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Show 1 """""" ' ... i , Men. Marooiried By QEQRGE MARSH W.NU S.rvl.o, C.iij i lull! hy "I'lid I'min I ' u hi IjiI 1 1 n t l'u. 5 Nl Ulllblril lu:illns it l l ) 1 1 1 1 1 1 III till' snow the sh'il ! Ilo ni-opi'd fur 1 1 1 lii'nps lli:il inn rl, Ihi' friii'ii (n(;s, lull liiv nin. 'I'hcy w i'i t' K"ii''. KlU'iint'V Hi' linil Ihi'iii up lulu (In1 sii'iicc. In Ills Joy Ciirlli Lnrll nml Iiiij:;;i'I lln' In1 slu't'lt'il tnuly of the nivu! ulrt'-ilnli' ulrt'-ilnli' wlmsc Ioiikho fomid Ills iniislcr'a flll'O. KimhI ! 'I'lic sli'il loiul whs imtoiu'lii'il. l'.ll- t'llllt' ll.'Ul llllll 1 1 II t dill' tlioiiKliI I" sat Ills lo;;s. Sd (Iill'Ill slnslli'il lilt' fro:u'n Insliiiifis nml rt'ii i-l ici I a unili-I!IK. unili-I!IK. I'llH nml Ui'llli1; llii'ii sliirlcil for the uiiiii, fdllowliiK lillnilly Ilic iloi; wlio iiosril oiil Ilic ii'iuUs of tlit' tram. Tin' dull cliiw f tin' II iv tlirou'li the hlur of snow I im I tlioni ovi'i- the Inst yai'ils. Tlit'iv. on Ills knees, Kiieiine was Wdi'kln over Ills luisUies" le;;s. "tlrr.h nml ii (Mill!" slnniteil (lai'lli, as lie seddpeil up snow for ten. "(iooil dhl (.'astdi'l Vmi feel li.'ller now'.'" 'I'lie husky, sprawled near tin- lilnz-li'i; lilnz-li'i; Inus, lifted his (all In response. "Ier nioeensin save iler feet." said Ktienne. "tlooil tin;; dey etlt feet on de Imsli so we put en de slioe." "l'.ut Low did von K'l tlieni up to follow you? They were eluse lo fro.en when we left them." lUleline grinned iih he pinched and rul'lied a pair of hairy paws. "I husky ees ver' smart feller. I'ey were nil tire out hut not start to freeze w'en we left ili'iii. Den leelle turn, (ley so tire and lunwee, d 'V free:'.a. l'.ut l'tienne tell dein dat supper start soon, mid dey eomo to life, toute suile. Pen I dra' dein here." T'll pi l-aek for h'aiikets." said the nuieli relieved (luthrie, and with w.i :! 1 be n halllo wm-lh wnlHilnir 1 1 1 1 1 ; . 1 1 1 ( ! a i Ih, I.i en lor I lie ii.nl lug hi Mil' lolli'ly allev of Hie ('alioe he I ween I he grin pin;; ( 'n e who had he Hayed Mtii iiihI Hie reroun-el'ul a valine. Pul one eoiiilll Inn he had In poi.eil on I lie liiill breed I I ill I I here mIioiiIiI he im blood In il. Tin y had eonie lo Aklml.'-kl lo mh e the Irade, of Ihe luiiire, as well as Hie pre i nt. and under no elnaim lames wis lie-head lie-head man lo nhia.e or Hirealen elllier Saul or his ( ii ii,. lie. (lulhrle, would hae soiiiellilug o say eourei nln:: Ihe long ariii of Ihe eompany In Iim luliiri' dealiiigs with the mini who hail de-Herled de-Herled to Hie enemy ; lull I he com-lininil com-lininil wan - no lighting. "Will you do wllh dal MokomanV" liml demnniled l illenne w II h a grliiiaee. "If he shows up at the pow wow, nml Inlerl'ereM, I'l leave lilm lo you." "I tak' good eare of heeni," gruiiled Ihe other. At Hie fork they left Ihe main river trail lo follow the bi'anih lending n i ii' 1 1 1. "I ay nil go to KouiTm hi rl y." laughed i :t Icniic. 'T our, Ih e team pass here ills morning.'1 As Ihe tender fooled ImskleH drew Ihe shil nl n walk or slow trot, Shot reveled In the game sign of the serub along Khore. (in n fori y Into the limber, lim-ber, Hie Irall of Ihe niowshoe-rabblt. wlileli hail I'i-h I lured him, was crossed hy that of n more enlleliig fox. Keen wllh Ihi' lust for the hunt, Shot followed fol-lowed the Irall hack through the serub nml out Inio the open barren on llm shoulders of the valley. There, far from the river, he slopped. Iiefore him the wel.be d Imprint of snowshoes cut the fox tracks he followed. Tin; dog sullied curiously, but It was u vague, unfamiliar scent that the fredi trail carried. Slowly at llrst, then lit a lope, be followed It down through the limber. As be tieared the river the voices of (larlh and ICtlenne drift, ed faintly In from the Ice. The dog was puzzled. From his rigid war training he had learned silence when busni...s was afoot. And this seemed bil ini's. I'.y the hour he had walched shell holes from trenches had patrolled pa-trolled forest, ns at pr sent. In absolute abso-lute silence. In some occult way the l.ecn-v.llied dog seemed that again, there In the white in .VI li far from I leiiilsl, battle III Ills, I.i' was at his old trade, guarding with ipilverlng nostrils, eyes nml ears tense, the safety of the man out there on the lee. (in he went, weaving In mid out of the thick scrub, relentless ns a wolf. Suddenly the nlredale stiffened, hair rising like brush bristles along his spine. Near the shore 111 tin; thicket ahead was something (lark, motionless. The war dog froze, stiff us the spruce above him. one paw suspenih-il la air. A vague scent reached his working nostri!i. Then, like n lynx thrnii-di the dusk, the airedale drifted up the trail. (nit on the river Ice the voii-e of C.ailh called, "Here, Shot!" l'.ut the bead of the dog did not turn. His small, terrier eyes never left the shape on the snow, lie knew that the lean, brown barrel thrust before the dark body was a rifle n maker of fire and death. Threi four steps nearer, then patli-crlng patli-crlng beneath him the steel springs which were the muscles of his legs, the airedale leaped. As Shot's fangs ripped Into the shoulder of the Indian's Indi-an's capote, the rifle exploded. A bullet ricocheted from the frozen sled cover mid whined away over the river. Two men dropped behind the sled, ns the team stopped. Ilencblng up, Ktienne wrenched bis cased rille from Its lash-Iiil's lash-Iiil's mid fired twice below n shred of blue smoke hanging In the spruce, where an enraged dog silently grappled grap-pled with an unknown enemy, r.ut his lire was not returned. There, under un-der the trees, an Indian frantically fought to turn his rifle on the maddened mad-dened brute who hail ripped parka to ribbons and burled him backward to the snow. Parrying the snap of punishing fangs with a blow of his gun butt, the Indian gained his feet, to meet nnother lunge before he aimed his gun. Again the dog leaped, carrying car-rying the man with him. Fangs slashed nt hared throat a choked cry the niivdale's Jaws shut on dark flesh ripped and the would-be assassin as-sassin lay on the snow with a torn throat. (TO BE CONTINUED.) "Yes, mid hunter down de riviere nil weel go." "How far Is II?" "Not fur ten mile inehhe more, ovulr de hill." (hirlh'a month shut Intnl. "Well, lillenne. we haven't been Invited, but we'll Kuptv nl tend that parly." lillenne nodded. "Hut dees Solid, w'y he tak' do troubl' to do (lees Hug?" "He's going to tell the linnlers Hint Ihe splrllM nro the frleinlH of McDon-iihl McDon-iihl ami they must tnku their fur lo the schooner." "I feex dat for boom. I tell de free ovulr doro dat you and I watch de schooner at night, an' see lire conn; out of her an' de devil dance on tie mast. I scare dose sijuuw so bad, one had de 111." "How about Ihe men?" "I icy Willi to see Solid but dey are scare." "Where Is this Mokoiunn?" "He bus gone to de Cunoe. He was not wld Solid." "Well, we head for the Canoe nt daylight. Will the dogs he able to travel? If not, wo go without them." "Ah hah, de dogs can walk lo de Canoe." "We may not persuade the haulers to cross the Ice wllh us, but we can make It lad for sorcerer Solid wlcn he tries his inuniho lumbo. Will he dare make bis medicine when he sees us':" Savaiine scratched his head i. fore replying. "Soni"t'lii'.; e. n tlis dat ees OUeer. 1 Vy say ShiiiI has not met .Mekol'Kin, I'll' he was here o: ie l"li'l" loir; . mi. 1 ere w as troubl'. too. w i I French eompaii. e, down tie llahhlt " "What kind of tro: I.'. lighting?" "Ah hah! I 'is I'l;:, !. heard run d Fn ii 'li ('re,' mail" (!' b e drive ih-m en" de I. Ian'." "He did. did he? Well, that will cook Mel 'i Haiti's goose for ni".l year. The government v. ill have the ,ic up here wailing for that schooner on her return. I: tin 'em on" the Man,:? ( ; 1 ! I only w i - h he'd t ry that with us. I wouldn't luim! nwiting up wi:h Monsieur r.reaull of St. .Johns."' Ktienne drew a lui.g s' inning l.nl e from Ids Inside s;isli. "I would la'; I,, cut d -m v.i.isi.ei-r ui, d; or" s:,,:t e, n (i lie, '.;.-' "Ill bet JIUI Would. Voll ol, knife- I I'gllter i l.li.e Ihe Job toil ii d on ( lae-I'.M lae-I'.M 1 Louis, up at Cod's lake." Ktienne sillillti'd lllole; l! " f, of I the l.i.i.'e th'-n ran n ihumb oer It. "I".i eault In '.lit laa f. aiaie." he sa'd !:: :!". ami n tnrr.w! il..- I i.ife to its j In liie I. 'no dawn tie d ,g t'am pull d (":: "f camp h a:m .h-wn river to I iie v. , I f ir'.:. which would tak" them north tl.roaali a gasi, in i;,,. i:,r. reus to the w at, rs!..- 1 of the ( 'ai The norther had hft much drifted snow and the stiPT legs of i!:c l,n I ies cut the pace to ii walk. Shot, exu'ier ir.t crier his two days of enforced Idleness, ranged to the front and thinks In search of ptarmigan, rabbit and mouse. .Mens Hi" river. He broken-out drift In the old trail market! the hunters on their way to the rendezvous on the Canoe. It was evident that the Crce trappers in th. north of the island were bound for the medicine lodge of the oh shaman. Twenty to thirty hunters with n eat eh of nt least cue hundred foxes would gather to witness the necromancy of the conjurer. Cn the power of the old man's magic would depeuo the destination des-tination of twenty thousand dollars' worth of fox pells. Whether Klkwnn or the schooner nt Seal cove was to enjoy a rich Christmas trade would h- determined by the ability of Saul and his spirit coadjutors to nullify the superstitious fears nrtuts-ed by Hi" sinister sin-ister rumors of the crafty Ktienne. It ,"-'- v--j-sT-s'.vr "A Vs?.v v--Ts-'-V-. -V' -T-- . .1 ' ,U r . t A v :-',. ," : y if' ' V, -t-r Xi mm ii ii mum I m 1 1 mu a CHAPTEri VIII Ccnl! n n o 1 facing the drive of the wind, the leiiin fought lis way slowly down over the fio:.cii tundra. Willi night the frost sllltenetl, nml the needle-pointed barrage of snow crystals stung the lac s of men and (legs like the lash of myriad whips. Heads down to avoid the agony, men nml dogs swung away from the thrust of the wind, uniil the bah' breed, straightening again, felt the bleat of the blk'i'nrd on his right eheeU, and cleii:g'd their course. Often, unable to lace the burst of e,lg. d torment ou their noses, the d.'gs lay down, backs to the drive, re-nisiiig re-nisiiig to move. Then, (iarth and flit tine, lifting them to their feet, ('ragged the team ami sled until the huskies again leaned Into their collars. col-lars. ITindly into the murk walling them in plunged the tireless half-h: half-h: old. hading Ihe way to the shelter of tiie far timber and food. Willi face frostbitten from exposure In feeling for direction, hands numb from untangling wiih niitienless lingers the f.e:-.cn harness of the dogs, liiienne plunged down the sloping tundra. His face buried in his hood and constantly constant-ly lighting to save his numbing fingers, t iarth followed. There Unshed through his mind tales told nt the pust ef frees caught, a.: Ihey were, t a the high barrens, and found stllT in the snow. l'.ut, ns he doubled :. gainst the drive of the bii.-..:artl, biinded. unable to see tin in ahead; c:';ea swinging o.T the trail while, I. , ihling true, the canny lead-dog passed him w ith the team. ( iarth ( hit line li-ne never doubted that they woul. win to tiie timber nml shelter. Two grinding hours of shivery on lacerated feet into the pin-pointed fury, and turning in their harness, the spent dogs biy down, refusing to move. Numb to threats or urging, the I ea;t-h:oken huskies, crusted with ice. hat! made their choice. liather tia.n the torture which Hayed their faces, they would lie. backs to the b :rn.ge. while the withering w ind siowl.v sTilTeuc.l them to ice. There was tiodiitig the men could d". The t! 'irs were '.h ue. "T turn d, m loose. We hunt de tim- h. r." ii:ic:.ne shouted into earth's I. cod. With his l:t)ii he slashed the t; ;.'s from tin ir fror.en harness. Put l' e I. ',!-;::, s lay while the snow b "at over t'a:.i. n f'! 'ing their f.-eeilotn. ' ' white-coated from lx.se to tail, gi:.;: -riy mur.xied the motionless shapi s. CasTor. alone, re.-euted the act by a fcehie snap. Lifting their h ads. urn! skakin:,' them. Carlh in fa: li ceiled their names, but the Laail nt'ss of the white death already was in their blood. C aitly he li.'ted CiisPT to his fket. but the leader sank hi ae'y to the snow. "Cood-hy, boys:" he called to the white shapes hy the sled. "You gave us ell you had. (iood-hy :" "ii y v. eel fri eze in ten minute i. ivair f el eet now." shouted Ktienne, i. is voice breaking as iie turned from i. last word with his favorite Castor. Sktlttr and (ire: All thought of the fid I, i!i ii under the sled cover bad b-'.f ii.em. The windbreak of the , race meant tire, warmth, life but i.o..' far was the timber? With t he tix :.o:n t he sled the two men started, i-l. at at their heels. A hundred yards lifeline stumbled, stopped while Caiiii lunged into him. The man on his knees turned to the other. "De spruce eet ees here:" ills .snow-shoes had fouled a dwarf iruce in the edge of the timber. : v.if,ly now they plunged ahead, seeking seek-ing the heavier growth. In u hundred yards they were in thick bush. While Cuthrie scraped out a tire-hole tire-hole with a snow-shoe. Ktienne gath-ntd gath-ntd dry spruce twigs and .started a fire; then slashed down saplings and soon had a comforting heat in the mow-hole behind the wind-break. With the warmth the men rubbed the t ireulation into numbed hands and faces. l'.ut out on the tundra in the d:ive of the. blizzard lay five loyal - f. h nds. stiffening under the drift. Leaving the lire Garth and Ktienne ftarted lo back-track to the sled. Cuihrie, with Shot alternately plunging plung-ing ahead ami returning to lind his master, had gone hut a short distance into the blackness with its sjiot-like hail of fine snow, when he found that he had drifted away from the half-b half-b ted. Too dark to locate tracks in the snow which filled at once with drift, he kept on with the wind on l is left shoulder. Suddenly he missed Shot. lie stopped and shouted, hoping hop-ing the dog was near, but the airedale aire-dale was lost, or had left hiin. Why? Continuing down wind, counting his paces, at last Guthrie knew that he had passed the sled in the blind murk, so circled. Ktienne had said the dogs would freeze in ten minutes and he had missed them ; lost the chance to save the huskies who had given him their all that grim December day. Then a white body shouldered into his legs Shot "Where did you go?" he shouted into the dog's ear. Rut the excited beast left m to plunge into the sroi-m then returned to seize Garth's rnitteued hand. following the dog for a space he With the Warmth the Men Rubbed the Circulation Into Numbed Hands and Faces. Shot, went to the sled and returned with robes, and the whitelish for the furnished huskies. Later, snug before their tire In the wind-break of the timber, two men and six dogs slept the sleep of exhaustion, ex-haustion, while the norther drove across the white tundra. Although the wind ceased nm the snow censed by noon of the following day. the crippled dogs held Guthrie to his camp. With his glasses he located the smoke of cooking tires In Ihe scrub across the basin, and In the early afternoon Ktienne slipped ids moccasins moc-casins into the thongs of his snow-shoes snow-shoes and started for the camp of the hunters, while Garth, whose knowledge knowl-edge of Cree was limited, stayed with the dogs. . As (iarth watched a boiling kettle of salt wavy, and bannock baking in a tilted frying pan, the dogs announced an-nounced the return of Ktienne through the dusk. Much depended upon what the bend man had learned, and Guthrie probed the immobile features as the half-breed thrust his shoes In a drift and stepped to the fire. "Well, what news?" From the gravity of his expression It was clear that Savanne was struggling strug-gling with a problem dlllicult and baffling. "Ver' queer t'ing ver' queer!" was the unresponsive answer us Ktienne dropped his mittens on their neck thong to warm ids hands at the fire. "What is?" "What dose Cree tell me. Here are eight hunter wid camp een dis valley here; some from Kl-kwan anil some from down de coast. I talk to dem all. Wat dey say ees ver' strange." "Well, for heaven's sake shoot!" "Souci has been here two free day back. lie invite dem to the Canoe Riviere w'ere he mak' de beeg medicine." medi-cine." "Did he get them to promise to take their fur to the schooner?" "Xo! Mokonian, he talk to dem strong, too, but dey not know w'at dey do w'en r say de strait froze. Dey have mooch fox silver, black and cross." "They are going to Soucia powwow?" |