone's eyes were dark with the intensity of his feeling. feel-ing. "But it didn't take us long-to long-to And out. I just want to tell you that I'm coming back here. She'll be waiting for me." McNab' s bushy brows pulfed down over his searching eyes as he studied stud-ied Malone's bronzed lace, shot with freckles. "I didn't realize you two " "It seems sudden, I know. I've never believed in it. But it's true. Thistle and I knew last night that it was that way with us. I love her, and don't fear, I'll come back through hell for her!" (TO BE COMtMEDf j that the river is almost impassable water and you believe that the other parties and Finlay's men drowned. But to your knowledge the Indians went completely out of control this summer over this evil eye superstition; supersti-tion; that your own Indians brought you rumors that the Waswanipi Montagnais Mon-tagnais were hunting for Finlay and that he never had a show to get out alive anyway." "Well, that's the truth!" blurted McNab. "If he went back yesterday, yester-day, as you say, I don't believe he'll ever be heard from." "You're a partner after my own heart!" chuckled Isadore. "He never nev-er will!" McNab 'cleared his throat. "Now about this partnership!" Isadore clapped his glass on the table. "I'm offering you a fifth interest in-terest in the business, one thousand shares of Waswanipi Gold, Limited, when we incorporate. Last year that fifth interest ran into five figures, fig-ures, Duncan McNab." "Five figures! Great Jehoshaphat! You must have struck a bonanza!" The silence which followed seemed the measure of the Scotchman's amazement. Isadore's callous laugh brought McNab back to realities. "We have struck a bonanza and I'm cutting you in on it. Here's a thousand, now, in two five hundred dollar bills, as evidence of my good faith and to bind our bargain. Now, McNab, are you with me?" "Five hundred dollar, bills! First ones I ever saw! But wait! You mean to say you're handing me a fifth interest in your gold strike for telling the police what I know is the truth?" Finlay had not misjudged his man. McNab was playing to a fare-thee-well the part of the dazed trader trad-er in his first contact with big business. busi-ness. "Just that, my friend!" Isadore answered. "Of course, whatever happens, you're going to defend your property and your partner. You're going to fight for your own! But to the police you're a silent partner, understand? You're still a Hudson's Bay man." "I understand Put it there. Isadore! Isa-dore! I'm with you!" "Good! Here's luck to Waswanipi Gold. Limited, and the owners 1. j dore, Blondell and McNab!" j |