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Show : a PTHE F THE RIVER RIVERof RIVEk0f of SKULLS 71 . T ? i < by j George Marshwv Marsh wv ; C PE\N PE N rE'N rEN PENN ' \ PUBLISHING coWI'oU CO 4 WNU WI'oU WIoU wAU ' SERVId srRVICB SCRYICB SYNOPSISNoel SYNOPSIS SYNOPSISy - ; = ng trapper Noel Noelparlner Noelmeron rail meron w Rouper Rouperhusky y and Rough husky huskyd huskyed edparm .d1 d1 .d1,0 parlner parm parmdpB ' dpBerlook erlook look * In In3 ! " \3 3 to " \ n " for , the theU ed . d dog dpB camp . -,0 ,0 0 - In the . , , deso- deso desa desaleer desoYer - U trappers sappers or of Northern Can Cansupplies Canaupp1i Yer leer ! count 3 ! " ) deslroyed destroyed by by01 \\01 01 wol woley \ 01e1 supplies aupp1i forced to subs st on onun onu onog e1 ey e1are eyare are 10 a alog amazed they con COO COOthemwilderness e un u themwilderness themwildernessgiver wildemesslIiver wilderness wildemess log logOuse og ogthey \Ouse Ouse ! \ louse in the lIiver giver m-ver m ver - nhereth " uhere "here here they a aare arc are aregr re gr greetedlond treeted greeted otro otrolond Intra Intraselt Ih a gun man manself ? lond .rW W selt self as .r r . .rn John Jahn n McCord hunter hunteran e asks Alan Man If tf he dares so go sone gonest an RIver of ofond ofand 10 to Ue tI e ne nest t year ) ear where whereI whereBald the 5 nking Lakes ond and before beforecCord beforencord said Bald 10 to Mve have been I bad had badbJnt hadhim who daughter wno naa cQird cCord ncord tl tI 11 e a ( Ins Insto Insto Mm to ' the llderness ilderness bJnt him Insffd'evoOon InsffdevoOon to devotion of Bough aough sough On Onot Onof OnSitiiii for Fort FortcCord Fortccord lo , Alan Alana s . dep"ture depture dep'irture depirture demrture " ' ot of cCord suddenlY tells hIm to toback toback back some dogs and to keep keepshut keepaneytaarn shut to quest ons He g B\esey.m Besey.m B esey.m eseym \ es esoney oney oney"am aneytaarn , , ; "am am , " . ngthions ngthionsm ne ng him m not to sl 51 owGeorge owGeorgc ow owGeoW \ . GeoW.PTEB GeorgcR GeoW George Georgc .PTEB PTEB PTER . R m-Conl m Conl IH-Cant IH Cant in - - Cont nued4 nued nuedutre .4- .4 -4-- 4 . - - .4lIere 4were - - expectmg expecting de deAlan deAlan utre lIere were you AJan Alan suddenly determmed determined determinedin determinedan aD an end to this mystery mysterypounded masterypounded m ) stery [ pounded on your door doorou'with ? ' \ou'with ou'with ouwith \ c I ) au ou ouwith ' cocked * ' Whom Whom11 WIth a gun uexpectmg-somebody uexpectmg somebody expecting-somebody expecting expectingsomebodythey - Whomexpectingsomebody utpectmg - somebody they theyring theyiringne rlDg ring ng rig back from Eastthe East Eastr r the somber tace face ot of Mc Mclaxed Mclazed MeIixeJ laxed lazed in m a smile of amused amusedit amusedat at the dark msinuat msmuat insinuat on He Heth HeW Hekoth th W hands on Alan s wides wide s 5 Steady nowt now ' You 11 ll unIt unit un [ it all-later all later aU-later aU - You brmg bring brmgose bringrise bringuse ose rise dogs this summer and andever andever andever ever regret it et lad I givelIord giveword give : lIord word ord you 11 ll never regretg regretD regretn regret n D w th John McCord McCordet [ et the dogs I 1 need thcm them thcmIf themIf themIt ( If anyway cried cned the ex exoy exoy exioy oy finally burn ng the theot theof thefol ot of h s doubt . . . The lure iure at of atlery oflery olitery lery the magnetism ot of thearded thearded the ariled arded g ant ant , , had won wonon wono o on the vh wh II h te Ie to shell sheU ot of the thei i . the Ihe crusted barren to the thehed thehed thehid hed in en the alterglow afterglow of o thed thed the thed d sun and the fingers of ofclamped ofclamped otclamped [ clamped ha'd had hard ' on the desc- desc deso- deso descey desoey deso-Icy deso Icy - - - ey the pact was made The Thehands Thehands Theil hinds hands ot of the blond gIant gIantgashed giantgashed giantI gashed { ashed forehead and the thewhose thewhose ther whose ve ye ns ran the blood bloodrers bloodrem blooderers rers rem ol of the wide north . metwh metwh met ' " wh h ch sealed a friendshipa friendshipto friendship 10 to take them fir far on a aest aeat ait 1 est eat eatray . ! ra1 ray ? lprtl rtpril pnl day two weeks weeksD weeksn weekslia n D and nd Noel reached thei thet the t ( ! the open river and saw m in moce inace inance oce ace on the island 1sland theit the thee theg e g build bwld ngs of the Revillon Revillonthe Revillonthe Revillonfld the Northern Trading Tradmg Tradmgaod Tradingand ' ind aod and below them the old oldBay oldBay oldl Bay post of Fort George Georgee GeorgeIhe e old place Roughyla Roughylto Roughyl to the dog who laboredit laboredd laboredet labored d et snow SDOW sinking stnkmg above his hiseach hiseach hiseach each step Duncan 11 ll be bee bett e w ua us over at tha th 014 ola old ; com corn comd cornd cornid d Berthe and Big Pierre fed d stiff from tram the long race racethe racethe racei the theUowed theBowed he spring sprmg break breakup up the theallowed Uowed Bowed the h gh north norththe norththe northl the river rtver running runnmg With Withdal withdal withplilal dal ice the sticky sllcky snow snowE snowdown down - the U-c U c r shoes shocs hke lIke lead lead7approached lead'7 lead7 approached 7approached ' 1 the shore the ; thethe the Company mail mall team teamor or , r them at the boat land ngair ngau ng > challengedoach challengedeach air au the huskies challenged dogP dogthroat oach each ch ot of the strange dog throat aVo swelling elling with an anyelps anYelps anyelps yelps thehe Rough stood in the thee e batteau ears fiat flat fiat , , hair haireck haireck hairlecic eck eckand and backere backere back We ere dose close in ID to the log log"t logd logdng d dng "t t ng " when Alan called caned toop toop to thoseIi thosek op P out and drive thosewhile those Ii k : while I hold get ot of Rough RoughMtd Roughed ed two of them last sum sumn ! D n sumD sumn the v.hole vhole whole . , hole team jumped 'f f ' g a paddle Noel drove team drove'Mm droveMm droveteam ' from the stag droveI ng I ngn n Roughght Roughgut ted t ed cd the excited Rough ? Eht ght gut and unloaded their theU theirM01'rom " oUlfit outfit theiroutfit " " * from ' I M01'rom M01rom the boat Then Thento ThenRough Rough to the sled they theyTto theyr r to tht the big frame trame trade the tradethe "e e " Hudson s Bay Corn Com Cornupon CornWon Won uPon my soul , oul if it am am t t"on ton tmeron meron " " and1oel and \ Noer 1\oel 1 oel Aoel ' What s whatsftw sYou You two lads to the coaste"clalmed coastexclaimed coast , exclaimed e"clalmed eclalmed " the specta " hman Liman specta"nan spectanan spectahman spectaLiman " . behind behmd the slab'tht slabtht bthe slabthb sla slab b ' the thb trade room Duncani Duncan roomDuncani roomDuncan I You haven t , da7 day " older since smce I saw you youBlm youOler youmer Oler mer " laughed Alan as lSed Bed lSedclerk Bedclerk asaca aslSed asBed cle1 clerk sr gr pped their their"clung theirclung theirearChlDg theirearchmg ' " earChlDg earchmg burneds burneda the wind wmd burned s a ens gnS gas ofstarvation ct of starvation that thatCD CD 111 " > to thatengm the engm og mog tur fur posts inw in m inrou ogau rou au w re " not starved out oul out , , , look lt It ? ' , fromWaters We Wove ve ye come from fromi h7 by ' i ' Waters , . * ln In fitleen fifteen " 'een een ' days we < look like uke car bou inrat in m hat rat drove twe you off otI your y " thCDt then ] rcajou rcajouexpla Noelour "cache1'13 cache113 " expla ' ned Noel Noelt o our cache t I ! cacheI Wolverloe Wolverine " ' " 6 eh ? And you youOn youi i On the /our our / Vc ve crust before beforeour your ourr out out ? ? D Dl d ( YOU yo " breeng l td r lads lad , , ? ' reeng like Xn added the al vays hmanhUDt Scotchtnanhutrt SCo Scotchtnan hman hUDt hutrt tth than thaa . black last year I ve ye velake blackmarten c foxake ake marten ma'te mate ' ' " and " "d d " fox foxat,0 X foxX Your What at,0 at0 mouth m uth water s a , sked eked d "Iiln Iiln Alan Al1 " the " Dt'18 Dt18 neVoS news ' from ( rom out 8m am casually anx what the Indiana of ord bad had told at East Mam Main Aye lad there s plenty at of atnews ofnews ofnews news SomeInd answered the clerk Some Ind ans acts carne came out at East Main MaID In December inDecember V.lth Vlth with . v > ith a pretty taleWhat taleWhat tale taleWhat What about ' Starvation at N chi chicun chican chicun cun can agam again again7 again7Naw ? ' I chiI Naw It seems there am am aID t tenough tenough tenough enough traders already on thiS thiScoast thiscoast thiscoast coast . . There s another one-m one m one-in in one - in on onthe the onthe headwaters headwatersWhat What do you mean-a mean a mean - a trader- trader traderon trader traderon - on the headwaters ? He went in last summer by way wayof wayof wayof of Rupert . . He located somewhere somewherebeyond somewherebeyond somewherebeyond beyond Nicbicun NIChicun on these head headwaters headwaters headwatersDd waters \ aters watersD atersD D Dd d sou you ou hear thit th'lt thlt tint ' Noel ? de demanded demanded demanded manded Alan of the Ind an who wholounged wholounged wholounged lounged agamst against the counter run runnmg running running nmg ning h s e ei ey ) es over the trade goods goodson goodson goodson on the shelveshlle shelves \ - while \\-hlle hlle he listened in intently intently intently tently to the conversation Duncan Duncansays Duncansays Duncansays says there s a new trader in on the thehead thehead thehead head vatersAh vaters vatersAh vatersAh Ah hah Noel s dark face was wasas wasas wasas as bare of o1 expression as though thoughcan thoughcarted thoughcaned can carted ed from wood Ver strangeting strangetingYou strange strangetmg stranget tmg t nng tmgYou nngYou You didn dldn t run into any hunters The AprIl AprIlsun Aprilsun sun was buried buned burned In the drift drtft ng floes floesof floesof noesof of the bay when Alan opened theheavy the theheavy theheavy heavy slab door of the Revillon Revellon RevillonFreres RevellonFreres RevillonFreres Freres trade house a mile above abovethe abovethe abovehe the ; Hudson s Bay settlement settlementBa Ba goshi goshl Alan Cameron ' Wat Watyou W at atyou atyou you do here de las of April7 April ? ' crieda cneda cned cried a tall taU Frenchman turning turnmg from the thehuge thehuge thehuge huge stove in m the middle meddle ot of the theroom theroom theroom room and seizing selzmg the grinning gnnnmg Alan Alanb Alanby Alanbi b by ) the shoulders Allo AUo Noel W at athappen athappen athappen happen to you boys boys9 boys9e ? ' \\e e we \ \ e had bad luck Pierre re repiled replied replied piled plied Alan A wolverine wolverme got to our ourgrub ourgrub ourgrub grub and the dter deer had left the thecountry thecountry thecountry country so we struck tor for the coastPIerre coastPierre coast coastPierre Pierre s express on suddenly so sobered sobered sobered bered as he scanned the lean faces facesof facesof lacesof of the two men who had come in inover inover Inover over the long river trail from the themtenor theinterior theinterior theinteriorBut mtenor interior mtenorBut interiorBut But you had enough to get home homewedyou homewid : wid-you wid you wed-you wed - you did not starve starve7 starve7Alan ? ' Alan thought of the two men and andthe andthe andthe the dogho dog \ who \\ho ho had barely barcly reached reachedMcCord reachedMcCord reachedMcCord McCord s cabin cabm as he answeredWe answeredWe answered answeredWe We met some IndiansGood IndiansGood Indians IndiansGood Good But you eat becg beeg suppalr suppair suppalrwid suppairwid suppairwid wid me tonight tODight You have good luck luckw luck.w luckw . . w d do de fur ? Yes we ve ye got plenty plenfy of marten martenand martenand martenand and foxThe foxThe fox foxThe The big Pierre i s a round face tace lit litwIth litwith litwith wIth pleasure Ah hah hahl haht ! You mak makde makde makde de becg berg hunt ! ! He smiled at the theyouth theyouth theyouth youth he held afTe aftettionately affectionately tionately by the theshoulders theshoulders theshoulders shoulders Tiensi Tleasl Teens ! I am glad to tosee tosee tosee see you Alan and dere ees anoder anoderwill anoderwill anoderwill will be glad eh9 eh ' Many tarn tam dis iis < I winter we talk about you toged togedder der derAlan togedderAlan Alan s face wag was stained with col color color color or How is she ? he askedOh askedOh asked askedOh Oh purtee as evalr-but evalr but evair-but evair evair - but dis dls Ar Arsene Arsene Arsene sene Pierre shrugged his heavy heavyshoulders heavyshoulders heavyshoulders shoulders as his face registered anexpression an anexpression anexpression bodderher expression of contempt he bodder her herRivard bodderherRivard Rivard ' Alan felt cold at t the thethought thethought thethought thought Arsene Rivard had had all allthe allthe the long " winter "mter mter to make love to Des Dessane Dessane sane s eldest daughter It was what whathe whathe he had fearedShush fearedShush feared fearedShush Shush I ! Pierre \ warned arned as the thedoor thedoor thedoor door opened and three men entered enteredthe enteredthe enteredthe the trade room stamping stampmg the wet wetsnow wetsnow wetsnow snow from their moccasmsAno moccasinsAllo moccasins moccasms moccasinsAllo Allo Ano Cameron Cameronl ! I heard that thatyou thatyou thatyou you had come in today A dark darkyoung darkyoung darkyoung young man wearing wearmg a small mous moustache moustache moustache tache on his sleek round face ap approached approached appreached proached Alan with extended handWithout handWithout hand handWithout Without comment on the mlsfor mister mlsfortulle mistertune misfortune tulle tune which Wh1Ch might have meant death deathRl deathRn deathRnard Rl\ Rl Rn Rlard \ ard and turned to the two men who whohad whohad whohad had . followed him hun . into mto the room roomThis roomThIS roomThis This is the man Dessane told you youabout youabout youabout about , , , he said He hunts the " , - _ _ _ Ii , _ _ IIr II r t + -J J - JF BE I It ,1 1 ,1J , F t / . 1 ' 1 / 111 111t \t t \ / s sI I / , / I , t / . t 7tvgul f ft / / 1 1G /G G / Ga GI a I 4 4a a Ira Irabill jtlj ; / bill , I IA A folded five-dollar five dollar - - bIll slipped to the floor I who knew about this fellow tellow Alan7 Alan Alan7Alan ? ' Alan Cameron slowly shook his hishead hishead hishead head while he waited to hear wheth whether whether er McCord s men had deserted him himor himor himor or had started back with the dogs dogsand dogsand and supplies they bad had been sent sentfor sentfor sentfor sentforWell for forWeU forWell Well WeU continued contmued McNab MeNab the theJoke thejoke thejoke Joke is 1S on this trader McCord torthe for forthe forthe the Indians took his dogs and money moneyand moneyand moneyand and headed down the coast for forMoose forMoose torMoose Moose Now he s stranded in 10 there therealone therealone therealone alone with what do you thmk think think7 ' A Agirlhis Agirlhis Agirl girl-his girl his - his daughter Fancy takmg taking takmgone takingone takingone one s daughter into mto that wild weld bushAlan bushAlan bush bushAlan Alan followed foUowed the other s an announcement announcement announcement nouncement with an expression of ofell ofwell ofwell \\-ell ell well \ - feigned surprise on his dark darkfeatures darkfeatures darkfeatures features So after all McCord had hadbeen hadbeen hadbeen been deserted by his men as he hehad hehad hehad had thought thoughtPretty Pretty tough on a g rl he heagreed heagreed heagreed agreed How does he hope to totrade totrade totrade trade in there without help help7 help7He ' He can t He 11 U be showing up updown updown updown down here this summer trying trymg to tohire tohire tohire hire it headwaters he U II ll take you thereAlan thereAlan there thereAlan Alan s back stiffened The blood bloodleaped bloodleaped bloodleaped leaped to bis his lace face at the Insolence insolenceof of |