| Show S. S Serial erla I Rides the Alcan Alcorn By William WilHam G. G Bogart Read a new mystery serial complete every week in The Telegram CHAPTER ONE ERE wRE it was the greatest t ay in all aU the world Th The road Through mounts moun Alcan Jean ts and d deep ep valleys it threaded for sixteen hundred miles Vay y y m Dawson City to Fairbanks road Sweat A man-made man I pits guts is and the prayers of many manyI I gone jonc into its building Army had worked their hearts finishing it before beCore disaster ruck ck understood the ther few leW tr women r the and despair and courage t Trent t went into the building of oC that la ay Few women had even eveni i the there e In the beginning But t- t there had been one Her Here e e was Alberta Reilly story begins ins with her Bebe Behe Be- Be OUr pur ar vae she he be had been one of those who tho had been there all along yU u she he who was waiting for tor tory fory torI I y Davis who for a while ri been wn there with her She re- re when he had been sima sim- sim tr a mechanic in charge of some the the big army transport trucks ter he had moved up Hed He'd been tin it-in ti in charge of a construction that forged through the derD ernes SS ahead His ratings up also And then that t I Jy 1 that longaway day when fetid hid d gone on and beyond over over- iii- iii But Ill I'll be back baby Johnny ad said Now how he was coming back Hed He'd sired from Crom San Francisco only a asir sir nr dS d'S days ago Soon they'd be to- to ether again And what plans they IL Y t rHE HE freight fast trucking busi- busi ith that atrat could be expanded just as they could put on the lICks to handle it Here was their the Hers and Johnnys It If hadn't been easy these long Her father who had sited the business was unable i get out on the road Tike Take now for Instance Less Las than two hours ago the call had come from Wat- Wat sLake Lake 2 just below the boundary rth the Yukon territory It had me ae ore from Joes Joe's Diner up there i th the Alcan road Joe Jae had explained that a trailer h belonging to Alcan Mean Fast had been found parked front of his place when he flied erred that morning I HI under- under ad he had said tensely Chuck hers rm had that run On his way Whitehorse I believe rh flats flat's ts t's right Alberta had told tolda a a. Chuck Eggers was one of her herand and Alcan Fast Freight was Avas ej highway transport company she and her father oper- oper d td Well W n. n the dining car owner had hadId hadia Id ia We cant can't find him Its It's the thing maam There it lt no trace of Chuck Eggers er s. s Hes He's just vanished Tilt That was the beginning of the Ivry ry 1 If HERE had not been a driver fable to send out over the road take ftak over the truck either Jit's ilits m more re Watson Vatson Lake was wast t food sod od three hundred miles north OU time would be lost Time It was urgent for on that truck was an iron G being shipped to Whitehorse help elp save sa the life liCe of a child 0 ohad o had bad been stricken with parallel paral paral- u 13 lel Alberta Albeta had quickly reported 1 I b her r father Theres only one gl to do she had told himm himm him m al flying up there tf If necessary 1 drive that job to Whitehorse So leaving Tim Reilly in charge I the the truck terminus garage a i taken en off in the plane Tat Ita had been two hours ago Now through the slight overt over- over lit let t the she watched for the silvery ly if 7 outline that would mark ration Kitson Lake An Aa opaque outline took form the distant haze She Shed iud d Watson Vatson Lake and d h her r glide She picked up portable microphone which rig S from the dashboard i her plane she said d coming In Watson Vatson Lal Lake e. e y rinY L maintained a small coni con- con td rol i tO tower er there In a moment the thel l na 8 voice olce answered Watson Vatson ake tower to NC Come in d wind TInd twenty henty miles an jw directly north Use north- north 1 runway Watch Vatch it Pretty 1 ty V 1 o on the ground Then the Basked e Y taked ff Is js that you Miss MissY Ue Hello Carl carlt arl Alberta said aid into I Ibe niL Jet mIke ee Sh She c r recognized his s 's She had met the airport Iger tr several cral times on her herip I. I up ip and d down own The Road t e throttled the engine and Rent into toto o the traffic pattern ugh gh i there was probably not oth cr r plane within miles Never Never- J leE et when you fly you always Jj the we rigid rules You never neverS S VI Was ras on n the cement no more iT fifty y yards after crossing approach to the field ri t Banning ing himself came out f t h her cr Nice l landing he called out as klUe e d the engine He came d to help her down to the d He Re was a heavy man with y halt hair a and rid square features lil had ad always disliked him fo for because cause he had not signed service during the red re d been een war d something about pc perd per pcr- rd r- r cd d In eardrums an ms and being eman eman em em- essential industry ALBERTA said Carl could you t. t take ke care of the plane for tor me You'd better put It In a hangar I dont don't know how soon Ill I'll be flying back He nodded I 1 heard he said as they walked toward the field office something about one of your road drivers givers missing What's up up 7 She shook her head I dont don't know She wore a leather jacket gabardine skirt and a kerchief that held her thick wavy hair in place A mechanic in tn coveralls was coming across the field to meet them Carl Banning hailed him Take care of the tower for a bit he Instructed the man Im running running running run run- ning Miss Reilly into Joes Joe's place Alberta put in swiftly Look Ican Ican I Ican can walk Forget it it said Carl Thanks she said Ten minutes later they pulled up jp before the roadside diner She turned to Carl Banning and started to murmur Thanks very much for the the But he nodded toward the diner Ill wait a moment to see if there theres is s any news He accompanied her J JOE OE the owner O limped toward her Maybe I shouldn't have put nit you to all this trouble Miss Reilly But I figured She smiled She liked Joe He was vas a big shaggy man who looked about as much at home in a white apron as a mastiff wearing a poodles poodle's knitted sweater But a cat had tipped Upped over on Joe when they had been cutting down a tree along this sector of the Alcan road oad He Hc almost lost his leg And Ando so o today he ran the diner Im glad you called Joe Alberta Alberta Alberta Al Al- berta was saying Has there been any word Anything at all The big man shook his head Alberta bit her lips together thinking swiftly Then she named the he next regular gas stop farther north where there was a service station tation handling Diesel fuel for the trucks rucks She said with determination tion ion Ill have to push that truck through tonight If you hear anything anything any- any thing hing call up there or leave word The airport manager had looked at her quickly You mean mean youre youre you're going to drive that truck Why not she asked matter- matter of He shook his head Its Tits a lonely ride Joe had gone behind the lunch counter a moment He returned with some keys in his hand I took these out of the ignition switch this morning He nodded toward oward the thc deserted truck Ill help you OU gas up he offered ALBERTA thanked Carl Banning Banning Banning Ban Ban- ning watched him drive off down the rutted side road Then she climbed into the big cab of the tractor unit slipped the ignition key tey into the switch and started the motor She slipped in the creeper gear ear and eased up to the fuel pumps Joe had limped over there and md was waiting He helped her gas up the tanks They checked riding lights and oil and water Joe even opened the emergency kit box on the cab running board and made certain that she had plenty of flares I guess youre you're set he an an- Hours later the sun dropped down behind the mountains which closed in all around her now Dusk came swiftly She flicked various buttons turning on the many red green and yellow riding lights Now as night closed in she felt a sense of uneasiness Chuck Eggers wasn't a lad who drank and walked off the job He was vas a good steady reliable worker Then why had he deserted the truck far out here on the highway Where could have he have gone in this vast wilderness Continued Tomorrow |
