Show POO MT 19 lift up no CO U atiq F T ir av C 0 im ir no 7 COURTNEY RYLEY COOPER bervi SERVICE C A R i i i k hommond reflected as he a up i from tho the wharf that atis W ns prince Ru ports most altu crop mantho roa botho climb from tile wn wa ortt om ind cut across tho the little od cd park where totem poles gleaming with moisture and I 1 lonely u n 0 I 1 y everything sd id in prince ruport rupert this morn discolored stuffed d kapcar ln in front of al mansons Mon sons ig ilora at lost last hammond ammond II I 1 abruptly looking over tho the a fence of a back yard ti T and whines had centered centered ills his hon lot lat are you trying to do with agol og he asked A man halted 3 ii 1 efforts to kick a harnessed el cl into hito progress along a r before a makeshift makesh it t weighted with stones ang to make a sled dog out H at rt bozo ile he got the IN ki 3 hat pretty strong the say bi be buy thang thi rg w where h er e this dogs go nr roK that P sio trainer jerked hla his wara tho the white pinnacles of mountains re hills there in D ca C 11 n sald up the caribou riv around the valley of you heard t features had bec become I 1 R I 1 M on yaye ive you been that you reada the papers butlan coming up from vcr er oe trainer stared that got in this morn r ao AB asked and you it then you must have and blind there of others who came a abb just because of it lus of what jack ham hands s where they gripped ca ce ivere were strangely dincol ir Y SS J aint kidding the ih 0 fellows found placer re re A couple of guys enzle enzie joe britten and 0 jack hammond I 1 I 1 S said hammond jerke I 1 he volunteer trainer as ily at the loose fur of quess figured to lall for themselves you athus s hammond goes down tasee some old girl hed icken alt n ever since he was a r haa got on a big bust and I 1 44 thing its been in all ers rs 1 il I guess quite a row adle said ham hammond mond thin odys figuring on go eh and his brother li thought id train till this cant ont make the grade kin iou zeros a ho hot t ad here ere this time of year t thin shin legs A light coat lil g around this coast coun calr on his feet hed last ve lo 10 d dayn da ya on the trail tie 0 alnemy worry let the i q buys hir hirl L lose sleep over le ie gave the dog a kick mush on there I 1 afia howls remained in amonds ears as he walked K aj so this was a hi mils an echo of the and excited jabber tm Bett and mckenzie Mc Kenzle joe day last autumn up thear alai away coun J ir discovery of placer qt tc M st mans gold 07 va 1 called had brought i 5 here was new mon be washed from the er and of value the 4 bound found no need for id expensive machin juhls this wealth en r big talk that day guld ld meant to a wait 1 I k happiness it would WM c there fought ought of the greed ie e jealousies and hatt inevitably follow mansons Mon sons trading bethea cons ns both were wj many h laces aces of persons persona who 0 f wind or pelting ice phlp I 1 hip of a blizzard or I 1 9 un on ice hammond self that it was none anew t r ile he entered the ho A i he asked the fhe clerk cleric i 0 tal 0 T no he pulled out i r an all in a rush i hey orak i a i ave got out on a work train left a note for you though mr hammond jack unfolded tho the scrawled letter that had been left by ills his boarded bearded partner it was brusque and jerkily frank well I 1 figured you might play the fool if 1 you ou ever got to seattle and mot met that girl but I 1 never thought spill the beans like you did why you wait ival t until you hit the bush again before you got drunk therell bo be a thousand fools up in the country before breakup break up im hitting out of 0 hero here with short supplies to get in there and pro our interests before the rush starts see our lawyer and be sure sura our claims and leases are in good shape then come coma on with supplies as quick as you can II hammond ammond turned to tho the waiting boy beside him and ordered h his s bags taken to ills his room then lie he headed for the door again on the street lie ho started toward a three story building a few blocks away ills course was a broken one townspeople ho he know knew halted him to question the accuracy of newspaper stories which jack hammond had not seen ills his evasiveness only nettled them what if you seen the newspapers they asked you made the discovery tile the vancouver papers have been full of it you know nii all about it tho the use of trying to keep it a secret soon a crowd had gathered about him hommond fenced frantically A big man with a faint break of decent accent in his voice poked a hard skinned hewed out face close to to that of hammond my aly names olson he announced noun ced ive got a map here suppose you point out the place to ul uj hammond pulled at his breath maybe id better he agreed then as olson poked the map before him I 1 see you on tho the boat from vancouver yoh yah you saw me said olson and a lot of others why you come to me ine then I 1 could have explained all this to you maybo maybe you have been so anxious about getting off hero here you got off you asked the in man an with the pack on his back that was enough for me came another voice then a short man red faced and with an excitable manner magneri edged forward how about me I 1 saw the story in a winnipeg paper and took a plane for jasper park then caught the train up here yen yell and I 1 came from prince george cut in another member of the crowd 1 I thought wed go in from alaska around Wr wrangell anicIl look here asked olson you try to throw us off the trail getting off here at prince rupert hammond Hamm orid spread his hands in a gesture of disgust and for a moment silenced them how in thu the world could I 1 try to throw you off when I 1 even know you were on my trail none of you camo came near me on the boat yah laughed olson how could we you were in your cabin most of the time getting over that head you must have had when you got aboard down at seattle some time you had down there yoh yah n hammond a M m 0 n d straightened he r raised a ased a work thickened hand and removing his hat allowed tile the cool ing rain to fall tor for a coment on his dark tousled hair ht HL regarded the crowd which hemmed him in with a look almost of pity in his dark eyes listen fellows he began you dont know what youre getting into by trying to beat that country but the map shows that its just back of wrangell olson insisted i to holl hell with the hapl hammond broko broke forth angrily certainly its back of wrangell maybo seventy civo miles a hundred I 1 dont know just below the river against tile the alaskan border supplemented ted the red faced man from winnipeg the ho newspaper paper said so 1 I suppose that makes it a fact hammond ammond II answered sarcastically then why dont you go on oil to wrangell Wran goll by boat and up the river you cant go up tho the this time of year an outsider argued might alight as well try to walk on icicles will you lot let me explain tho the setup hammond ammond II insisted if 11 you go in by way of tho the youve got to make maka nearly miles and double back you cant turn off that river runs through canyons almost to telegraph creek away way past the ino us its next to blo ble to cover tho the route on tile tho ice bonts boats mako make that river in the summer time someone insisted certainly paddle wheelers but this summer the tha spring breakup break up in that country duo due for months think that over then jack hammond ammond II stood silent listening to tho the jangle of words about him men were arguing about whether or not tho the newspaper was correct as it if tiny any inne inaccuracy curney were a personal affront all in an instant tho the thought of 0 gold had torn reason to shreds then olson caught him by tho the arm and shot the question yahl if you cant go in by way of wrangell how do you go in ny by cross it if you want to bo be abool a fool and try it so tough about that tho the weather jack insisted you dont got get any warm winds q in t 46 t 0 1 you try to throw Us off the trail from the japanese current once youre over the coastal range its 35 and 40 below all the way to the 1 I know that said olson laconically but why fight the bush tor for miles with dog team when in a lew few months therell be airplanes or easy travel along the river and mountain trails yoh yah said olson and find all the claims gone or youve gobbled up the whole country through a set of dummies the red faced man added you can figure that out for yourself hammond answered abruptly and shouldering through the crowd again moved up the street leaving the throng muttering behind him but again a block farther on his progress was halted this time it was a woman well prospector she asked cant you say hello hammond looked up into the features of a wrinkled person valiantly battling her age with thick foundation cream high rouge mascar aed eyes and a heavily lip mouth yet it was a sprightly face yue hue eyes set in crows teet feet of hu baor and experience lips which life had hardened without leaving them grim well anniel he exclaimed how are you about the same ns as tile the last time I 1 saw you whon when we mode made the file rush together into rouyn in quebec right glad to see sec you again annie thanks that goes double prospector silence followed for an instant jack hammond felt annoyed nt at this interruption then ho he dismissed her it was wag only around tile ho world annie who had made ando every canadian gold rush of the last twenty years around tile the world annie with her lore of frontier knowledge her inevitable thickness of paint and mascara and garish clothes her log cabin at the edgo edge of camp with its danco dance hall illicit drinks lu it screaming phonograph living hero here are you annie hammond ammond II asked at last around tho the world annie straightened an effulgent tit woman with what might bo be called an old fashioned figure she groomed a loose told fold of dress and raised a alamond fingered hand to restrain a whisp of blenched blanched blen ched hair wilting with tile the dampness of tho the incessant rain then with n jerk of her head she indicated a group of danco dance hall girls who stood inn in a near by doorway as though they had been herded till all of themi over dressed listen prospector the ithe asked would I 1 bo be chaperoning chape roning that ing gang g of girls it I 1 was living hero here in prince rupert but where are arc you headed for sho she grinned the wrinkles creating deep creases in her faco face enamel im going where youre going sweetheart hammond sighed 1 I suppose you were on this mornings boat too got on at vancouver hammond pursed his lips ile iio was becoming more philosophical 1 I guess I 1 missed a lot on that boat oh catch up with it nil 11 she leaned closer just tell me this much youre going on on tomorrow mornings train aren arent t you for the first time that morning J jack ack hammond truly smiled yes annie ho he said you might as well pass the word along I 1 guess the secrets out youre right its buil agreed annie she patted him on the shoulder well ill be seeing you then with a grandiloquent wave she summoned her followers from the doorway hammond walked on to the sting of fine rain against his face the smile had vanis Ld gloominess had taken its place everything had looked so different down there in seattle with kay in his arms and the secret that ho he had promised his partner to treasure flooding over liquor loosened lips xay kay the thought of her electro with a thousand disconnected but glorious memories blurs and figures from which only one 0 n e emerged clearly it was wag that of kay joyce golden haired kay with her blue eyes hypnotizing him her soft body against his as they danced or floating far away as all the world became vague and dreamlike kay tight in his arms until he could see only the curve ot of her forehead and the uplift of her eyelashes or leaning on her elbows beside him her hands crossed under her chin her tantalizing lips curved in a challenging smile then the soft touch of her thigh against ills his as the music started anew and they rose to the call ot of the dance floor ile he stumbled and brought himself up short suddenly realizing that seattle was far away this was prince rupert bleak in the grip of a winter rain yet buining with the gold fever A girl was coming down the steps she had a hand to her throat clutching it ns as if seeking by muscular power to overcome a desire to sob her face was bloodless for an instant she looked at him with hazel eyes in which burned the fever of desperation then bravely she straightened and while lie he flattened himself against the scarred plaster wall ox oi the staircase went onward in the glimpse of passing hammond could not help no noticing dicing the spasmodic jerk ol 01 0 her otherwise fine lips the tenseness ot of her the expression of gauntness with which she faced the drizzly square of outside light A moment more and she was gone TO HE BE CONTINUED |