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Show WNFAB?Buniiliif sway J PMto". rich but Zt Trent be.-omes secre-Z secre-Z .llderne.. camp over BrW. Harcourt. a long fc.S5. Wi wife, Is also fmrried to Harcourt. Th. i, ber and Insists on an Erie. The nr wlyweds are & that nlBbt by Mrs. 1, bet husband bai been e exclaim.: "If yon had iruce" Bruce spends the Lnl'the murder. When MUUceiit's brother, runs f Bruce brings him back, ime, Ned Paxton invites j his yacht. Janice and fattves, leave in a launch , fcano closer. Suddenly It Lt li stranded on a lonely l I wth the story. j JAPTEB XVI I howl from somewhere Jo crescendo, slid into . ..rsky She took careful aim. Fired. snapped off the electric torch, laid his revolver on the shaky table, a card of matches beside it. "Those must be kept dry. Think you can start the fire in the stove while I collect brush for a signal to the yacht? Wrecked on a desert island is-land stuff." He flung his wet blue coat over the chair-back. Axe in hand he smiled at her from the threshold. Good, but not good enough. Did he think she didn't know that the outside fire was more to keep off marauding animals than to signal the boat, that she had forgotten those banshee howls? She steadied her lips and smiled back at him. This last hour had aged him unbelievably. un-believably. It had set deep crow's-feet crow's-feet at the corners of his eyes, ptphpfl linos Kotiiraan msa ami "Yell! I was dumb with horror. I came to the door to ask you to help with the stove, saw that terrl-ble terrl-ble creature moving toward you, and fired." He loosened the fingers still clutching the revolver, laid it on the table. "Did you care when you thought me in danger, Janice?" Her heart flew to her throat. Blue eyes aflame could be more terrifying terrify-ing than fierce green eyes. "Care! Wouldn't you care if you saw a human being In peril of his life? Isn't the smoke stifling? Can't you do something to stop it?" "I" He coughed, sneezed, wiped his eyes. "What's the matter with the infernal thing?" Lids half shut tears markinff lips. Except for war service, all his luxurious life he had played hard and worked little. His once immaculate im-maculate buckskin shoes oozed mud; his soaked white flannel trousers trou-sers were criss-crossed with black lines, where wet shrubs had lashed at him; little green rivulets, sponsored spon-sored by his necktie, were cavorting cavort-ing down the front of the silk shirt which was plastered to his body. His eyes with a laugh in their blue depths met hers. "I don't like the suggestion of criticism crit-icism nf mv nnnfmrnnpA In vnur e-r grimy furrows down his cheeks, he poked about the stove. Tears brimming brim-ming from her smarting eyes, Janice Jan-ice tried to help. He shook what seemed to be a damper. The portion por-tion of the pipe which pierced the roof fell with a clatter which set her already taut nerves twanging like violin strings under the fingers of an impassioned virtuoso. A vicious vi-cious orange-red fang shot from the standing smoke-stack, licked at the rotting branches of the roof. Damp as they were, they Ignited. Fire ran from twig to twig. I ft?" ' f one of the pilots visibly visi-bly chattered as he an- I f iolf cry, yes sirree. e drive dem to shore, ffire. Not much ever Ime. Hunters come p by trees." ice showed strain, g to your camera, I wish it were some-fore some-fore we get through, cans of crackers in t's all If only this would lift, we'd get cht The men were the shack." ; went into a tailspin. a spur on the side in, sagged a cabin of ler-beaten boards, know how long she tood there staring at . He wheeled at sound of an engine starting, d oath he ran back to Ige. Janice stumbled I they reached it, the inch vanished into the :! Come back!" Pax-Only Pax-Only the fading throb responded. He drew nd fired into the air. lswer, a wild wail was 10 after echo through mice caught his arm. e raggedly. Save your ammunl-;r ammunl-;r that ghastly howL" ; e hot stones pelted the Rain splashed, an. We'd better make : while the going is '11 bet it leaks like a II be some protection, quitters threw out a ers. I'll take that the tin. great patches of blue spberry bushes, high-e's high-e's head, clawed at b& as though to di-a di-a the dead ripe fruit aroon clusters. She uls, carried them in she had lined with a pression. You're not so hot yourself." your-self." The liking she had felt for him during the first weeks of their acquaintance, ac-quaintance, which had flamed Into love or fascination crumbled into gray ashes of doubt and distrust, stole back. It warmed her voice. "I'm a sight. I feel like a rag doll which has been left out in the rain." She heard the crackle of brush under un-der his feet. She lifted a rusty cover from the stove. Her thoughts raced on as she laid a fire of dry leaves and brush. Billy and Bruce had taught her woodcraft when they had taken her with them on their fishing fish-ing expeditions. If only Bruce were with her instead of Ned Paxton. - She struck a match to escape the memory which set her heart pound- 1 . ( LI.. CI n,nrsaA iha The man and girl stared Incredulously. Incredu-lously. "We've done it nowl Quick! Out of this!" Paxton pushed her to the door, caught up the revolver as he dashed by the table. Janice grabbed her camera, snatched the tin of crackers. crack-ers. As they jumped to the mossy log she heard the crackle of wood. The walls of the shack were on fire. Side by side they watched the lurid light inside flicker, flame, wane. Heat poured out as through the door of a furnace. Janice turned her back. "I'm thoroughly toasted on one side. "Tis an ill wind, etc' It would have taken hours before an ordinary fire to dry our clothes. What is the next feature on this peppy program? It ought to be announced an-nounced over a coast-to-coast hookup." : sss handkerchief. The "ith the motion of un-cupine un-cupine rattled across d. An otter swam iwo martens scuttled brush. A fox trotted te foot raised, looked dashed off as though A fat ptarmigan hiz which sent Jan-ner Jan-ner mouth. A few-mosquitoes few-mosquitoes buzzed ad, before drifting m winging. Did ev-teel ev-teel the pervading anger? were inscrutable as 1 Something about ' his mouth set her He waved his hand Bate. 1 have a light. by an old sea-dog the ship without a inn luiucarauij. hic a.ijvu w.w dry leaves ignite before she clapped on the rusty cover. She listened. The fire roared. Had she put in too much fuel? How the pesky thing smoked. She wiped her smarting eyes as she hunted for a damper. Her throat stung. It was humiliating not to be able to start a dinky little fire, but she would have to ask Ned to help. She stepped to the entrance for air. What was that? Good grief! What was that behind the tree near him? A dog? A gray dog? A dog's eyes wouldn't be green. A wolf! What was hanging from the creature's cruel mouth? Cloth! A piece of plaid cloth caught on one yellowed fang. Sickening! She tried to call a warning. warn-ing. Her tongue dried to the roof of her mouth. Her body prickled with horror. The animal took a stealthy step toward the man on the Not s muscle riu- Paxtons eyes shone blue ana clear In his smoke-grimed face. "Janice, you're the best sport in the world. You set a great pace." He steadied his voice. "The fire's dying down. We'll have a warm, charred shack at our backs. That will be some protection." "Protection from what?" She hated hat-ed herself for the terrified catch in her voice. "From prowlers. You heard the native pilot say that the volcano smoke would drive animals to the water. They will come down the bed of this brook from the interior." Hours passed. Hours filled with nerve-racking suspense, listening, listening for the sound of a boat which did not come, with the drip of rain, the pelt of hail, flash of lightning light-ning and detonations of thunder. Janice dropped to the mossy log in front of the shack which gave out :j .j.. etnnHprinff wood. ic torch from an in-is in-is soaked blue coat. iled a room high lan- a tall man, to Wlthout hitting his Sainst one wall was , d boughs of spruce. "Pe, one end poking P- acted as smoke-leen smoke-leen a rusty cook-PMer cook-PMer world. A de-land de-land a rickety stool pmpany. A table, Pwied outward like Fg new-born calf, allow streaked bot-f bot-f Pack of cards. A I a frying-pan burned tf a crude shelf. I leaned an axe with 17 ni(ed blade. F 4 Sold lighter. Aft-f Aft-f attempts he sue- 7 "mail flame f l0 a candle stub 1 e will save our f fis. My knowl-P knowl-P 18 all laboratory p. but i fe fte table breath i 2 auEht and itet ghoulish shad-fe shad-fe Paxton OtUiiiJ. u,v. -.w- - pled under its skin. Ned would have no chance to save himself. Eyes on the motionless creature, Janice backed to the table, seized the revolver. On the doorsill she dropped to one knee. "Steady! Steadyl Remember Jimmy's instructions," in-structions," she warned herself. She took careful aim. Fired. Man and beast leaped simultaneously. simultane-ously. The wolf soundlessly slunk into the shadows. Paxton ran toward to-ward her, caught her shoulder. Shook her. "Why in heaven's name did you do that?" She steadied trembling lips. "It was a wolf-Just back of you-he he was watching you hungrily. I thought I thought-" She dropped her head in her hands. Shuddered uncontrollably. "A wolf I You shot him?" "I shot at him." There was a touch of hysteria In her laugh. ' I m not too good." . "God, we'll have the whole pacK down on us." . , Indignation steadied Janice s nerves as no commendation would have done. "I call that darned un-grateful. un-grateful. You would have been torn to shreds if I hadn't fired. "Why didn't you yell? an acriu uuui - Paxton carefully laid a heap of brush beside him as he dropped wearily to the log. The fire had died down to red coals. He opened a gold cigarette case. "One left." He snapped it shut. "Glad you don't smoke. Otherwise I would have to sacrifice that on the altar of chivalry. Any crackers?" She drew one grimy piece from her pocket "The last?" She nodded. 'Put it back. I have indulged in too many calories already. I'll lose my boyish figure if I don t watch out." "What's tiiat?" "What? Where?" Janice gripped his sleeve. Point ed. Two lambent green dots glowed between low alders. With a muttered imprecation. Paxton threw on the pitifully inade- LatepileotbrUShbeSldehif:nie, fire flared. The sinister points of Srght retreated. A howl tore through 5fe distance. From near at band the blood-curdling wail was. answered. an-swered. Paxton rose swiftly. "I'm going for more wood Where? You musta t It lsni Safe " (TO BE CONTINUED) |