Show r. r FORBIDDEN VALLEY r F TELEGRAM Ig FICTION NM By WILLIAM 1 BYRON VERY MOWERY CHAPTER 46 6 1 Tenn-Og Tenn stepped steppe away and coolly walked across' across the logs Jogs That was more than Curt cared to try He got down and nd crept along the bridge bridge on on hands bands and knees with Paul behind him Midway he be stopped loosened a pi piece ce of bark and listened for the sound Several Sever l seconds later he heard the bark hit against a rock a and d splash into the stream The chasm about 70 f feet t deep was not so abysmal as 35 he had thought but for the thc man who fell into it those I 70 O 0 feet would be plenty with rocks to crash on and nd that underground creek to sweep one away Joining Og Tenn-Og on the other side he lit another match rid arid looked around He sound round himself in a large larget t irregularly shaped cave warm Va m and dry and fully 50 feet across Shafts like the entrance led off oc offin in a a. dozen directions some straight back into th the mountain rock others paralleling the face ace of the thel cliff By Bythe the match Hare flare he be also alro noticed signs of human occupancy In the flickering light he glanced at mt Tenn-Og Tenn Tenn Og who was staring at the snowshoes snowshoes' a ari arf j fireplace and on the Indians Indian's face usually so he saw a a storm of emotions This was th the place very pla place e where Tenn Tenn- Og and the girl ha had spent their idyllic sum summer r. r Pa Paul picked up a balsam branch brancho touched i it to Gurt's urt's match and looked around aro the cave with marveling eyes Name of the Name he breathed Her you and I could hold off aU a Turn ahun dred ment men Maybe if II they'd ever hap happen pen pen to to bottle us up inhere in here wed we'd stay staylor for lor hundred ar Dhu dred years I want something something some some- thing more substantial than that spider spi spi- der b between tween me and out out- side ride T Tenn-Og Tenn Og shook k his head We uWe get out auf q ick He pointed to one lof the black shafts shafts' at their right and indicated that i il opened out on a ledge near the fissure But suppose upp se they'd plug that opening open- open ing ups up Curt asked Intriguing Plan The other didn't know about It Tenn Og said They knew about the cave they often sp spent nt a night there or or waited wafted out a blizzard bUzzard but th y knew nothing about the ledge opening He and the thc girl had Sound found it accidentally while exploring th their ir home bome In In that case case case- Paul argued they couldn't trap uS us in here partner You and I shooting from the entrance yonder would have solid soUd rock prote I tio tion on ori all sides except in il front 11 If something did go wrong we could coul d back up across this chasm kick these thes e logs Jogs down and be safe against a an n armyl army But Curt was not satisfied For de de- Cense the place was was perfect as Paul said aid But defense was not riot enough If f they were to to tear Sonya away and nail Karakhan th they y would have to push the fight and the cave was too Car ar distant from the camp for sure rifle work and a 3 drogue of spruces just down slope almost completely hid the he cabin With the ghost of an idea in hi mind he stepped back again to the bridge took ook hold of ot the ends of ot the logs logs' lifted them hem up and assured himself that the two wo timbers could easily be thrown into nto the chasm If It he could somehow get the across Into the cave proper and then push down the bridge they they- would stay there till he got ready to let them out Under ordinary circumstances a wise bush outfit like them would hesitate hes- hes it te about venturing into so plain a deadfall but in the heat of a fight they probably would not stop to weigh the danger The idea intrigued him largely because because because be be- cause it would avoid heavy blood blood- shed Ha He hated to think of shooting into nto those men and killing as he would ha have e to kill to stop a a determined determined determined deter deter- mined rush They were an admirable little clan Besides this fight was not th their heir ir fight but Karakhan's and the Russian would not be in that charge Ic He would be hiding behind others letting let let- ting ing others be victimized in protecting hIm ilm As much as he wanted to try th the trap h he finally decided against it it Good Range Ranee I Back outside he explained to Tenn Tenn- Og that the cave was n no good and asked him to show them a better place The Indian took them down slope 50 yards worked ov over r to the left and brought them to a little knolL The spot looked ideal to Curt Curt-at Curt at hi his first glance 1 A tangle of of rocks and windfall logs gave Jave them fine cover the slope fell away iway so steeply in front that an attack attack at at- t- t tack from that direction was impossible impossible impose sible Bible and the upper side was protected protect protect- ed by a thicket of devils devil's-club spiked with wicked three-inch three thorns The range was as good as he could ask for and down at the lakeshore the whole camp lay wide open to their guns The stars had already paled and were fading tading one by one Down at the cabin a man a white whiteman man an stepped out into the gray graydawn dawn I looked around and started down to I the thc canoe landing Curts Curt's fingers tight ened on his rifle as he watched the Russian At the thc lake headland to the east cast t a canoe loomed out of the thc gray mist Others Other followed it till presently 10 were strung along the shore One canoe anoe nosed ahead of the others In Inthe I the he the prow of bf of it Curts Curt's aching eyes pl picked ked out a small slim figure sitting proudly erect and his head leaped She held Sherd d come through safely With rifle out at ready he hc watched the thc 10 meeting between her and Karachan Kara- Kara Karakhan Karakhan khan chan and saw them start up the path While he hc waited fingering his llis rifle impatiently he was suddenly stared startled startled star star- ed by a n throaty yelp from the direction direr tion ion of the cave Jerking around he saw five of ot the thc big honey-colored honey huskies huskies hus- hus kies cies filter out of a thicket and nd come loping straight for the knoll Ogg Tenn-Ogg dropped the leader with witha a silent arrow killing the dog in his tracks racks His next arrow str struck a husky In n the flank It yelped whirled and bit it at the dart The other took the hint lint and stayed back at a respectful distance with a furious snarling and barking Down at the tos to's several men grabbed spears and came rushing up the he slope thinking perhaps that the dogs had brought a grizzly bear ar to tobay bay bay- Still LeNoir did not show himself him him- self elf and Siam Siam was more t than n 00 yards yards- from the landing Dont Curt whispered as Paul lined ined his rifle rUle at the Hes too oo far and weve we've got to get that LeNoir Were We're sure to be discovered now but before It happens we wc may put those two out out- Copyright William B. B Mowery The battle breaks tomorrow in earnest arnest |