Show i Pr M wU VII Continued ed CHAP CHAPTER T tit ti- ti out his water- water of t takIng case cale Garth Girth took up his bis bisle is gis lDA match 2 e rule le to le never burn tan g pl until yon ou have to par FaI laSt 41 pd ti h hll own paddle B JaM Jr By Dy his bis own r ollie o hours boura more will rl std rid I a of II mu Id Idd nd 4 4 d Lilith his Insolence She pointed all I k where the pleasant II ae I a oong Braces showed owed weathered white trunks e site birch the tre trees trees' It If I we are tl JI land there OAh time well we'll lan 10 m ad pleas eIa lo with Bot-with I the post so ao near my I II protested eat TobIn had bad any amount gilt lt f fellow ellow e I dAll AD the more reason Til rl 1 no not nota t I I see me mek common tV even ell a I I bat 11 ibis condition The rags rage can cant can't t I k Bot Bat the dirt I- I Out h impressed suppressed loathing for ford her bee fat I. I d aD de grease crease rS sod and grime that he herself herselt and the men I I l rancid fat I spoiled polled I yeti It Area Alan Garth I know that I Itin tin to to go 10 la In dressed like a squaw i Id B thin filth I IB IBe IDe II I De Be B gorged arced the canoe around with a powerful IW sweep P sf p j til hu piddle Sot Not necessary Miss MIls A ur Etring with hardwood ashes and Sid said wl will l do the work of soap We IVe Wea a ear Cd jo go ID la sweet the They landed where an Ice Jam if Biome tone spring up break-up had gouged muskeg mud at the ln end J Ii pike the ridge and Ind left a clear beach sand lAnd and gra graveL veL Up over flu tea toot foot rut cat bank Garth Gart started i a Ire in with one of his two remain remain- In tj matches Ko No cleaning could be done until Qi h area are burned out When Mr haul took look off ott the spits of cooked cent amt ill all squatted down as usual to L share the meal Garth smiled his ai II he be took the slab of hot sat not banded handed to him by the million- million tire alre The The smile mUe hardened A sudden lodden change had fallen upon kh i three companions lie De could full ally guess the cause They real real- realised had that this was the last meal Ac were to share as fellow voy voy- item with him The lie moment they stepp stepped l from ki 1 canoe onto the wharf at the arner DC refueling post their i fined companionship with him In InI tin be lost ralley valley and on all the long I II tip bit would be at an end Instead H of i I trio rio dependent upon their op op- I tenet for food and guidance guidance for for to tw Itself they thel they would be a trio I sot lot only oaly Independent of but hostile to II Um I l ind d his hll Interests T That t was at st least true of ot the 1 in men Ben And even th betrayed II liter her look and Ind manner vivid a con con- of ot the Impending change H sl As for the fOld in his st stare re showed kes I he a was wai anticipating the rob rob- key tj and aid win rain of ot the man who bad had so 10 ar fu outplayed them lit to had reacted In lu his tit ire a Bis us temporary suI II bad had disappeared He fib was nto PiA the bland adroit Investor In a who so ao generously presen present present- t. t td b tny prospectors with a thou thou- tad lad la is J return took over claims hI Stilts orti d many thousands thousand Hurby fL Guth Carua bees been s I hopeless case But Dut bid bed fancied there were pos- pos In the she older f pirate t however wa was the thead ad dona disappointment jm ens Though the she so tar far as Garth Oarth tell to hied disprove her declared of ot him she had seemed Lore re In and m more re to show a spirit M fair 1 t pIa play J. J It had hall led him Into c she ahe a IP jahe possessed a true spirit B By the time us Garth finished his hla slid t to halt spoiled meat n he managed an all what at else his hll U bl bitterness After Atter could he ne h have l exfer exl ex- ex fer The girl was th the daugh arton ton the ei e la i titer ot of i an b sharper Re He b broke kt In It the llIe begrimed Upon her ner rubbing Ilk Id 0 dIamond May I 1 the snit salt and tea ic bas bags Th They're ey ere re as good m 1 lee e. e R nut But os as I lor can refill III them fey return rn to the valley valle J m at him Wide Wide-at ered You too y v u r ee going back sot fo be Sur lore Wh Why not You Ton ins Ill abandon aU all that platinum placer 1 IIa e tnt fare had gone Kone blank Old With aU rancor rs their It But at lair chuck PIa course Be my the Lear be e gong back baek to Th s d did id not of turn xe her aston eston is e. from r 4 dal Garth II D Dad et understand I do bow t I You ul don B planned fanned It from M th that caribou meat Good guess he broke In It has taken a bit longer than I expected expected ex u. to get you rou out But Dut In my light birch-bark birch I fancy I can make the head of canoe water before the freeze After that frost trost and aud snow grow will make no difference Ill Til have a pair of webs webs snowshoes The millionaire spoke In place of ot othis his wild wild eyed eyed daughter But Dut man the colds 1 Garth smiled Have you rou forgotten forgot ten I told you rou that I wintered with the Eskimos at Coronation Gulf They have dog teams team Some of those teams were reared from wolf pups I 1 might experiment ex There are several wolf families In the valley Youre stark mad madl I If It you rou think you can can can- can It Mr Ir paused He lie listened to what was muttering in his ear Ills His frown smoothed out and he again favored Garth with the smile that did not go up as high as his shrewd eyes Oh well my boy If It youre you're bound bund to risk your life In foolhardy foolhardy fool fool- hardy adventuring that's that none of our business Quite so Garth agreed If our sixty forty deal had not fallen through It would have been your Jour business to do the legal assessment assessment assess assess- ment meat work on the claim But as things stand I may mal as well put In Inthe Inthe inthe the winter doing the work myself The metal I sled out with my wolf team should pay enough to buy me mea a sized fair freight plane The millionaire beamed Tea Yes Yea ah true ah-true true I I Garth smiled back at him By Dy Bythe Bythe the way I J meant to let you yon dIscover discover dis die cover for yourselves at Fort Smith the happy surprise Ive I've had all along for tor you But since youre you're so 80 pleased already over my prospects Ill In let you Into the secret right now Secret Secret at at Fort Smith Yes I 1 fo forwarded my papers by bythe the southbound Bellanca before I had the pleasure of meeting you rou and Miss My claim has been on record for the past paRt four tour weeks peeks or BO so glared with a sudden change from gloating to cold rage You lie I You were going out In your canoe lie He was on his feet almost as soon as Garth Ills His fists swung In blows driven by aU all the force torce of ot othis his furious anger Garth sidestepped sidestepped side side- stepped both and clipped In a hook book to the jaw dropped asIt as asIf asIf If It hit bit by a sledge Yet It t was not a complete knockout After Alter three or four tour seconds he sat up blinking like a dazed owl Garth had bad stepped back He said Apologize or get up and take what Is coming to you you Buxby stopped blinking The daze cleared from his eyes They took look on th their Jr usual calculating look He De felt the beard on hIs bis sore Jaw and replied with cold deliberation deUber atlon I withdraw the term terra Arrogant as was the tone the words were an unqualified apology Garth turned to Lilith who stood gazing at him with a peculiar hard glow In her blue eyes lie He spoke as 88 If It nothing had happened Some of the ashes are now cool enough for you to use Miss Silas Rub Bub them on as 81 a mud paste till the potash cuts the grease then scour with sand anI and rinse Better take your ashes In the blanket and use It for protection while you IOU do your four laun laundering The skeets streets and bulldog flies fUes are swarming You'll find dad a bit of sand beach just under that clump of spruce Without a word of ot thanks she the dragged the blanket to the edge of the nearest fire and began brushing the fluffy gray wood ashes ashel upon It with a spruce spray Her lIer father had bad been gazing thoughtfully thoughtfully thought thought- fully at Garth lie He took up his his his' empty bag Come on on Vivian This Is washday wash wash- day Take ba bag and get your potash The knapsack with Its platinum alloy allol treasure had been left attached to the mooring line I of ot the canoe There was D no as bag for tor I Garth He lIe made one by opening the front of ot his buckskin shirt and I ladling hand-ladling wood ashes Inside went over beyond the spruce thicket with her blanket blanket- bagged ashes Garth I led d Mr and to the strip of sand below below below be be- low th the beached canoe There Thea be showed them bow how to cheat chea the buzzing Insect pests rests Instead of ot s stripping for tor his laundry work he be muddled his ashes asle and plastered the paste all over his hI body and on the Inside and outside of ot his bis clothes He lIe rubbed in the mess and gave the weak solution of potash lye Ic time to act After Arter that came came II t the till rinsing lie He waded out and ami sot set down don donIn downin In III the water up to his hla neck Thus protected from the swarms of ot stingers stinger he stripped striped off oR one gar ment meat at a time washed It clean of ashes and tossed It upon the ed edge e of ot the beach Before Defore coming out he took tok a luxurious swim In the clear river water First and then rather gingerly copied Oarth's Garth's method Like him both wound up with a swim Neither 1 however ventured far out Into the vast slow Ilow flood of the Mackenzie f With the landing came the com com- edy The others othera ended their bath Ing lag before Garth Carth He Ile tread water to watch atch them Both had wrung out their clothes and flung them well up the beach The moment they splattered ashore the waiting swarms of ot blood suckers buzzed to the feast curse cursed snatched up his half dry rags an and dashed back In to dress under water Mr fro Ita m III however had bad no desire to put on wet et clothes He beat at the pests with his tattered union suit It enabled him to get ret Into the leather trousers and coat without being stung more than half halt a I hundred hun hun- dred times Garth's Garthe mirth was mixed with admiration for tor the mine Investors Investor's nerve Along with this he be felt a aglow aglow aglow glow of ot satisfaction over the results re rev suits of what his rigorous training had bad done for tor the once soft million million- aire airee Though still set heavy-set the portly gentleman had become something of an athlete In appear appear- ance Ills flabby muscles had been hardened his bis loose jowls were now firm Ills His paunch had disappeared My lily word sir Garth sang ung out you look fit for the football squad That should be worth more to you than a dozen platinum claims At least you rou might toss tOSI me my buck buck- skins Mellowed Bellowed by the bath and swim to a temporary return of friendly friendliness ness the millionaire chuckled and came down the beach to fling the sodden garments out to their own own- er His IIII loitering afterwards may mal have been for Yet he went back to the dead fires fireD with Garth Oarth when the engineer muttered something something something some some- thing about abut having dropped his bis penknife As the two disappeared over the top of the Ice gouged bank sprang to open the knap knap- liar k t q 1 W J J V cs W. W e Garth Stepped Side-Stepped Both and Clipped In a Hook to the Jaw sack sac From It he snatched out a apiece apiece apiece piece of rancid cub bear-cub fat a clip of ot pistol cartridges and his lost automatic With swift purposeful movements movements move move- ments menta he rubbed the fat tat on the rusty pistol and began working the mechanism It jammed repeat repeat- edly But nut as 81 the sun melted fat soaked the rust the action became normal Still quick yet unhurried he be loa loaded ed the clip cUp Into the hollow butt and slid back the outer barrel to throw a cartridge Into the breech As was of course to be expected Lilith had not returned from her own dip and wood wood ashes ashes laun laun- dering Garth sat lat down beside theUn the tin Un cup and little aluminum pot to mend a rip In his bis buckskin buc trousers Still In a friendly mood but with shrewd calculation In his eyes eres Mr Br stretched out on his back In the long grass grasa beside Garth Well Yell young oung man moD It appears that the game Is played out The had bad the joke on 00 us UI is le that you cards stacked A cold deck and no stakes up up Garth differed Why not put It according to the facts sir I offered of a square deal deal deal-a a straight business proposition The placer was In on that Had I not sent out my papers for record I would have had no legal claim to offer otter In ID my bargaining Why Why er er But nut when I refused your terms and you refused mine you said yo you preferred to play out the game My 1111 game Garth qualified not who was wU and yours youra It you stacked tacked cards carll thought you 00 had hod the to win But your Slut your game garnet You Yoc sad the placer clinched Why not have ha said so at once or at least there at the lake when you turned the tables on us 1 ml might ht have accepted your terms At lEa least leant t we could have haie flown out together Instead of going through all ull there Creeks I rek of or lion and li rd lill I The 1 lit Inet I t wriN wi Wu U sad led glance Tram rum furl Hardship privation privation Ion Tos mutt must know several fellow millionaires who ho call calt It prime ll sport Ort to spend a month in to the bush Sport 1 Oh well If you rou cant can't see IC that side of ot It It just recall yourself as al you rou were ere when I r had to hoist you rOil out of the monoplane cabin That held the millionaire for tor a long moment Then Then Then- Admitting how bow much Ive I've bene bene- flied from your health cure curt Doctor Garth your four methods have done my ml future son law no good As AI formy for formy my ml daughter to drag a I delicately nurtured lady Into the dirt and privations and dangers of your raw wilds wilds- Delicate I Garth cut tut In Do Doyon yoU yon know of anyone more hard ard The rhe point In her case Is II that she was only a brittle harsh alloy allol Now she's she at least partly tempered Into true steel I had hopes of ot still better bet ter results from the both of you IOU But nut hate bate and treachery blacken the blood At the bitter statement the mil millionaire flushed with anger lIe He started to turn over OTer on his side to frown froWD at Garth The movement drew Garth's Oarth's glance Above a clump of wild currants less than ten paces distant he glimpsed the top of hat and the muzzle of the automatic As AI Garth ducked forward the pistol blared Garth pitched down on his face At the same Instant startled by the shot Mr jerked up on his elbow The long grass had bad hidden him could not have known that his hi partner was lying so close beside Garth In the excitement of the moment he be must have thought he had missed his kill and that Garth was war bounding up op again He De Instantly pulled the trigger a second time Knocked over b by the shock of ot the bullet the millionaire sprawled across the flaccid body of ot Garth Oarth Even as 81 the roar of the second shot dinned In his ears the killer saw what he had done The pistol pistol dropped from his hll paralyzed hand Before he be could recover his hll wits Lilith burst bunt screaming from the spruce thicket Half Dalf clad wet hate hair flying filing she dashed forward to fling herself herselt down on her bare knees beside beside be be- side aide her father Under the partly washed off oiZ coat of mosquito dope his face faje was wal the same sallow gray as She looked up her eyes black with horror |