Show t. I II J mI I I of r 41 t By ARTHUR STRINGER r fir l Z Y so FAR FARTo To keep Nor Nor- land lind in ID ay business Alan Slade Blade has na agreed to fly y a called so-called scientist named ed Frayne and his assistant KarT Kar Kar- T neO neil A. A to the tte wild wOd country of northern Canada where Frayne expects to fl the breeding ground of ol the tram tram- peter Wan swan Slade SUde In suspects Frayne of ha other outer plans than swan iwan lIt lie be US has paid them en enough to enable Slades Slade's Ri s partner Cru Cruger er to buy a LockIn Lock Lock- heed In they have been needing Mean Mean- Alan toes goes wIth wm Lynn daughter of cf the local doctor to give tint first aid treatment to a flyer named Slim SUm I who has haa been hurt In ID a fight He Be learns that Tu ad knows mows about the new plane and about Frayne While Made SUde r. r on oa his north with way Frayne and nd Karnell KameO holds up Cassidy Went night watchman for Norland Airways and teals steals the Lockheed All AD Cassidy can cut tell teO Crater Cruger Is 11 s that the thief wore a mask and that he headed north In ID the 5 plane Now Slade and hIs Ul P passengers are Eying Into a head wind and Frayne has Just complained that they are not maki mak make i Ing IDe good tood time Now continue with the story CHAPTER VI It is very empty country the hunter swan observed Fine Tine and empty said Karnell who ho looked up slightly startled by byan byan byan an admonishing elbow dig from his companion be better in an hour or two Slade told them Well Wen be becoming becoming becoming coming out on scrub timber and heavier ridges Then you'll youn see your last mine camp or two along the He went on for half hall an hour of silence conscious of the two heads bent over the chart the mumble of voices and the repeated studious peering through the poised lars Weathers clearing he cried out half hall an hour later when he sighted blue through the torn wisps of gray That means less wind to buck But a glance at his fuel gauge fuel gauge suddenly lowered his spirits We cant can't make the he announced as he retarded his his throttle to conserve fuel Well Wen have to land at Lake and anden fill mI up Slade pointing to his gauge could see Frayne's face tighten a little with annoyance What is at Lake questioned ques ques- his passenger Just two old sourdoughs who have a camp there on the fringe of Nowhere Sourdoughs What are aro they Just two funny tunny old birds who happen to be friends of mine I keep a gas cache in their back yard He could hear the two voices con con- ferring It gave him the feeling of being excluded from something that might be of importance to him the there just ahead of us Slade explained the stream that looks like a twisted wire Well We'll have about sixty miles of it Then well we'll land just where it empties into Lake Frayne tight lipped inspected his chart Who are these these these-these these old sourdoughs sourdoughs sourdoughs sour sour- as you term them he asked Just two old lone lone fire prospectors prospectors prospectors tors who've panned gold and staked claims all the way from Arizona up to the Circle Slade explained With an itch he added to be always al ways pushing out to what seems like the last frontier They're pretty good old scouts You'll like em Frayne's expression failed to confirm confirm con con- firm that claim For what do they prospect he hc exacted Gold of course answered Slade They wont won't interfere with your swan swan hunting Frayne's side glance seemed in search earch of possible second meanings Slade looked for some sign of life lie from the cabin between its sheltering sheltering shelter shelter- shoulders All AU he be saw as ashe ashe ing g ghe rock he nosed cautiously down to the lake end was a gray plume of the shack chimney It from sm from nolTA-from im sed him in the midst of the I gl gloomy ridges ridge s furred with stunted of of valor timber as a sort pennon defying the forces of nature a flag It was a brave little outpost the theyer repeated as he swung lower dyer B But yer he he could catch no glimpse of Minty Buckman or Zeke either Cher Pratt And it was seldom he found from that cockeyed old the them m far windlass Sass and hoist of theirs w his bis heart lightened They T Then have heard him after all must For two ragged old figures from the shack door doore merged emerged e about the rock slope In a and nd rod ran s small mall circles waving arms as ass they went of butch butch- wore an apron figure fie One On which he tore from his hiser lineD er errs and whirled in the air sh riders the other executed a creaky bile while about him dance a ce step old wilderness waifs wails are aree Those ho ose o Slade observed see us glad p ad ad to she sur e landed and lost headway is ship ash his nS Frayne did not share in to his Ws ex ex- exon on to th the e An he heas hested hested We go as soon as you have bave re re- sted tu fueled l d and tired rose from Slade d Stiff hIs seat your life We We bunk with on Not bushwhackers ackers tonight I want wante th tha e V meal and seven h hours s of hot a leep I I c k I 1 ti f 4 1 Ili All Two ragged old figures emerged from the shack door and ran about a r But your friends said Frayne are not my friends said But come and meet em Slade leaping ashore with his moorIng mooring mooring moor- moor Ing line He was halfway hallway up the bank when the two old sourdoughs descended on him They circled about him and slapped his shoulders shoulders ders shouting with shrill and childlike childlike childlike child child- like excitement at the unlooked for break in their solitude By How are you puddle jumper its it's Lindy Slade knew blew even before he felt their hearty handclasps that he was among friends They may have looked uncouth in their patched and ragged Mackinaws But in the crow- crow footed old eyes above the grizzled whiskers he could see open tion Bring me them needles son questioned Zeke when the slapping body was over Sure thing said Slade producing ing a package from his jacket pock pock- et And that oilstone youve you've been hankering for Then he lowered his voice Hows the color been showing showing showing show show- ing We struck Swell said Minty a vein that'll make your eyes bug out But keep it under your hat son Slade glanced toward his plane Ive got a couple of visitors for you he announced The two old faces promptly hardened hard hard- ened they after was Minty's quick inquiry after swans' swans eggs announced announced an an- Slade Swans eggs said Zeke That dont don't sound natural I know it Zeke but weve we've got gotto gotto gotto to take their word for it They're headed leaded for the to dig out the breeding ground of the trumpet trumpet- er Zeke from under his shaggy brows inspected the strangers Howd you know they aint field scouts Slade smiled at the concern on the seamed old face Ill bring em up said Slade Solitude he had long since learned always left a worker bush morosely suspicious of unidentified intruders He had even known some of those lone fire seekers gold to greet the casual prowler with a flurry of buck buck- buckI I shot Yet he himself was a little puzzled puzzled when he reached the landing stage to find that Frayne had decided decided de de- de to have his man Karnell remain remain re re- re main in the plane cabin Youre the captain said Slade I But his meditative eye passed casually casually casu casu- I ally over the gas drums that stood i ion on the spruce rack which made them so easy to roll aboard And it was always better to be safe than sorry He was whistling as he climbed into the cabin and busied himself for a minute or two with his instrument instrument ment board Then as his two passengers passengers passengers pas pas- conferred at the waters water's edge he quietly abstracted the motors motor's motors motors motor's mo mo- tors tor's breaker assembly and slipped it into his pocket He felt that it was as well all things considered to know that his Snow SnowBall Snow Ball Baby was definitely bedded down for the night like these two old codgers ers Slade persisted as DS he followed the reluctant footed Frayne up the shore slope Frayne however remained silent and abstracted as he entered the shack where the smell of frying bacon bacon ba ba- ba con mingled with the aroma of ot three sourdough loaves bread just turned out of their baking pans He noted the glowing and the orderly orderly or or- derly dish shelves the spring traps and the shooting irons In the shack corner the wall bunks with their abraded Hudson Bay blankets the floor rugs of the homemade homemade home home- made table and chairs darkened by time and smoke Everything bore borean an air of frontier roughness of ingenious in genious expediencies in a land of strictly limited resources But the general result was one of craftily craftily- won comfort of security obtained through toll toU and persistence Even the meal the two timers old prepared prepared prepared pre pre- pared for their guests was an ampie ample ample am am- pie one But as the meal was made away with an odd constraint hung over the men seated about the rough ta ta- ta ble I see you have a radio Frayne observed as be he sipped at at athis I his second second second sec sec- ond cup of coffee Minty's saddened eye eje regarded the instrument been dead for seven seveD months now Battery's plumb gone And this here robbers air freight freight- charges re so high we jus' jus cant can cantsee see our way to a new one Frayne Slade thought looked re re- You are very much alone here he observed Youre tellin me said Minty 1 But we dont don't reckon that as a 8 drawback amended Zeke seem the two of us have kind of a hanker- hanker in for elbow room Only time 1 l feel leel right lonesome is when theres there's folks around Then I git a o 0 bein hemmed in Frayne's eye wandered to the shelf shell that held a pestle and mortar a long-handled long roaster quartz a scales dust under a cracked canopy of glass an assortment of variously mineralized rock of all colors and shapes How long he Inquired have you been here Well over two years now acknowledged ac ac- acknowledged Minty Have your labors been rewarded reward reward- ed was the next casually put question ques tion Slade could see the two pair ol of crafty cratty old eyes suddenly become ex ex- ex Not by a long shot protested Zeke I git a little out o my winter and this shorthorn mate o 0 mine brings in enough game meat to keep us goin goin go go- in fn But we aint had what you'd call a strike Reckon we never will said Minty Its been hard har goin chimed in his bunkhouse mate How do you do your mining asked the man of science without power and machinery The two old sourdoughs exchanged glances again Oh you'd scarce call it minin ventured Zeke Most we do odo Is strip a bit along the back slopes or hawk a speck o o. float gold from the sandbars Then its it's gold alone you are Interested interested in In- in was the next question right stranger And weve we've been that way for odd forty years now Zeke conceded All the way from the old Rio Grande Crande rande up to the Porcupine added the eyed dreamy Minty not omit omit- tin the Klondike Now your main interest this young cloud clipper tells me is swans' swans nests My only interest amended Frayne as he pushed back his chair I am an ornithologist The word seemed to puzzle Minty Why I 1 seen a black billed swan on the lake here three days ago Zeke announced He sure was a beauty It is the trumpeter I am in search of of said the ornithologist Zeke scratched his head And what'll you do with him when you git him It is my wish to obtain their eggs said the other before they are extinct Minty got up and crossed to his ore shelf shell of eggs he said could you be the bird laid this one His cackle was slightly derisive as ashe ashe ashe he produced an ellipsoid mass of black and burnished material almost as big as an ostrich egg The luster of the oblate spheroid with the feathering feathering feathering feath feath- ering of light streaks made it look lookas as if il it had been polished by hand It It looks like tar Frayne casually casually casu casu- ally observed Tar my eye eyel croaked Minty as ashe ashe ashe he placed the burnished spheroid on the scarred table end Youre miss miss- in it by a mile Then what docs does it happen to be Inquired the swan I If you was more of a minin man roan Minty was saying know it was pitchblende Frayne shrugged and let his wavering wavering wavering wa wa- vering glance come to rest on the pictured bathing beauties tacked above the wall bunks The eggs I am In search of he finally observed are of another color But they wont won't hatch what this'll hatch averred Zeke bent over the table end Frayne almost reluctantly let his gaze return to the black spheroid TO HE DE CONTINUED |