| Show Lamp in 6 BY ARTHUR STRINGER W. W N. N U. U Service I I Sidney Lander mining engineer is engaged engaged en en- to Barbara Trumbull but apparently has fallen In love with Carol Coburn Mata Mata- nuska school teacher SOlI Salaria Bryson one oneo o of her pupils a big outdoor out girl is also Inlove in inlove inlove love with him Carols Carol's father died In AlasI AlasI Alas Alas- I can break trail for the back bark hills where a mans man's still got room was his solemn- solemn noted reply I can can an mush on to a valley valley valley val val- ley that aint overrun with weak- weak lins lin's and Thanks 1 I saidI saidI saidI said I aint got no thin against you girlie he said Ive been strong for you from the first crack out o 0 othe othe the box I savvied from that snowy day I spotted you on the trail you was good leather And later on I savvied you was mixed up with a bunch o 0 snakes here That's why I kind o 0 hate t mush on and leave you out on a limb Ive always managed to take care of myself I assured him what you think said Sock Eye But its it's time some plainspoken plainspoken plainspoken plain- plain spoken hombre put a bee or two in your bonnet For I savvy a heap moren you imagine girlie You think Big John give you youa a square deal on your claim trial But he wont He aint built that way And theres there's a glib taI tarantula tarantula ta ta- ta- ta I right Bright over in that transient- transient camp who's on bustin you up in this colony when the chance comes around And hes he's got Trumbull Trumbull Trumbull Trum Trum- bull behind him Is that Eric the Red I demanded demanded demanded de de- de- de my thoughts suddenly back to more imminent things the bird acknowledged Sock-Eye Sock as a leathery old claw stroked his six-gun six holster And Andin Andin in the good old days when us sourdoughs sourdoughs sourdoughs sour sour- cleaned up a camp as she ought to be cleaned up that wind- wind have swung from a tamarack tamarack tamarack tam tam- arack bough afore hed he'd passed out his second mess o 0 I dont don't like what hes he's sayin about you and Sid Lander I dont don't like anything he says he got against Lander I asked One item worth Sock-Eye Sock said with his not unkindly smile is the fact that Landers Lander's ridin range for you Why should he ride range as you put it for me I inquired with purely defensive obtuseness Sock-Eye Sock took another chew before before before be be- fore deigning to answer Why that long-legged long so crazy about you girlie he cant can't see straight t. t I could feel the color come up into my face But I managed to keep control of my voice Did he ever tell you this I I asked That hombre asserted the frowning Sock-Eye Sock aint given to much But when he gits Bits set seton seton seton on on doin dam a thing he does it in hi his own way But it would be in an honest way I proudly proclaimed Sock-Eye's Sock shaggy head nodded its dubious assent Hes a straight-shooter straight all aU right But that's jus' jus where the hitch is Hes He's too straight And what hes he's facin it aint gittin him far Sock-Eye's Sock gaze wavered away and regarded the design Id I'd embroidered embroidered embroidered em em- broidered on a gunny sack for a floor matI matI matI mat I aint into that up tie-up with the Trumbull dame That's something something something some some- thing twixt him and his Creator But theres there's that girl o 0 Sam Bry- Bry sons aint what you'd meb- meb be call civilized She has her good points I regretfully regretfully regretfully re re- re- re admitted she has But when a maverick in petticoats like that gits an idee in her head when she's set seton seton seton on she aint no special right to she's goin a after it like a wildcat after a rabbit I began to discern the threatening bush about which my old friend was wasso wasso wasso so artfully beating Lander seems able to take care of himself I ventured 1 he is retorted Sock o b lot And he aint But book and shadow with the theTen theTen thet t Ten Commandments aint goin t thep help hep you much when youre you're com petin pet pet- in against a wolf she I haven't I ventured seen signs of any conflict You wouldn't acceded SockEye Sock- Sock Eye But as I told you once afore golds gold's where you find it And so is isa isa isa a hombres hombre's consolation for livin alone But its it's worth re- re that both the man and the metal is usually by the forager who's first t V hightail it in t where the strike is I sat deep in thought after he had gone I picked up two letters which had to go to the post office at Palmer and at the same time gave I me tie a excuse for invading invading invading ing that forbidden territory As I approached the Commissary I realized that crowd was doing more than loiter A few of the men had pitchforks in their hands a few had pi pick k handles and axes Still others I I noticed carried heavy clubs of spruce wood And a broken sheer cheer went up from them as Eric the Red Kea pushed through their then ranks and mounted the porch end Are we cattle he dem demanded or are we freeborn Americans Instead Instead In In- stead of coming to a colony of homes f i you were brought like driven sheep 1 I to a a. a hobo city of lousy tents You TilE THE STORY SO FAR FARka FARka FARka ka with an unproven claim which Trumbull is contesting Lander quits his employ becomes becomes becomes be be- comes field manager for or the Valley project Sock SockEye Sock Eye an old sourdough calls on Carol to tell her she ought to be in to fight for or her INSTALLMENT XV were fed on tainted beef and big promises Your women and children children children chil chil- dren waded through mud and you were told to grub out spruce roots or go without a crop And when your children fell sick they were taken away from the homes where they belonged and carried off to a jerry-built jerry and kept prisoners prisoners prisoners pris pris- there while a couple of overfed overfed overfed over over- fed she-nurses she sat around smoking cigarettes and playing checkers with an imported sawbones who lined up your little ones and vaccinated them whether they needed it or not And now its it's about time time time- That was as much as I heard For Fora a wave of resentment went through my body and rang a little bell somewhere somewhere somewhere some some- where at the back of my brain I found myself clambering up on the porch beside the momentarily si silenced silenced silenced si- si Ericson Wait a minute I heard my own voice shouting above the jeers and the derisive laughter my over-abrupt over eruption gave birth to I want to tell you the truth about this troublemaker troublemaker troublemaker trouble trouble- maker and what hes he's doing to this colony For if youre you're fools enough to o let him poison your our minds with his lis cheap lies and his half-baked half Red ideas you dont don't deserve the r f i 4 4 uy Youve a chance to conquer this last frontier ler chance this Project is giving you Youve You've a chance to be nation build ers Youve You've a chance to be heroes Youve You've a chance to conquer this last frontier and make happy homes here and and and- But the envious rouser rabble-rouser at my side had no intention obviously of surrendering the stage to an outsider There was a shout of laughter as I was unceremoniously bumped off the porch end Dont listen to this tamer kid-tamer I I could hear Ericson shouting as I gathered myself up She cant can't pull that kindergarten stuff with men like us who know our own minds And know as well that she's the private pastry of that imported col col- col- col lege-dude lege engineer who's trying trying- And that still again was as far faras faras faras as Eric the Red got His speech was cut short by a bullet that splintered the porch post within ten inches of his head Before Before Before Be Be- fore he could recover from his astonishment astonishment astonishment aston aston- at that interruption a second second second sec sec- ond bullet cut through the crown of his hat and buried itself in the woodwork woodwork wood wood- work behind him I glanced back at that second second shot and caught sight of Sock-Eye Sock standing just beyond the outer fringe of the crowd Grab that old fool someone cried Hes drunk Drunk am I he croaked as he advanced slowly toward the porch end the clustered bodies making way for him as he so threateningly moved forward I am but Im I'm still sober enough t scotch a two-legged two snake The only person who didn't fall fallback fallback fallback back was Ericson I dont don't know whether it was courage or whether it was hopelessness But he remained remained remained re re- re- re there at the thc porch end white-faced white and motionless with his narrowed eyes on the swaying old- old timer Sock-Eye Sock took three slow steps toward toward to to- toward ward him Now dance high tenderfoot he suddenly barked out And with equal abruptness the two poised pistols repeated repeated repeated re re- re- re that bark splintering the porch floor at feet Ericson didn't exactly dance His movement foot-movement as a third bullet nipped the toe of his foot must have been largely an Involuntary one But Buthis Buthis Buthis his repeated movement as another bullet cut into the sole-edge sole of his other boot might have been interpreted interpreted interpreted inter inter- as a none too loo happy dance step And that was repeated until he stood with his back against the porch post When he suddenly holstered bolstered one of his revolvers and jerked out his sheath knife I thought for a dreadful dreadful dreadful dread dread- ful second or two that the old fire- fire fathers father's claim He himself Is moving on onaway onaway away from the new it has become become be be- come too civilized zed The old bush rat rOlt has nothing but contempt contempt con con- tempt for or the new project Carol asks what he plans eater cater was so far forgetting himself as to disembowel a helpless enemy But I could see when it was all over that the flashing knife blade had merely severed Ericson's belt and slashed loose his trouser legs leaving leaving leaving leav leav- ing him standing there kneed bare-kneed below his ridiculous cotton shorts Then with incredible dexterity the theold theold theold old rat desert-rat swung the twisted leg cloth around the younger mans man's startled startled startled star star- body knotting him there a prisoner prisoner prisoner pris pris- oner against the post His movements movements movements move move- ments were more leisurely as he tied a third strip about Ericson's thin neck I had no clear suspicion of SockEyes SockEye's SockEyes SockEye's SockEyes SockEye's Sock- Sock Eyes Eye's intentions until I saw him stroll down the steps and pick up an empty salmon tin lying in the road dust There he eyed it with solemn approval His steps were distressingly unsteady unsteady unsteady un un- un- un steady as he returned to the porch and placed the tin on Ericson's head A laugh went up from the crowd when Ericson shook the can from its resting place Sock-Eye Sock solemnly replaced i it Do liDo that tha-t aga again n he croaked and Ill I'll sure fan the bump o 0 veneration your skull He backed slowly away the full length of the porch That gun-fanning gun old fools fool's going going going go go- ing to pull the William Tell trick cried someone at the edge of the crowd Better get an apple cried another another another an an- other guttural voice But I couldn't see any excuse for mirth in the situation I could feel my heart come up in my mouth as asI asI asI I saw Sock-Eye's Sock long arm swing about in an airy half-circle half with the heavy six-gun six in the tremulous old hand My impulse was to stop such mad mad- ness I even called out and started forward But I was too late The shot rang out before I could reach the porch And at the same time the empty salmon tin went spinning through the evening air Sock-Eye Sock ignoring the shouts of the crowd went solemnly after it His intention apparently was to repeat repeat repeat re re- re- re peat that foolish and perilous per per- But it was cut short when a military-looking military car swung in from the highway and Colonel Hart flung out of the seat beside his driver Arrest that man he called to the Anchorage marshal who stood on the running board But with an altogether unexpected nimbleness Sock-Eye Sock rounded the Commissary dodged out past the stock shed and disappeared in the spruce scrub at the same time that Katie and her Black Maria Iaria roared closer along the highway that skirted skirted skirted skirt skirt- ed the railway siding On the seat beside her was Salaria armed with witha a rifle and plainly a self-appointed self vigilante hurt I heard Colonel Hart call out as the ambulance shuddered shuddered shuddered dered to a stop Two transients caught setting a afire afire fire answered Katie They showed fight and had to be sub sub- dued And it was Sid Lander done the proudly announced the self-appointed self vigilante at her side CHAPTER SIX When Barbara Trumbull and her father came in they came by plane What prompted that return was of course unknown to me But I was more worried at the time by Sock-Eye's Sock abrupt The bullheaded old gun- gun fanner had possessed himself of two pack mules which he hid in the hills beyond Knik Glacier and loaded down with grub and equipment and three cases of dy dynamite amite Rumor had hadit it that Bryson had not only been his go-between go during those preparations but had been his companion companion companion com com- panion and trail mate on his first days day's travel out through the hills And after that the silence had swallowed swallowed swallowed lowed him up When I went to the Bryson shack to glean a little more light on the matter I f found und Sam alone there alone and singularly acid But when I questioned if Sock-Eye Sock wasn't too old and minded erratic-minded for lone-fire lone prospecting like that he refused to share in my fears That ol of sourdough knows his hills And he knows how t mush through em winter or summer Wheres Salaria I asked as I Imade Imade Imade made a show of producing the textbooks textbooks textbooks text text- books that motivated my visit Bear was Sams Sam's truculent truculent truculent lent reply Im sorry 1 I said that she's missing a lesson That seemed to give Sam the opening opening opening open open- ing he wanted It aint no tears out o 0 ome ome me he protested And there was no mistaking the tremor of indignation tion in his voice more more he continued instead o 0 all this this book doin my a bit o 0 good its it's fillin her up with enough loco t founder a pack horse And I aint you or anyone else for her mind and makin makin makin mak- mak in her about as easy t live with as asan asan asan an underfed she TO 10 BE CONTINUED |
