Show W am 4 x ettlin ih 1 HE H in 14 I 1 of SKULLS jtb T by georoe george marsh 0 PENN CO CC XV 21 nearing the c camp amp of mcqueen alan and noel separated to close in with cocked rl iles from different angles at last alin alan stood whore where he commanded a view of 0 the ore fire which h lit tile the surrounding trees with its dickering glow near tho the fire a tarpaulin banked with snow had been stretched stretch id across two saplings to reflect the hoat hent in the snow holee hole beside tile the alre haddi huddled cd a bulky figure in hooded parka beyond in the trail from tile the shore stood the loaded sled the four dogs too exhausted to note the silent approach of the stalkers stal kers lay somewhere asleep in the snow the shed tent faced away from the anxious eyes ot of the man mail who sought the girls familiar parka lie he could not see her under that snow banked canvas heather doubtless slept dead with fatigue ile he moved closer through the black murk of the spruce and stood directly behind tho the man hunched at the fire this was mcqueen where wa was 3 slade well tom mumbled tho the man in the parka y list listen en V t reason got now youre ly y in out tonight payin for its a cold bed out there eh tom A bellow of a laugh followed figuered Figg ered on john mccords accords Mc Cords gold and his girl too tom old pall chuckled mcqueen 1 I said hands off horl herl but y were too smart got well trudeau got his and now y got youral yours I 1 the golds mine all mine tom and her tool mcqueen twisted around where he sat and faced the river shore Slee sleeping Sleep pin ln warm tom he jeered it if youre cold ill bring your bagi bag for a space he muttered into his hood before he went on aloud talking into the fire with this indian fish and meat ill reach the cache then cameron goodby good by to youl heavy chance you had with tour four dogal we started with six lie he chuckled and got a present of six more with fish and meat thrown in pity you get what the indians got at the bendl too bad it you cameron too baal thirty feet from the man raving at the fire a rifle covered the middle of his back but the shed tenth tent beyond was in the line of fire then a husky somewhere in the snow suddenly waked and snarled the husky yelped feebly then was silent there was no sound from the other dogs too dead to stir from their beds mcqueen got stiffly to his feet and fumbled in his parka park a as he squinted into the blackness beyond the circle of fire glow listening he sw swung ung around and stared toward the river shore the rifle now covered his heart you here C cameron ameron he roared well youre too latel drawing a black automatic from his parka he started toward the snow banked tent come and got get her bowl before the man in the murk could fire a black body lunged from the gloom and catapulted onto mc queens back hurling him headlong into the snow there was the muffled explosion of the pistol as a knife flashed in the firelight flashed again and again then the dogs broke loose from the spruce beyond the sled A girls voice cried alanl at al ant and the yearning arms 0 of f cameron reached her above the sprawled led body of me queen a Montag nals hollow a yes eyes glittering stood stiff as a spruce while he held the halft haeft of his knife to his forehead and anc I 1 repeated sleep well john mccord and na payot heather ala alan n held the girl in in the sleeping bag to his pounding heart you came cameal at bastl she sobbed hysterically clinging to his neck ne ck its been so long ala alando n s long I 1 I 1 was then I 1 heard your name and saw noel leap dumb with the wild joy jay and emotion that choked him he gripped her in his shaking ar arms as if he feared ho he would lose her kissing her thin face again and again ive loved you every minute through th those ose awful days she whispered hoping and praying that come come sooil it was so awful to leave leav e poor dad lying there in the they shot him but he fought them until he died and I 1 oh it was him therel there had to leave hard to leave him V so 11 he was unconscious not dead said alan that night he died in before he died he smiled arms my whispered Ill heatherd eatherl Heat herI and astric stricken k dear dear old dad the to her grief herself up 9 girl irl gave sobbing of paroxysm when the ceased she said aid wearily im so 90 tired so tired I 1 I 1 I 1 walked and lid ran most all the way except on the 11 big lake they let me m e ride therel there youre going to rest now for dear were all going to re rest st days so thin alanl you and youre have ki killed lied must and the dogs N noel oel and yourselves to reach us rough tho the puppies all right he pressed his face close to hers think of always he said as the down the biem themous the mour our dogs shore worked out but all right now you stay here and keep warm while I 1 bring up the dogs before he left lie he asked her do you believe I 1 love you now she impulsively drew him close to her 1 I know knew you did that day at the camp when you took me in your arms ms but id been so hurt ive loved you so long over ever since you left it ft us on the ice to go to fort george lie ile kissed her then pushed back her hood to touch tho the thick gold ot of tier her hair replacing the hood he suddenly sensed the ugliness of the sprawled shape beyond them in the snow standing by the atre on which lie he had placed fresh wood noel waited to speak to her but heather spoke first noel she cried noel conic come herel heather impulsively reached and hugged the embarrassed montag nals thank you noell noel oh thank you for what youve done for me I 1 youre both so thin youve worked so bardl it makes me cryll cry I 1 and site she burst into tears act was wort all do work ileather heather to get youl noels bony face shaped a 0 grin but there were tears in his w winking I 1 aking eyes the men placed mcqueen down on the river shore beside tho the body of p anz IX A black body lunged from the gloom and catapulted onto me queens back the partner he had shot while heather slept then alan went for his dogs somewhere back in the bush the indian huskies again lay quiet indifferent dlf to the actions ot of the strange masters when alan brought his weary and stilt stiff dogs up to the camp with the sled a hooded figure stood on the ice I 1 well have to wire the dogs away from the camp tonight noel he said pitch on those indian scrubs it if loose with a laugh the hooded hoo dad shape moved through the gloom to the un gavas hyl its heatherd Hc He atherl she cried dropping her mittens and thrusting her hands at the doubtful lead dog powderly Pow derl foguel its heatherd Heath He atherl crl dont you know heather 01 a r sniffs whines then a mad chorus of yelps greeted her as tho the dogs recognized their old playmate trail s tiff as they were the lour ema clat ed overwhelmed her with the pawing of forefeet fore tore feet nuzzling muzzles and the swift thrusts of red I 1 tongues in the crook of right arm she walked slowly back to camp where noel had steaming tea and caribou broth waiting gaitings wai tings for them for two days the happy man and girl and the gaunt ate and rested in a new camp across the river for there ther was plenty of nas kapl dried caribou and fish on me queens sled with the eight bags of 90 gold id there while heather rested in her sleeping bag before the fire she and alan talked of john C ord and the long race up the kok soak you see sec they know I 1 had a pistol alan she explained 1 I had no chance to help dad that morning they caught me in my sleeping bag but somehow poor dad broke away from the tent and shot it out with them when they took me away I 1 had my pistol under dermy my coat I 1 knew id need it then during that drifter she went on while mcqueen and slade slept I 1 waked up in my bag to see that evil faced halfbreed watching me I 1 tried to wake ahe others but they were dead with sleep I 1 had to shoot him alan I 1 slade was scared and wanted to take my gun she continued but mcqueen lc let him ho he told me to shoot slade if lie lid bothered me I 1 have given it up id have shott shot ferstl at the last they of their heads always w were ere both out watching the back trail afraid you were coming yet they insisted they were fifty miles ahead of you how they ambushed the nas kapl watching for or you when we reached the troll trail heather I 1 was almost kisk ilsk wow as noel says they were acro terribly afraid of you alan she said they had heard at fort georgo george that you were tile tho best shot on the const coast we had such a long start it seemed almost impossible for you to catch us and I 1 grew so tired the last day I 1 lost hope and decided to shoot my self as mcqueen and slade rolco they went nind mad both of them I 1 knew id have to use my gun some day soon then I 1 waked waited to hoar hear mcqueen call your name and saw noel leap from tho me shad with the bribe of frequent feed ings of fish noel had won over the shy indian dogs and when the party started leisurely tor for the cache on the big lake he followed heather and tho the gold on sled with a team of his own at tile the cache they rested again while they revelled bevelled revel led in flour sugar and pemmican and dogs and men rapidly put on weight slowly but surely the superb vitality of the exhausted girl was working its cure by the time reached the cabin on tho talking which to their surprise mcqueen had not burned she had recovered her strength the shad aws had left her violet eyes and tho the dimples were again in her cheeks there they waited two weeks to hunt doer deer and not net fish under tinder tho the ice for dog food tor for the long trip to the coast one night when the stars swarmed low over the valley and the aurora glowed in the north heather alan and rough stood on the river ice as the frozen feather of n moon hung above the western tundra the girl in tho the hooded parka gazed for a space at tile tho flickering lights on tile tho horizon ila iio wanted this alan dad told me more than once ho he wanted it lie he almost worshiped you ila ho wanted you and me to have this gold to get herto bo be rich ile he knew before lie ho died I 1 loved you said tho the man 1 I told him and I 1 promised s him id get you ile he smiled it comforted him Dad dyll for n space the girls grief swept tier her then the i she regained her self control in tho the refugo refuge of at his circling arms and now ive got you miss heather mccord no matter how hard you struggle you can never get away from me whether you like it or not youre bound straight for fort ceorge with eight bags of nuggets and gold dust what a herrl blo fatal it sounds pretty wonderful t to 0 mall me I 1 whiskered she whispered but I 1 told you tho thal worst of it A friend of mine by tile the name 0 of f stanton on an awful man who wears black clothes Is going to take your namo name away from you when hes through talking bo be poor heather cameron Cam cron heather cameron Cam cron she repeated her face radiant with happiness what n beautiful name I 1 noel nt at tho the water hole smiled as he saw above him on the river a hooded shape talus take another hooded shape in its arms while two wolf rimmed hoods hodds were blended into one and a great black dog stand ing on his hind legs pawed at the motionless figures demanding attention from the two humans ho he loved THE END |