Show e tJ cy a r u vL C CHAPTER IX IX Continued Continued 14 Instead of ot turning back bRck at the girls girl's cry Crl of ot appeal Garth quickened quickened quick quirk ened life his stride to a run A severe levere blizzard J would thicken the skim Ice Ire and nd close the water lane lone out from the stream tream mouth That would mean a watt wait until the stream ran dry with the tho up freeze-up of ot the gla cier cler Above Aboe the site of ot his hll old camp Garth Oneth halted hafted and signed for tor bale bis companion to listen Usten Down through tho the snowy stillness came a clear ring of metal on M metaL drilling below the frost frost- line to blast binet a shaft shat he said gravel on OD bedrock at the foot toot of ot the placer trough Dillon forged forced Into the lead Y ull trail troll me now sir Without any anI protest Garth fell In behind The Law taw was Will now In commane com corn mane mand A few tew II strides rIde brought them to the dyke of ot Igneous rock that walled the tile lower end of ot the pl placer trough From behind a stunted spruce the they peered perrell across the treeless tree tree- less lees width of lt rock to where a large fire Ore was naming flaming at the edge of ot the matted timberline scrub Over Oer the fire hung three big Iron kettles Beside It stood a small cradle for tor rocking gravel gravell But nut there was no one working the rocker nor was there anyone In sight fight Even the ring of ot sledge on drill In the newly dug dur pit just JOlt beyond the Ore fire had bad ceased ceo lied Not so ao good Garth Oarth murmured Im not so 10 Pure lure It Its It's a surprise You I stay tal here sir N No Constable Dillon spoke with cool logic It If Its It's a surprise I need no assistance It If ho Is ls warned and prepared to resist better for tor you rou to support me from cover conr cover Well Welt perhaps The only way sir You Ton stood responsible responsible re ro for tor bringing the young oung lady f Very well ell Dillon he agreed Walt till I take position He lIe shifted to the left II side de of ot the stunted spruce pruce end and crouched down where he be could peer between the tower lower branches At the other side lId the constable stood tood up and stepped out Into tho the open ollen Hardly was he be clear of ot cover when a harsh shout came from the tho scrub beside the theare fire are I Haiti Throw up your lour hands I Constable Dillon JUon paused Hut But he did not nM put up his hands band The Northwest poll police pollee do not surrender lurrender Dillon merely merell swung tho the barrel of ot his bale carbine backward under his arm and made quiet reply t tI tI I 1 have hue here a warrant for tor the arrest anet of ot Vivian for tor theft and nd assault to murder Any per peron son on who Interfere with his bl arrest will make mate themselves liable nah Bah you rou cock capped rock capped red Jay Jal you cant can't bluff blue me gibed Youre Your covered Move an and l you get et a bullet through you yon Drop that Lion gun n anI and shove hove up op your lour hands bandL A It sideward jumping down thrown down thrown ti would have bue put the constable back In la cover nut But he was wae a member of ot the Northwest Mounted l Police Retreat Re e. e treat could coul l no ao more be considered by hI him than surrender lurrender Also he hei ha had bad l no authority to shoot his man ma The warrant called oDI only for tor the arrest arrest ar ar- ar rest reat of or the th accused lie He bad had to do dobis dohis his bis duty at whatever risk You Tou will be well advised not to resist be he said laid With that he be raised hU bit right snowshoe and slid IUd It up a low cross cross- drift In a forward step As AI he be bent forward to bring brine up op the other web a rifle roared In the dense shrub Garth Oarth fired Into the faint taint bate base puff of ot smokeless powder Hack flack came a bullet that clipped a branch branchat at his left elbow lie He shifted sideway side aide ways way towards the tree trunk trant and androse androse rose roae to peer through a higher open open- lag Ing A slight abt movement of ot a spruce spray In the scrub brought his rifle to his hll shoulder Another twitch of ot that spruce twig Ill His 1111 finger tightened on the trigger triner trigger Crash I lie He hurled down downen co on his hll right side aide The first thought that Cubed Into his hll mind was as that his bit rifle rIlle bad had burst buret Ills His right arm z 4 bad had gone lone numb as al If It broken by bl the shock F Luckily be he did be-did did not at once try to spring up As AI he paused to feel teel at atthe the numb arm with his bis left band had the bark flew new from a limb close over oYer bats bis bead The scar Icar of ot white wood showed that the bullet bad had been fired amS from oft off to his left ne He e flattened down and crawled Into the hollow hollo alongside the tree trunk In la the hollow lay bit ht II rifle It had bad not burst bunt Dut But that was no tto consolation The first shot hot from I 0 oft off to the left had bd struck square against the side aide of ot the breech and m smashed mashed the magazine i ve O wok took at the weapon showed i that U t wai xa lie Ue wormed DIll DM t I It to the far tar side of at the tree trunk During all alt the many seconds that had passed since the firing of ot th the first drat slot shot he ho had lied heard no call nor any sound lound whatever from Constable Dillon Ho lie peered out under the thelow thelow thelow low drooped spruce boughs on that side Ihlo of ot the tree As AI he expected the Ule worst bad had happened The policeman lay on his back lie He had been shot through the heart Ono One glance told tole Garth the tho fact that his bis companion was WOI beyond beyond be be- yond fond all alt aid He Ue looked for tor the constables constable's ear car bane bine It was nowhere In sight The Thelow Thelow Thelow low drift behind which Dillon had hac fallen gave glYe Garth enough cover to crawl out besIde the body bod nut But the carbine was Will not under uDder Its owner I Garth pulled the snowshoes from the feet of ot the dead deai man On the heel of ot one web he perched the constables constables constable's con on stables stable's cap He lIe reached out sideways sideways side side- ways and lifted the cap so 10 that It peered a above ove the top of ot the drift The cap flipped nipped back off ort the snowshoes snowshoes snow snow- shoes pierced through by bl a bullet from the th scrub behind the lire fire At the roar of ot the shot Garth bobbed up three feet ted to the left lert to look for the missing carbine It lay Iy half halt hurled In the snow Inow a long tong ten feet teet away wal When shot Dillon must have bave flung nung out his hll hands handl as al he be pitched over backwards had proved he could shoot I a rifle with deadly accuracy and sad his hll men were nearly as expert TO TOmake makes make a dash duh for the carbine would he ho equivalent to committing suicide To lie He quiet would give alve the killers time to realize there was wal no rifle waiting to meet their attack The fourth man might already be cir clr circling cling to creep In from the rear With his knife Garth slashed out the webs of ot Dillons Dillon's snowshoes Then worming his way Wal backwards he started to drag dral the boll body down down- slope Hope The tree put him under undercover undercover undercover cover from the tho two killers near the fire are A drift enabled him to crawl to another tree treo without being belna seen seeD by bl the man off ort to the left A sideward shift brought him to the shallow channel chandel of ot the frozen spring rill He tie swung Vung the body of ot the constable across his hla shoulders stepped Into his bli snowshoes and ran rao aslant Every Everl few tew seconds that passed without the roar of a rifle behind him meant a I widened margin marID of safety Whatever the cause of their dela delay de do lay la he had gained raIned a long start before before be be- fore tore more yells jells told him they had bad cut late his trail At the outburst Garth eased off oe a little on his desperate speed peed Ills His fast tast had already covered three fourths of the distance distance dis dis- tance to the stream It was Will now nowa a simple matter of ot running on to Increase In In- crease creaso his hll handicap over the kilt kill era ers Only a little time would be need needed d to cast free tree the cabin plane place As Al she abe drifted out In the current the th wind cross would swing awing her ber around Then a quick run out the water lane and the take take off oe Close oso ahead he be caught light of ot Lilith She was sitting on to 8 w i H He Swung the Bod Body of the Con Constable stable Across HU Ills Shoulders I her snowshoe Her lIer right toot foot was wal drawn op up on her ber left lett hIV kart and she was wal rubbing hard bard at the ankle In At sight of ot the limp body on I Garth's shoulders she ab started UP op horrified On Oh oh oh Alan Alai I Is Is II Is be be I S hurt nr j I i Murdered Aid yon you you-G-d ou O 41 you f-you you here bere all an this 1111 way 11 from the plane l 1 I Rifle mile gone cone The They're coming Get Oct I back up uP up-go go I I I sh Ih she cried That nIt mur murderer duet derer I Hell lIell kill you yon ou too tool I do Oo on ou Alan Also norr Hurr HI nl follow r Bhe Ibe turn around round on her bw i foot root without a wince or groan end and bent to slip lIp her ber moccasins under the toe thongs of ot the snowshoes InO De lie- Deceived II elved Into thinking her sprain not serious Garth slued around her herand herand and ran on at It his best hest gait t a It He tie would get et the body of ot Constable Dillon aboard the plane end and mush hack bark for tor the girl If It Ih she followed even at an ordinary walking pace there might yet be time to get Iet away He Ue made the plane In short order and aDd got the dead policeman to the cabin b by way of ot the wing Leaping off he rushed hack back at lit top speed to meet U He e had to go I all oil the way to where he lie had left her She had slung the snowshoes on her hack bark floundered through the first drift and collapsed When he came up tip she was Willi rubbing snow on her bared ankle She looked up nt at him white faced with pain and despair I tried Alan I 1 cant can't even walk he said uld Go hack back Its It's nil all my fault tault Hurry flurry find end save sive yourself Mabe la be I J Ican can delay ran delay him Mm For or reply Garth swung her up across his hll shoulders and headed bended again for tor the plane There still might be time lie He put all oil his strength Into another burst of ot speed They came caroo to the glacier stream with Dt no eight or sound of ot the pursuers pursuers pur par behind them Garth lifted the girl Irl from bl his bah shoulder and set let her heron heron heron on the front ed edge e of at the monoplane wing lIe He grasped hold to vault up beside her ber A bullet fanned tanned the girls girl's pain whitened cheek check Another bullet buet struck the wing wInK edge between her ber herand herand and Garth He lIe jerked her down off the wing The firing ce ceased After murdering Constable Dillon but before starting to trail Garth must have hue sent Pent one of ot his men running along the foot toot of ot the tundra slope to take toke possession of ot the planes Garth had outrun the miner nut But the man had hod come withIn within within with with- in easy easl rifle rille range and clear view of ot the plane plane plane-at at least of ot Its upper parts Garth did not hesitate s a split pUt sec sec- ond He lie carried Lilith to the moorIng moorIng mooring moor- moor Ing tree and slashed the line with his hll knife Then taking the girt girl he be set let off up the stream bank HU lIla one backward glance showed him that the plane was drifting out Into the lake But the wind crosswind had died down The lessened stream current could be lie counted upon to carry the plane out beyond reach rench before It was stopped by the ski skIm in Ice The rifleman up on the ed edge e of ot the tho tundra was 81 off to the right of ot the stream Garth knew he had a thick screen of ot spruce pruce trees and scrub all the wa way to timberline As Ashe Ashe Aslie he lie climbed th man mon above began to yell ell and halloo Garth had no doubt that the fellow v was shouting abo about t the of ot the cabin plane Before Detore long other yells came from the lake shore They were followed by bl rifle shots It was easy to guess that one or more of ot the pursuers had sighted the plane and opened fire on the supposition that Garth was WAI hiding biding In the cockpit Garth moderated his rush Even Eyen Evenso no so his hll steady uphill sloes n IF br brought him ne near r th timberline h before for forthe the four tour men got together down at atthe atthe atthe the lake shore For the first nut time since Inee leaving the plane he spoke to Lilith Tr Try holding out farther from my ml neck Miss Were We're safe lOre enough now Were We're climbing faster taster than they can wade wilde the drifts With less than a hundred paces Garth saw law a whitish pall surge lurge out from the down rolling clouds on the western mountain side Ilde A snow snow- spitting wind wind gust gust whooshed aslant the tundra slope loDe He lie turned sharn sharp to the left heft and sod beaded headed uphill towards the foot toot of ot the glacier Before he had covered another hundred bundred paces the air was thick with snow Inow Fortunately for Lilith the storm I was Wal only an In early earll autumn blizzard Dot not a SO 30 or 40 co below zero gale rale of ot the winter The rabbit fur Inside the buckskins saved ned her Though greatly chilled she was only slightly frostbitten when Garth Gart reached the brink of ot the lateral moraine a little tittle below belllw the foot of ot the glacier lie He went out across the rock rock- strewn gulch bed Within a few fen moments moment Lilith suddenly found he herself her self sett out of ot the wind and snow Inow ant and the white gloom of ot the storm torm She could not see lee A match lamed ared In to Garth's Garth n nr op o raised hi he ibe he n e light tinted cUnte and Ice ce walls She was Wll la to lathe the tile mouth of ot the cave cue up Inside the stream glacier tunnel The rock rork door was heaped with Uh the caribou meat At the skis side of ot the entrance Uy lay the tM pothole stone atone that Garth had baIt made Into an l Eskimo lamp He tie pointed JOInted to an outspread caribou skin akin Crawl In 10 on that Then rub your lout face tace and pound yourself She scrambled to the skin akin mat her ber teeth clenched on her lip Up to keep from crying out from the pain 1 I I I r i of ot her ankle arkle Garth had struck I another match and held beld It to the moss mosa wick of ot the stone la lamp tup Lilith had bad already rubbed her hn whitened frost cheeks hee and nose cose Int Inta Into a glow Ilow lIe He laid his hla belt belt-ax on a quarter hind of ot caribou and smiled at her ber In 10 the growing light lIeM of or the i I wick Chop off a i thank shank or two Well We'll need bone spits IpU be he said hut But first lint warm some of ot the other skins and andI wrap wrap them around you ou Also put putI more tat In the lamp 1 U be gone ODI two or three hours boura Over OYer near the tar far end eDd of ot UI the glacier front be b. found a drift with witha a tuck tour frost crust pasted packed by bl the drive drle of ot the J III during tile the previous Ired ous OUI snowstorm He tie went ent at tt t tIlle like Ille an Eskimo slashing out big shaped domino sha blocks with hi his hll knife After he had halt ga gathered a hI h b pile of ot the blocks on a fairly level spot just beyond th the drift he started to cut others end and lay them ed edgewise edgewise edge edge- erle e- e wise In a circular wall all around the pile Two feet fret up Ut he began beaD to |