| Show TELEGRAM FICTION I I FORB FORBIDDEN Mr VALLEY LEY I By W. W BYRON MOWERY SYNOPSIS I Intending to his hi goal Eoal Voal from Sonya Kolkov has ha tracked Igor Karakhan to t his Canadian wilderness hIding place to avenge the deaths death of her ler father and brother whom Karachan Kara Kara- khan chan kha has ha betrayed to the Soviets Karakhan by a ruse re succeeds in tying tyng ty ty- ty ing i ng Sonya to a bunk buk in his hi cabin and telLs ells tell her he is leaving her to t the te mercy of f tho the Indians Indias Her only ony hope is i Curt Tennyson and Curt is i delayed because be be- be cause ause his partner Smash Desplaines has ha plane failed to t meet him hi with Curts Curt's CHAPTER 41 U Until he reached old Johns John's lake lahe up the the te prospect of getting into it his hi plane and whirling north had buoyed Curt up and kept him hi going long after aUer he had hod gone de lead dead d on his hi feet But he had reached the he limit of human huan endurance and the he shock of finding himself hiel hope hope- essly lessly lely stranded through Smash's tru tru- tu- tu ancy ncy pushed him limit Sturn Sling under a pine tree he slumped down own almost in a collapse and dropped into the merciful oblivion of sleep leep Tenn-Og Tenn began looking around aroud the cabin abin cabi reading signs sign sign-a signs signs-a a crushed nette nettie net- net tie te le footprints a broken twig with wilted leaves He announced present present- ly Iy y that S Smash had hot been there yesterday yes yes- erday or the day before before that He had lad left three days day ago To sit ait aroud around and watch wath the sky for fora a plane that did not come was Wa more moretha than han tha Paul could bear Wisely he kept himself himsel busy While Tenn-Og Tenn went down own the shore to a small stream where whore ptarmigan were chortling among the cloudberry thickets thicket he drew out the canoe and gummed it I freshened up the musty cabin cobi and and chopped a dead into fire fire- fie fie- wood When Tenn Tenn-Og came back backwith backwith bac with three thee ptarmigan he cleaned and dressed the birds bird cooked coked them the and ad prepared a meal Near 7 o'clock Curt woke up Paul had jad supper ready but Curt could not force himself to eat eat The Te thought of Sonya drawing nearer and nearer that headwaters lake sent him tramping tramp tramp- tramp lag ing ig the again in distraction Paul and Tenn-Og Tenn made a two two- pronged javelin hardened the te points point in n the fire and went down to a rock jut ut to t spear trout As A Curt turned once he saw they had stopped fish fish- ug irig ig and were listening intently lookIng looking look- look Ing ng around the horizon horion A few moments moment later he caught a far away hum faint as a a mosquitos mosquito's song It I seemed to come from nowhere nowhere no no- no where in particular but it i rapidly grew louder deeper and changed to toa toa t a throaty drone drom He located its it direction di dl- due south and whirled to look lok Smash Returns Out above a lofty lofy range hove a glistening speck shining in i the slant evening sun Bun Curt stood rooted in i his hi tracks tracks afraid that the growing speck spec was wa a d delusion and might van Vin sh Ish Ih But it came on and on till ti at last ast lat he distinguished the lines lne of his hi plane For him that glistening plane plana had all al the splendor of ot a n delivering angel angel From its it height of feet it glided down and down banked over the lake ake leveled off touched and ind came camet t taxiing xUng shoreward The Te three leaped into their canoe and darted out to t meet ILAs ilA il it As A they swung around aroud the propeller r rand rand and clambered upon a pontoon Smash opened a panel and ad flipped his into nto ito the water Hub Didn't keep you oU waiting did I Curt Darned Dared sorry but say you ought to see the dance pavilion and md the whole layout down there a aLake at Lake Maria Why uh Wy uh uh Why what's the matter mater Curt CurU Curt glared at him hf tight lipped sent the canoe spinning with a kick kik slammed open the door and ad climbed cUmb d dInto into the thc cabin cabi Ill Ill take the controls Get back in n the thc rear place I want Og Tenn-Og up front with wih me He lifted the tank tn flaps and md glanced at the gauges third One fum fulli For a moment he w was tempted to throw Smash off of on that wilderness shore and let him hi get out of ot Russian Lake Le afoot if it he could It I was wa like Smash with his hi mind on Lake Marianne to como off oft with barely enough gas to return to t There was wa plenty to t reach the Lii- Lii luar headwaters but none to b bring ins the ship back south When they reached the lake lae they would have no gas ga to t maneuver with wih or get ou out outto to t civilization Taking off oft he circled to feet fee and started wet west down the wah wan Fifteen minutes minute later as a he sailed saied out over the river widening and ad the island bland of black lilies lie he saw Og Tenn-Og Tenn-g Tenn look down at the country below and nd blink blk astonishing eyes Fit teen minutes and and that same trip had taken six si hard canoe hours that morn mom il the te west I In order order- to keep fr mw flying over the main band of he headed leaded on westward for 60 miles mies then I swung wung north nort and started up across the he ranges gradually picking up altitude alti- alti ali ali- tude ude till tl the needle quivered on Tenn-Og Tenn kept looking out of the th panel windows widows on each side trying desperately to guide gide the flight In n Inthe the he deep valleys under keel twilight was vas already gathering the visibility was wa made still poorer by a n pearly gray ray haze that came drifting down from country rom some forest forest fire fie in ilL i the Yukon Yuon But his hi job was wa to guide them and he IB came caine cac through with it il As A a moun moun- ain tain nomad he was wa somewhat used wed to tc heig heights and by recognizing a familiar range or lake system m now nov and then he le was wa able to keep his hi bearings At last lat he touched Curts Curt's arm and pointed twenty odd dd miles mies east eat at two lordly ordly wrapped cloud mountains and he said and he indicated that on the other side of them lay the headwaters lake Curt Cur studied the giant giat twins twin carefully care care- care I fully ully He had to get down on that lake ake unheard and unseen for tor at the slightest hi hint t of a n plane in that country country coun- coun try ry Karakhan would escape in his hi own ship and they had hado gas ga to t on follow ollow If the plane could climb high enough he could cut off r the engine and glide glde those 25 2 miles mUes to the lake lae and so get there unheard But to reach it without being seen was wn a harder problem calling for all aU I the flying skill ski he had There was wasa Wa a flock fock of clouds swirling around the te two wo giants giant and filling the pass pa between be- be be tween them If 11 I he could keep behind some ome big cloud on his hi approach and andly I fly fy ly through the pass pas by Instruments he le would come out on the shadow side of It I would be twilight there and the plane would hardly be visible a mile mUe away awny The Glow He put the thc plane into a steep circling circling cir clr cir cir- cling cing climb At feet teet he geared in n the supercharge to aid old the laboring motor The thermometer on the wing strut showed 16 below and at feet it i dropped to 21 21 He noticed his hi companions companion nodding drowsily and he kept a sharp watch over his hi own senses sene In the thin air he managed to get another thousand out of his hi plane Twenty tho thousand wad feet teet high he looked trough through trough a rift ri of cloud between the two wo mountains and caught a glimpse of the dark lake valley valey beyond Cut Cut- ling hag off oU the engine he pointed the ship at the great cef cleft and began the thelong thelong thelong long silent glide glde Heading on and ad on toward the thc snowy snow pass pa he plunged at last lat into the clouds that hovered around the gIants giants For a space of five tive minutes he ha slipped silently through fleecy where the sky above and earth below were blotted out and only true his hi instruments kept him hi pointed When he came out of the wol pack he was wa through trough the pass pas and down downIn dow In the purple shadows of Dropping on down with wih the dark waters slowly coming up to meet him he veer veered d in toward the south shore under Tenn-Og's Tenn guidance Three miles from Karakhan's cabin he leveled lev off oU plowed water and came cae to toa toa 1 a n stop He was Wa there all al right he had made it i without being seen or heard but with wih less than six she gallons galon of gas left let he would never get out of that mountain cradled lake No escape cs es- e. e cape no retreat retreat retreat-it retreat retreat-i It was wa a locked fight now A light leht breeze blowing offshore began began began be be- gan drifting the plane out into the lake Paul reached the two stubby paddles paddle from train the canvas canoe canue outfit and the four men clambered down on the floats on By strenuous work they i managed to check the drift and start the plane in toward land A mile mUe from the cabin Og Toan-Og showed them a small smal cove screened by several big pines pine where the plane would be fairly birly well wel hidden They Tey warped it inside moored it i got out their guns cun Youre to stay here and watch the ship Curt Cur ordered Smash He hated to t cut down his hi party pary but Smash was wa too careless for tor the work ahead head Instead Instead In In- stead of a help he would be a constant constant con can stant danger donger Now keep yourself under cover these thee have sharp eyes eye and long cars care Well We'll Wel scout the place out down there before belore we spring the fight and Ill I'll Il let you know what were we're doing Okay Dont Don't worry about me me meA A little distance down the shore Curt happened to turn tur and glance back at the cove A match was flax flar flaring tIar jug ing n up Smash up-Smash Smash lighting a In Inthe Inthe Inthe the black pine shadows the point of fire tre could have been spotted halt half hal a amie amile amile mile mie away Copyright William B. B Mowery Curts Curt's party spies out the tho enemy tomorrow omo |
