Show z N VR lop STRING R TUB THE stony 80 to help his partner clager keep norland airways airway in business alan glade blade agrees to fly a named frayne anil and Ws assistant si litant stant karnell harriet to the Anaw otto river la in search ot of the trumpeter wan swan will th the 1 I proceeds proceed cruger croger has bai bought a now new plant plane a Lk lockheed heed which li Is stolen while slade blade Is I 1 away the plane must be round found or norland airways airway Is I 1 through when be returns return glade blade starts out again with only two wo clues to recover the plane the first ant clue li Is the devil bird the eskimo Uni anah believes bel levei comes come from echo harbor the second li is slade hunch bunch that the lost loat plane plan and the twan swan hunter frayne are somehow omehaw connected lie ile files batic bade to where he left frayne only to find britt that frayne I 1 li apparently just hunting swans iw ani there I 1 li no sign im ot of the lost loit plane now continue with the story ile ho would be glad ho he knew to hear the roar of that engine again lie even quickened his pace as he recognized the cove where his ship was anchored then his gladness vanished and a tingle of apprehension went through his body for as he glanced down at the waterfront ho he saw that his mooring lines had been cost cast off and his plane was adrift ile he could see it moving in the freshening breeze circling slowly about until the pontoon grounded on a gravel bar ills response to that discovery was both immediate and unreasoned lie ile went sliding down the ridge side and splashing pl ashing through the shallows as he rounded the cove end the intrude aboard er the plane must have seen him as he went slade blade could make out ft a wide shouldered figure clambering down to i float ft a figure that hesitated for only ft a moment and then leaped into the he shallow hallow water and waded ashore once ashore he slipped away into the spruce lopes and aad was lost to sight slades blades first impulse was to race after him but the most important thing he remembered was his plane he went splashing out and climbed aboard there his quick eye inventoried inventories Invent oried his instrument board assessed engine and controls and discovered no damage to hh ship ills smile was grim as he replaced the breaker assembly which was essential to the life of his motor its absence he suspected had kept that wide shouldered intruder from taking off and disappearing into the unknown and that wide dered he had every reason to believe was fracnes Fr aynes man karnell indignation was still burning through slades blades body as he gunned the tha motor and rose into the air lie he circled twice over the lakeside spruce slopes searching without reward for any sign of life there then he veered back and circled twice over the island studded water where he knew fracnes Fr aynes observation post to be but the only sign of life he be caught from that quarter was the sudden wing flutter of a huge male trumpeter who interrupted his watchful drift ings to lift his hii long neck and fling a cry of de defiance flance up at the cloud cleaving wings of his rival slade blade caught the sound of that trumpeted challenge even through his engine roar as he turned south and headed for the camp at the mouth of the kamakana Kas akana slade had the feeling of being in more friendly territory he saw lake once moro more under his floats but no welcoming figures emerged from the shack as he circled over it in the evening light no kindly old voice called out to him as he be moored beside the landing stage that left him both puzzled and depressed until his ear caught the sound of a distant detonation ile he knew well enough the meaning of that blast it meant that zeke and minty had foregone their usual supper hour to keep on with their mine work delving like badgers along some now new drift or pounding rock at the bottom of some new test pit slade standing back between the shadowy ore piles could see zeke crimp a mercury cap with his bis teeth and stick it into a dynamite cartridge before disappearing in the pit mouth it was that old sourdoughs fixed rule he remembered never to use powder until down to hard rock their methods may have been those of a passing generation but they had bad found something worth while for after a second detona tion and a second scrambling down the pit mouth slade could hear mm min tys cackle of triumph as he inspected a fragment of blue quartz which zekea tremulous fingers held just under his nose I 1 shea rich all right cried minty you can see tier her with the naked eye ashes the best yet zeke agreed as he ha continued to squint at the ragged quartz slab and now we know ashes there you old thimble ribber its about time to call it a day it was then that slade called out to them that call through the long doured evening light caused minty to io wheel about with a startled grunt at the same moment that zekes aekes long arm swung out to catch up a rifle that had rested unseen ag abw the windlass frame put pui it down you old quartz chip per put it down was slades cry as i he advanced toward them the two taut figures relaxed the 10 moment and then leaped into tho the A figure that hesitated for only a shallow water hostility went out of their faces but bu aekes zekes eyes remained troubled you do things like that thai lindy I 1 inight ve given you a alt air hole through the esophagus esoph agua id rather you gave me a meal said the newcomer new comer camer as aa they shook hands and headed toward the shack youre too old to keep to a sixteen hour day like this A minty pointed an accusatory finger at the flyer so youre givin us the goby go by these days he que questioned stoned what does that mean asked slade as they trudged sh ackward you in this neighborhood two nights ago slade blade stopped in his tracks why do you ask that cause I 1 heard you when you ou came down to pick up them gas drums and I 1 heard you the day before over the hills minty asserted walt wait a minute cried slade you dont mean my gas Is gone you know its gone you night prowl ln puddle jumper but why in heck did you tote oft them two dozen old ori ore bags slade studied the two old faces so wrinkled with concern you say you heard a plane he questioned we sure did said minty and hoard heard it more in n once more I 1 seen it this said slade Is going to need q a little looking into zeke agreed with him we dont want no strangers snooping snoop ln InI round this territory he proclaimed how about that nincompoop in specks chos out swans nests questioned minty lies hes the only outsider within a crow flight 0 this camp but he has no plane said slade and no need tor for one well hed better keep clear 0 this claim croaked the embattled minty but two can play at that game minty slade pointed out and theres something going on between here and echo harbor that needs a bit of looking into 1 I seen a plane all right maintained the scowling minty but I 1 cant figger out why hed be flynn across empty country or what in heck held hed swipe two dozen ore bags for added zeke apprehensive eye rested on the young flyer looks to me son as though you was the bird to do some needed scout ln round here that snowball snow ball bali baby 0 yours could cover the whole barrens while minty and me was footle it through fifteen miles 0 muskeg 11 youre right zeke 11 slade ac and after I 1 swing south tomorrow im coming back to do a little investigating along the Anaw otto slade high talling it for his home port on the headed southward with a sense of something unfinished a a problem unsolved his 1113 first move after landing and having a few hurried words with the redoubtable cas tidy was to hurry over to cruger and his plain boarded administration building what held you up was that officials curt demand stolen gas said slade theres somebody robbing our emergency caches cruger at that announcement wheeled about on him at what st stations aVons at wolf lake and later at avi kaka the pilot could see his chiefs mouth harden with exasperation so were getting it from all sides 1 exclaimer exclaim ea cruger you know of course we spotted a trace of that lost lockheed slade nodded 1 I talked with cassidy down at the dock id a question or two I 1 wanted to ask him it help much nothing from cassidy has helped much said his partner but a plane c cant a n t be carr carried le d 0 off if I 1 like ike a snatched pocketbook it cant be hidden away and it cant be sold and it cant be passed on to others then what weats s the answer asked cruger thata something some LhIng still ahead I 1 of I 1 us said cruger every ship in this s dominion has to pass governmental inspection and carry a license it cant make a move with out being checked and counter checked it land across the llna line without customs permits and it stay there without be ing reported 01 its a pretty big country was slades altogether unsatisfactory re ply not to a cloud dodger who can go from here to in fourteen hours contended cruger who add ed not without acerbity and keep his eyes opeal slade was willing to let that pass did you ever stop to think about motives he asked in the swiping of that lockheed im not a mind reader retorted the older man but I 1 know this much a crackpot crack pot high jack a plane like that would always be ready to take chances in the air ile he must have known how to fly brugers crugers Cru gera gers eye became meditative as it went up to the wall map you mentioned the he said well on toward the Anaw otto it slade acknowledged that it was about as empty country as youve got on your run its not on my run but its empty all right mostly bird ufa life and barrens its the district I 1 dropped your swan hunter in Cru brugers crugers gers gaze became reflective oh yes the swan hunter he told us he wanted to stay anchored there until after the freeze up and perhaps later said slade 1 I saw him on my way south AU ali he seems to want just now Is to be left alone it just add up said cruger slade alado tried to make his smile a casual one how about me trying to mako make it add up he be suggested he had I 1 as he stood there been doing a bit of rough and ready mathematics of his own what could you do after dropping my pay load at conjurors conjurers Con jurors day bay slade suggested 1 I might scout around where I 1 felt it would do the most good I 1 mean scout around in earnest Cru brugers crugers gers glance went up tip to the wall map again the fields too big he said no one man could fine comb that territory and in a couple of weeks wed have you to look for id take a chance on that said the man with the viking eyes but you even know what you were looking for 0 dont be too sure of that was the delusively casual reply ive a hunch or two id rather like to sound out about what first about that Anaw otto country this company cant operate on hunches cruger averred in a voice that was less friendly than his gaze and a fine country to get lost in 1 I dont think id get lost slade said 1 I know the layout lay out there a little better than most bush hawks and it if I 1 went in id go with camp equipment and extra fuel and rations and grow whiskers and go native observed cruger and leave us with two planes out of eill slade ignored the note cf mockery 1 I usually get brick he announced noun ced crugers brugers Cru gers face lost its frown you do he acknowledged but a trip like that would mean two way radio to keep in touch with us 1 I woul int want radio said slade that would be spilling the beans tu to everyone between edmonton and point barrow what id rather have would be a belt ax and an air mattress and perhaps a fish net and a magazine rifle and an extry mosquito bar the flies files are bai bad in that section these days sounds to me lindy as aj though you wanted to follow up that looney bird lover and look to no I 1 wont be looking to tor swans said slade it will be fo fot something bigger than a trumpet trump cj 11 er TO UE BE CONTINUED |