Show rt of frh A 1 ua by william byron mowery copyright by william byron mowery fenu lc THE STORY six bandits hold up the steamer midnight sun on the mackenzie hll jimmy montgomery and escape with gold dust and urs at the mounted police post at fort endurance sergt alan baker disputes with hla incompetent superior inspector haskell regarding plans for the cap ture of the bandits dahar starts out in tre police launch with five nen at the macmillan trading post joice macmillan Is thrilled at the arrival of the police launch she had expected to marry baker and had been stunned at news that he was to marry elizabeth sr stolen are found on the macmillan place and evidence points to joycea joyces father joyce defends him alan leads his expedition up the big and catches sight of the bandits CHAPTER IV continued after several minutes of batting larry pointed across the lake and stated quietly you see that big pitch of brownish flags there thirty arda back from the water see that little run leading back into them that s where our men are hiding they re laying low along that little run I 1 just noticed a rat start up that mn lie come back in a hurry then there s a silent spot over there where I 1 don t hear any bird or animal calls and then some other signs he was silent for half a minute finally he whispered show you a sign you see that pair of canvas backs a coming this way fly lag low making for this lake canvas backs like blue water watch cm close summing just over the flags the pair of graceful ducks came on but lust as they stopped beating and started the glide down upon the lake they suddenly breasted high up in the sir exactly over the spot larry had indicated veering away they winged swiftly out of sight into the west lying there in the reeds and bog alan studied the bandit covert and tried to plan it all of his men had been along with him the outcome would have been swift and certain pe coald have come at the bandits from either side cut off any cliance of escape boxed them between two fires and deliberately shot them down but he had split his party at the forks as haskell ordered nw at the crucial hour here in the thai amzah and those other atto men uselessly following that south branch were a hundred and forty nallus away he planned rejected and planned again and finally came to a decision eteve got to carry the fight to them and wove got to keep them from getting away by that creek yonder there s only one way we can do both those things bill and I 1 are going to ircle around them on toot and come at them from the other side well get there somehow even it we have to swim part way with any luck at ill ft e ought to get into a position here we can put two or three ot them out of business at the very beginning before they wake ip to ns they won t fight if they can ip it athy should they take chances on gome of them getting wounded or led if they don t have to they 11 try to whip back across this lake and lodge into that channel yonder isow y you 11 stay here to head that keep out of sight yourself have couple or three extra magazines ady and wait till they get into the middle hen they get in good range pen ap on them those canoes e dont care about those men let m swim ashore and hide it they nt to on foot a man cant make tea miles a week in athla muskrat coun uh too tent no shelter the klaoes Kl toes and files would drive them y in less than a day and ial into our hands it you understand now what s cut out for us we 11 s starting etli men nodded bill and alan backed away with in tte caution for one flushing water 1 I would raise all the others lard cautious yard the two men slipped into the rushes till they were a e distance from the lake then they began the long hard job ul circling around the bandits et muddy tortured by insect pests w pushed steadily on mindful of onan on ln twilight K took an hour and a half to make wide careful circle and start corn K in toward the bandits from the the sun cut tn two by western horizon and the chill of la the air those six men lid shortly be on the move but an s hopes had risen again it ned that he indeed bad taken bis along the bandits did not off they were being stalked in halt hour more if luck held he and bill aid be in position to open on them at last to bands and knees of them crawled along through 1 d water keeping only their binm alry y came P a ed arda jarda j of their quarry his aln face alan eted the reeda ln ont of saw the tops of a alumn sway suspiciously A moment atene e the outline of a man s anding up stretching himself sit ting down again hiSM dow those men 0 o had killed jimmy montgomery 1 and only a pistol shot aahl rut to take alan cursed savagely at alie thought of and those two men a hundred and forty miles distant As he remembered what has kell said about the law ling behind his patrol his lips curled in scorn at the cint expression the I 1 aw supposed to be back of us I 1 wonder where in h 1 it Is bowl what does it mean to bill and me now here in this watery wilderness in the creeping twilight he and bill were going up against six men who had stood oft fifty and who had murder charges liangqing lia nging oer their heads and if they broke away larry single hand ed would hive to stand the whole brunt of stopping them at his gesture bill slid cautiously up beside him in whispers alan said to him 1111 we ve got to get closer vee got to get across this pond they came up within a hundred yards of their quarry those muskrat houses out there are particularly good luck for us by keeping down in the water with these little reeds to help hide us we can sneak from one house to the next the last one isn t a dozen yards from those men it we make it well have point blank range and the best kind of cover to shoot from taking off their hats and jackets they wriggled carefully out of the tall flags eased into the water and squirmed toward the first muskrat house which stood up four feet above the surface and entirely hid their approach behind it they stopped a moment chose their next one and sank back into the water As they crouched down behind the third little dome of mud and reeds a towering red bearded man parted the flags they were staring at bent and scooped up a hatful of water took a swallow threw the rest down with an oath at its vile taste and then shaking the water out of his hat he disappeared again last secret doubt about these bandits being utter strangers in the country was dispelled now he had had a clear view of this huge red bearded leader he could say positively as ashmun and all the passengers had sworn that he had never laid eyes on the man before to bill he whispered when we reach that last house splash or do something to draw their attention they 11 come out to the flags edge again to see what it Is dont shoot when just one man shows up well watt till we have three of them in plain sight it we get three of them at the first crack we 11 be fighting the other three on even terms now bill when sou re looking down a rifle barrel at those men don t hesitate aim straight e can t make prisoners of that outfit this Is a finish fight one or the other party is going to get wiped out they started for the fourth muskrat house halfway there disaster overwhelmed them sudden and stunning it came from the air in the shapo of a pair of red throated loons flapping heavily out of the west the birds dropped alth a loud splash not ten feet away from alie two men at the splash alan heard a muffled oath over in the flags then a rustling movement as though the bandits bad nervously jumped tor their guns then silence and then a voice from the twilight among the reeds othan jus a pair of divers plumped down the aarm would have blown over it the loons had swum off but the birds crop heavy and indolent stayed where they were showing no intention of moving away As the female started preening herself the mate turned its eye suspiciously at the two strange objects sticking above the water what startled it alan never knew bill did not move he himself did not bat an eyelash but in that jumpy taut silence the male suddenly threw open its beak and sent up a raucous Rian lacal shriek as though some animal had seized it by the neck instantly its mate joined in th jarring ear splitting discord set musk rats diving off their houses and flushed every waterfowl in the lake a hun dred yards distant with a last frantic peal the loons taxied over the water finally managed to take wing and flapped heavily away but the damage had been done beyond retrieve all that hour and a half of careful stalking all the great caution and pains of slipping nna wares upon the bandits had been set at naught by the crazy shriek of a crazy loon over in the murky twilight of the flags there was a commotion sharp orders the click of rifle bolts at the edge of the flags gun era aa chek a rope of flame reached out a bullet ricocheted off the water it was a shrewd maneuver from the bandits a tentative shot to draw the fire of their stalkers stal kers and discover where they were alan was quick witted enough to see their motive and to lie low but bill jerked his rifle against bis cheek and shot point blank at the spurt of fire A cry of pain went up his bullet had scored but the shot gave away their hiding with all hope gone now of getting the drop alan scrambled behind cover of a muskrat house fairly dragging bill ater him half a dozen rifles exploded in tha flags alan thrust his rifle over tha top of the house and emptied it at the flashes A bullet from a savage a sharp cracking deadly savage hit hla weapon smashed the mechanism numbed his hand and drove jagged fiery bits of steel into his fingers for several minutes the bullets of the bandits beat a thudding tattoo against the mud mound As best they could alan and bill lifted their belt guns over the top of their shelter and fired back they heard no more yelps of pain they were shooting wildly aimlessly realizing this believing the bandits had crept into the run and were sheltered by its banks alan stopped shooting and checked bill yonder in the reeds the fire died away raggedly A silence fell A aln ute lengthened into two three four alan heard or thought he heard a faint rustling a faint gurgling of wa ter lie listened intently but did not hear it again with ills plans all shattered with the twilight steadily deepening he as torn with desperation it he and bill moved it was sheer suicide it they crouched much longer w here they were the bandits would certainly slip away from them in the coming dark As he fought to think of a plan thit would break this deadlock be heard a long whistle a clear shrill whistle from dorrys direction it was larry signaling he sprang up bill I 1 backed away slipped us breaking for the lake 1 larry s alone weve got to help larry 1 TO BB CONTINUED |