Show FORBIDDEN VALLEY F F f TELEGRAM FICTION iJ M By WILLIAM WILLIAl BYRON MOWER MOWERY SYNOPSIS On the trail trall of the Russian International international Inter inter- national crook Igor Karakhan Curt Tenn TennysOn n and Paul St. St Claire have reached Russian Rusian lake in th the Canadian northwest They have r rescued Sonya Nichols from a drunken half breed but jut S Sonya nya na and Curt have quarreled because Curt has approved the downfall downfall down down- fall of the At a potlatch on the lake shore Curt plays plas an old Russian tune tun and nd Sonya sings the words At least Curt is sure she isa Is Isa Isa a Russian I CHAPTER 14 If Sonya must be a n Russian exiled exited by y the revolution and therefore biter bitter bit bit- ter er against it That was why sh she had hadl flared l red out at him when he mildly praised the Leninists Leninist Her manners indicated that she had come from a well well-to-do family possibly from the aristocracy But what about bout her brother Ralph did didn't t appear Russian or any alien at alL His name was English and he seemed to be an an ordinary Canadian citizen Of course he could have changed his name nam and it was passi- passi ble jle that he had lived in the Dominion longer than Sonya but even so they were vastl vastly different people to be brother and sister Altogether there was something odd about the relationship of those two something that he could not quite fathom Old John took the trout from the balsam slab divided it and an Indian Indian In In- dian girl handed the portions around on strips of with an and piece of bacon to each portion As Curt passe passed passe out his cig dg areta and d chocolate squares he purposely pur put stopped with Nichols crouched down and fell feU Into talk with the entomologist I I 1 understand nd youre you're not staying at Russian Russan lake much longer Ralph No Mr Higginbotham here has as hired two guld guides for us and md were we're leavi leaving g t tomorrow morr morning Making a trip into the bush Y Yes cs up the Gives A young trapper trapp r cut in bluntly Nichols if you try to go into the ranges It'll be just too bad that's all Those amt aia any tame treaty eaty What I II Id I'd ruther fight ficht a a gri grizzly ly b bar with a pine branch than argy with them boys When I first hit this cOuntry coun country I coun-I cOun- cOun try four lour years years years- ago I 1 thought this talk about em was mostly nonsense but bur I found round out different You may be a scientist Nichols an after nothing but harm harmless ess bugs bus but they wont won't know you from a human human hu hu- hu man bein an they dont don't have any anymore anymore more use for fer you than for any white man You'll git gil to the pass nIl all right but if you go any further you'll float floa back down so full of ret s you'll youl I look like a n pincushion Aint I right John They dont don't let whites In old John I corroborated give a man far fair caution an an if a prospector happens happens hap hap- I pens pen to stray inside they'll out Im I'm just to tol say they shoot squar squat with a person at at first an an then if he dont don't take I they shoot straight I IThe The city sportsman winked knowingly knowingly know at Sonya Scare talk Miss bliss Nichols They've repeated it so much that they've got to believing it themselves them them- selves You'll find those as u tame as tabby cats Sonya quietly ignored the sportsman sportsman sports sports- man and spoke to the men who knew what they were talking about I dont don't deny theres there's a dan danger cr But Bu were we're going to try and get on friendly friend ly terms with the If they understand were we're altogether peaceful peace peace- ful ful they probably wont won't object And we do want to work In fn that country One week In there would be worth wort wortha worta a year in lit a country that's that been combed and combed Curt took no part parlin in the discussion By linking up Jamieson's account of the he wild tribe with Sonya's sketch ketch h of their history he could see sec seethe the whole story of the pretty cl clearly arly Their hostility toward white people undoubtedly sprang from rom the brutal treatment they had received from the Uie Russians In so Isolated a a tribe traditions would hang tang on for generations Now Sonya and Ralph were going into nto that pot of trouble with no o pr pro pro- except a pair of guides who would desert at the first real danger For a city girl and man to venture into intO nto territory where experienced lopers bush stayed strictly out W was sheer sheer heer suicide and not a very pleasant kind cind of suicide at that At thirty eleven the first spatter ot of if rain broke up the party The Indians In In- Hans faded into the darkness the factor actor ambled home the missioner wrapped his black robe about him and left the young trapper stuck a wolf volf cub in each jacket pocket and trotted rotted for his tent Curt want wanted d to ask Sonya 1 It if he be might walk up to residence resi real dence with her where she and Ralph were staying but he hc was afraid of getting etting snubbed While he wavered Sonya said night good to Mrs Hodkins Hod Hod- kins and turned turn to him Ive been wanting to apologize to you Mr Ralston She was really sincere about it so It-so so contrite in fact that she would not look him in the eyes eYe but stared at a button on his jacket Why it wa as much my fault tault as yours he insisted as they started up toward the factors factor's house I threw I out a big wild statement and you caught me up on it il But honestly he was thinking of her words words Id Id hate to ever get into a areal areal areal real quarrel with you Am I that bad Oh tOh youre you're positively vely formidable To change the subject theres there's something something something some some- thing Id I'd like to say if U you wont won't bite my head off oU I promise What Is It Urges Ca Caution w Well n If you dont don't mind an unsolicited unsolicited un un- un solicited opinion I 1 believe you and your brother ought to think twice before be be- fore tore you start north Into territory I I dont don't know anything abo about t the myself but I do know that some of these northern cant can't be judged by the bands closer In to civilization i But weve we've thought twice already Mr Ralston and weve we've decided its it's worth the risk She said 1 it so conclusively that Curt dropped the subject If he was to stop them he would h have ve to think up someway some someway way way way- more effective than argument At the door of the residence they chatted a few moments about the party and then Sonya bade him good goodnight goodnight night Curt turned away reluctantly looking back once for a glimpse glimps of her heras heras' heras as as' she stood outlined in the shaft o of light from rom the door He told himself when the Karakhan bunt hunt was over he was going to look I her up up and find out who she really was wasand and nd try for a better acquaintance He would b be a poor detective If h he could not trace Ralph and herThe her The rain came on In hi earnest shortly short shortly ly after he reached camp A high wi wine wind lashed the pines woke up the laki lak and tugged at their tent rain fell feU ir gusty sheets flash after blinding flask flail of lightning banged into the and rolled roiled bellowing across ss the lake Sitting on their sleeping pokes he and Paul waited for the time when they could begin their work Not long after the storm began Curt felt a trickle of water on his hat brim He reached for his torch and looked up About two feet down from the ridgeline ridgeline ridgeline ridge ridge- line a a- a neat hole the size sae of a pencil had appeared in the canvas On the opposite op wall and at the same height w was wag s another hole Look Paul Paul Paul-b Paul bowd wd thOle let there j No stick would blow clear through both both both- bothA A livid white flash lash lit III up the tent as plain as day An Art ms nt later later later- kip plang plang dp-plang their nested se of aluminum alumino urn um dishes lying on a box near the front nap suddenly exploded in a dozen doz en directions as though possessed of some diabolic magic In the rolling thunder Curt heard the muffled half bark of a rifle He sprang to his feet Hell Somebody's Somebody's Some Some- body's shooting at nt our tent Its It's that breedl breed They grabbed slickers sUckers and automatics automatics auto auto- mati matics s and leaped outside Throwing themselves down behind the firewood they hey waited for the next spurt of of rifle fire to stab th the darkness Watch back in the timber Paul Ill I'll watch vatch down toward the fort Hes He's In one of those directions Hes He's not out on the lake or around the post anywhere A minute lengthened to three five Curt had never known it to rain so hard as just then or to lighten so tre One moment they were blinded by a dazzling glare In the next the dark dropped like a pall paU They lay there for ten minutes praying for just one glimpse of a rifle rUle flash lash But the sniper did not shoot again well back in Curt We tWe might as go suggested finally I ought tove taken your advice and left him over on the Island We saved him from a soaking and then got it ourselves Sometime were we're going golrig to have a show show-d show down wn with that Hes He's goIng goIng go go- Ing to kill us or were we're going to kill him It was exactly Curts Curt's own thought Cop Copyright ight 1933 William B. B Mowery MO Curt and Paul go on a strange expedition ex ex- on tomorrow |