Show I 1 J Men 1 2 1 j 4 Ia O o 11 B By er Y GEORGE L MARSH Penn V VIHU Publishing Service c a J TIlE THE STORY STORi SO FAR Hound bound for lor the thc gold cold country six men lost Jost their lives on the river Red Ma Malone l lone Garrett Finlay brother of 01 one of 01 the six and Blaise half breed guide arrive at posing as surveyors i Reflected in the mirror behind the counter Finlay saw a pair of sinister eyes ees watching wItching the two through a window He yawned stretched and sauntered to the door Walt Wait a min min- ute Batoche he called to the man who was moving away your hurry The half breed swung around and snarled You spik spilt to me I Reaching the waiting Batoche he announced Ive just had a wire from Ottawa Im I'm ordered to map Waswanipi on my way to the bay FInlay watched the astonishment on Batoche's scarred face tace shift shUt to toa a covert look of satisfaction You go to Waswanipi eh Yes and well we'll need another man I thought possibly you yours yourself ell would take the job if il Isadore could spare you How about it I got damn good Job snorted the furious half hall Well then said Finlay affably affably affably affa affa- bly how bow about Tete-Blanche Tete He knows the lake and would make a good man for the survey You You you know Tete Blanche Huh know him bun I knew him long before he went to work for Isadore Isadore Isadore Isa Isa- dore If you see him before I 1 do doten tell ten him his old friend Finlay asked about him Leaving the dumbfounded dumbfounded dumb dumb- founded Batoche working his jaw ina in ina ina a futile attempt to voice his thoughts Garr Garry turned and entered the store I guess that'll give giver r Batoche something to chew chewon r on on he muttered There was raw terror in Cotters Cotter's t- t face as he whispered Teter Tete r. r Blanche Why hes he's Isadore's r The storekeeper gaped at Finlay as asif asif asif if he thought him demented what Mr Cotter Cotter shook his head held waving his hands aimlessly Youre crazy man plumb man plumb crazy he exploded Where did you ever hear of Tete Tete- G Blanche Why hes he's an old friend of mine f F Finlay left Cotter mumbling to L Tete Blanche Tete Blanche Blanche-a a friend of yours and started for the station McLeod sat at the telegraph key as Finlay entered the station Good morning Mr Finla Finlay he greeted Off today McLeod returned Garry you may be surprised to bear hear th that thit t early this morning you handed me a wire from my department chief at Ottawa Ottawa Ottawa Ot Ot- Ot- Ot tawa directing me to change my plans and first run a compass survey survey survey sur sur- vey of the Waswanipi chain of lakes before proceeding to the Bay The Scotchman scowled Oh I have have I Well I haven't You can deny I got that wire but I wouldn't wouldn't-if if I were you What did you do to him Blaise asked Garry when he and Malone reached the river shore with their bags I tell dat Batoche he mus mus' mus be crazy Flambeau talk wid me last night That must have pleased him himl chuckled Red First he was ver cross Den he me big pay What did you say I say too small I get tousand dollar a mont moat wid you He was like wild man I laugh at him and he pull dat da t gun But he was fool fool- ish He stand too close Blaise produced a snub-nosed snub automatic automatic automatic au au- au- au from his pocket Heres his gun Shortly from the steel bridge two men with heads together watched the canoe start down river and disappear disappear pear behind a bend CHAPTER III For a hundred miles after passing passing pass pass- ing through Lake the thrashed itself itsell to foam in scarred rock-scarred reaches reach s of broken water water wa wa- ter teror jor or narrowed to slide past timbered timbered timbered tim tim- hills as it raced off the Height Height- of Allons We go Down the flume fiume into the white chaos leaped the Peterboro On ei either either either ei- ei ther side boulders pushed up their granite bulk where the river burst to fling spray high in air Eddies and currents cross sucked at her keel Knife-edged Knife ledges that would rip out oui her bottom snarled beneath the broken water One mistake and canoe and men would be sucked into the maw of the thundering river to tobe tobe tobe be spewed up and cast ashore battered bat bat- and broken miles below Drenched to the bone battling always always always al al- ways for the safety of the black blackwater blackwater blackwater water the crew ran the Peterboro to the first bend Were through the worst of It Ill panted Red as they snubbed the boat to study the river below Good channel ahead As he spoke the whip lash crack of rifles broke through the din of the rapids Were ambushed I cried Red on that point Come onT Finlay caught the blue haze of smokeless powder hanging in the alders al ale ders of the right shore The canoe was trapped Blaise lifted his pole with a shout Let her run Like a galloping horse the Peterboro Peter Peter- boro bord plunged down the narrow chan Chan- I nel Again and again rifles exploded on the shore Suddenly the bowman bow man fogged cogged to his knees while his bIs i I II I INSTALLMENT T THREE REE Finlay receives an anonymous letter su that the six men were not drowned as reported They question the reports from the north that the bodies of 01 the men were found lound by Indians who declared that the men had perished In pole slipped from his limp fingers Blaise Blaine is s hit hill cried the desperate desper desper- ate Finlay Get Oct him Red before he goes overboard Ill I'll hold her The kneeling Brassard moved his head from side to side as i if to clear his brain as Red caught caugh him and eased him to the floor of the canoe The blue lips in the graying face framed the words Dey got us Then he lost consciousness As i if it were a chip a crosscurrent crosscurrent cur cross rent snatched the canoe from the control of the straining blinded by bursting spray and whirled her Straddling Blaise's body Malone battled to head the I boat back into the channel As Asbe Ashe Ashe he be thrust with all his magnificent power his spruce pole slowly bowed into an arc but the river had its way The boat did not swing The pole splintered in his hands and he lurched back to escape a headlong headlong headlong head head- long plunge into the boiling water Again the rifles roared on the shore Garry felt a sting like the stab of hot Iron as his right leg went limp got me he be mut mut- Savagely clamping his Ws teeth he managed to brace himself and follow Reds Red's lead Finlay prayed that he might hold holdon on until they reached the bend The shots from the distant point grew fainter The range was long and they were going wide Finlay's leg was numb but propped against the gunwale it still under him Shooting men out of canoes he panted even on the Worse than I guessed Did Batoche pass us In the night on the lake or oris oris oris is it someone else He wondered I S o 1 4 s sr r 1 IL You Yon hit hard Garry if they had lost Blaise loyal old Blaise hunched there in the bow Where was he hit called Garry Garry Garry Gar Gar- ry fearful of the answer In the head hend came the sorrowful sorrowful sorrow sorrow- ful fuI reply Garry's leg suddenly went limp In spite of his efforts he sagged to his knees They got me in the leg Red he called Weve got to toland toland land landl You hit hard Garry Through the thigh No big arteries arteries arteries ar ar- teries I guess Lets Let's get Blaise ashore With fear in their hearts they examined ex ex- rimmed Blaise's caked blood head Glory be bel cried the giant as he traced the course of the bullet They only creased him Get some water Red His lIis pulse is good If he hadn't got a fracture fracture fracture frac frac- ture hell he'll be as right as rain in n a afew afew afew few days Hes He's tough When they had washed and bandaged band aged Brassards Brassard's head Red inspected inspect inspect- ed Garry's leg Straight through the thigh muscles clean as ns a whistle whis whis- tie tle Not an artery touched That was a powered high-powered small bore Pain Pam any Not much Its It's just numb and weak Shortly Red had his two wounded wound wound- ed friends on a spread blanket Working like the moose he was Malone soon had cargo and canoe through the alders and back in the bush The hidden camp was now safe from searching eyes on the opposite op Ope shore Then Garry and Red I held a council of war your guess Red I There was an ugly glitter in the blue eyes as they shifted from Garry's Garry's Garry's Gar Gar- rys ry's bandaged leg to the still unconscious unconscious un conscious Blaise I dont don't think Batoche Batoche Ba Ba- toche and Flambeau could have passed us last night and done this It was someone else How about this Blanche Tete-Blanche Do you suppose hes he's putting in the summer on the Who knows All we have is the knowledge that someone tried to wipe out a government survey par par- ty That means they'll pay through the nose to Ottawa After this thing today its it's clec cle what become of Bob and the rest rust who started for Chibougamau U Well as they've started the I rough stuff stul said Red finishing the the rapids of the river The name of 01 Isadore rich fur lur man when brought by FInlay causes an Immediate Immedi Immedi- ate cessation of 01 conversation While questioning Cotter the storekeeper Finlay Finlay Fin Fin- lay noticed someone watching them oiling of the action of his 45 and shoving it into the shoulder holster bolster strapped under his left arm beneath his shirt three lads I know are going going go go- ing to throw a little rough stuff themselves They wont won't work in the open Red It will all be Injun stuff under under under un un- der cover with no surviving wit wit- nesses They're blocking the Chibougamau Chibougamau Chib Chib- Trail but they dont don't intend to hang for it it And I dont don't intend they shall Garry growled Red Garry loved Reds Red's weakness for a fight and his berserk courage when he was in one one but he cautioned Remember were we're a peaceable survey survey survey sur sur- vey party Interested in certain other other other oth oth- er matters on the side We cant can't make the first move Sure boss but while were we're running running running run run- ning that compass survey of Waswanipi Waswanipi Was Was- Im I'm going to make a personal personal personal per per- survey of Mr Jules Isadore If I find what I think I will it'll be bea a sweet job And a dangerous one Red Uh huh And a dangerous one grunted Malone In the morning Blaise was con con- Six days of rest and careful careful care care- ful nursing put him bim on his feet and gave the clean flesh wound in Garry's Garry's Gar Gar- rys ry's leg a chance to heal beal In the meantime Malone had swum the rIver river riv rIv- er below the rapids and found inthe in inthe inthe the mud at the foot of the old Indian portage the tracks of two men and freshly broken brush where a canoe canoe canoe ca ca- noe had been cached At the head bead of the carry footprints indicated that the men had bad come downstream Batoche and Flambeau must have bave passed their camp on the river Inthe in inthe th the night ambushed them and thinking that they had somehow run the rapids gone on searching for their supper fire Now Blaise what do you think of your friends who wanted to give you a job demanded Red Blaise grimaced as he fingered his Ws bandaged head I tink fink if I ambush cano cano in dose rapids I make job At less dan bunder hunder yard dey start to fire at tree free men who got to stand up and make good target Dey shoot ten eight time and get two hit hit They shot straight enough to satisfy sat sat- me sald sald Finlay I though wed we'd lost you when you went down If they'd wiped us out there'd have been three more reported accidentally accidentally tally drowned and no proof to the contrary The half breeds eyes blazed with such fury that his friends gaped in surprise We head for plenty trou- trou blI he be bit off between his teeth we come back Who know But wan ting fing you promise Blaise Brassard You give dis Batoche Batoche Batoche Ba Ba- toche to me I take him in dese dose ha han ban hanso so so Brassards Brassard's thick fingers reached into the air and clamped shut as asif asif asit if it on a throat tHes t. t Hes yours Blaise But hes he's only a tool said Garry What puzzles me is his boss I cant can't make out Isadore's game He lIe must have brains to make such a success of the fur business and yet hes he's riding riding rid rid- ing straight for a fall with the au au- U Hes got a rich placer strike somewhere and to avoid a stampede stampede stampede stam stam- pede of prospectors wont won't register it until hes he's skimmed off oU the cream Insisted Red Wal Wai now we feel we go have look at Isadore grunted grunt grunt- ed Blaise He drew a villainous looking skinning knife from its sheath and tested its edge with a thick thumb as he said Somebody Somebody Somebody Some body goin to pay for my sore head bead for tor sure Im glad Im I'm not the fellow you old wolverine U laughed Garry When you take the war path theres there's blood on the moon CHAPTER IV Ten days later the Peterboro was approaching the head of Matagami Lake flanked by black spruce ridges which rolled away to the thc hori hori- zon Finlay had intended to stop slop at atthe atthe atthe the Hudsons Hudson's Bay post which his map showed was located somewhere on its irregular north shore But as asit asit asit it was hidden in a deep bay the survey party had passed the thc fur post Do we go on up the inlet to this Lake Olga asked Red or turn turnback turnback turnback back to hunt for the Hudsons Hudson's Bay outfit We must be pretty close to the thoroughfare now said Garry examining examining examining ex ex- his map Weve lost ten days already According to the map the post Is thirty miles back of us behind a bunch of islands Well We'll keep going Good Waswanipi and Isadore or bust Is my motto laughed Red Was that the flash of a paddle up there where the lake suddenly narrows demanded Garry The three men stopped paddling to focus their eyes on the distant water Cano leave de inlet for sure I announced Blaise his black eyes narrowing to slits as he watched We make talk wid dem Injun Meb be Icy dey know ing ITO TO RE Hr CONTINUED |