Show o Y J. J d THE YUKON TRAIL t r An Alaskan Love Story t By WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINE I Copyright William Macleod Raine t ELlI ELLIOT T FINDS HIMSELF IN A A- SERIOUS PREDICAMENT AS RESULT RESUL T OF A REMARKABLE CHAIN OF CIRCUMSTANCES Synopsis As As n a representative e of ot the government Gordon Elliot ison Ison is ison on his way to Alaska to Investigate coal conI claims On the boat he meets 0 and becomes Interested In a fellow passenger whom he learns Is s Sheba ONeill O'Neill also going In Colb Colby Macdonald active head of the land- land g grabbing syndicate under Investigation comes aboard Elliot and Macdonald Macdonald Macdonald Mac Mac- donald become In a measure friendly Landing at Kuslak KusIak Elliot finds that old friends of ot his Mr and Mrs Paget are arc t the e people whom Sheba has come to visit Mrs Paget Is Sheba's cousin At dinner Elliot reveals to Macdonald the object of 01 his coming to Alaska The two men naturally antagonistic now become rivals f for r the hand of Sheba Macdonald foreseeing failure of ot his fina financial plans Jf JC Elliot learns the facts sends Selfridge his right-hand right man to to arrange mattern matters matters mat mat- tern so that Elliot will wUl be deceived as to the true situation Elliot also leaves for and wandering from the trail believes that he faces death on his arrival at has his agents abduct abduct ab ab- abduct ab- ab duct Gideon Holt time old-time miner who knows too much about Macdonald's Maedonald's Mac Mae donalds donald's activities Elliot wanders Into the camp where Holt Is held l n a prisoner The two men overpowering the kidnapers return to Kamat Kamat- lab lah where EIl Elliot ot learns the truth truth about the coal land deals On the way back to Kusiak Kuslak Elliott meets a squaw with her child who Elliot learns Is son Soon after his return Elliot learns that Macdonald and Sheba have become engaged Genevieve Mallory Mallon a n dashing widow who Is determined to win Macdonald causes causes causes' with her child to visit Sheba and tell tel her story She dismisses Macdonald who blames Elliot for visit Macdonald sends word to Elliot that he will kill him If It he does not leave leare town 1 CHAPTER XI XIII I Continued I. 8 His companion flashed n a look of ot warning at him and explained that they were going down the river to look look- for tor work outside of the district Suddenly Trelawney broke loose and began to curse Macdonald with a n bitterness that surprised the government government govern govern- ment meat agent What struck him most though was the obvious obvious' anxiety of 01 Northrup to quiet his partner and to gloss over what he pe had said Elliot bought an automatic revolver next morning and a n box of ot cartridges He was not looking not looking for trouble but he Intended to be prepared for It when trouble came looking for him In the afternoon he walked out of ot town and practiced shooting at nt tin cans for half an hour On his way back he hemet hemet hemet met Peter Paget I The engineer came straight to the subject In his mind 0 1 Selfridge came to see me last night He told me about the trouble between you and Macdonald Gordon You must leave town till tUl he be cools down Macdonald Macdonald Mac Mac- Macdonald donald Is a n bad man with a n gatIs gat Is he Therell There'll be no trouble of ot my making But nut If he starts he-starts starts any Ill I'll be there Macdonald doesn't own the earth you know Ive I've been sent up here by Uncle Sam on business and you can bet your last dollar Ill I'll stay on the job till Im I'm I through Of 01 course youve you've got to finish your your Job But nut It doesn't all have to be done right here Just for n a week or two two two- Tell your friend something else while youre you're on the subject t. t If I drop him I 1 go scot free be because ause he Is s Interfering interfering Inter Inter- fering with me on duty Ill I'll put Selfridge SelfrIdge Self Self- rIdge on the stand to prove It But ButI I I j r vrr Macdonald ts is a Dad Man With a Gat if it he should kill me his last chance fo for forgettIng forgetting getting the Macdonald claims patented d would be gone goue The public would raise rais e such a howl bowl that the administration would have to throw your our friend an anthe and the overboard to sav save e Itself I know that that und and Macdonald Macdonal d knows it So he stands to lose either r way Paget knew this was true But nut h he could not drop the subject without without one more appeal Hes not sore at nt you about th the e claims You know that Its It's because e you brought the squaw up the river t tsee to o see eee Sheba I 1 didn't bring her het-hadn't het hadn't a n thin thing g to do with that I dont don't know who wh o brought her though I could give a goo good d A gleam of hope showed In the eye of the engineer You didn't bring her Diane said you threatened threatened- Maybe l I did say I 1 would Anyhow I thought better of ot it But Im I'm glad someone had the sense to tell Miss ONeill O'Neill the truth Who do you think brought her i Im Tm not thinking on that subject out loud But nut If you could show Mac Mac Mac- up to you ou Til rn not lift n a finger I didn't start this war and Im I'm not making any peace overtures Youre as obstinate as ns the devil smiled Peter but In his heart he ad admired admired ad mired the dourness of his friend The engineer went to Macdonald and gave a n. n deleted version of 01 his talk wl with h i Elliot The Scotsman listened n a biter biter bitter bit bit- t ter er incredulous smile on his face Says he didn't bring her does he Tell him from me that he lies Your wife let out to me by accident that he be threatened to bring her and he came up on the boat t together gether He was ivas with her at your house when she told old her story Hes He's trying to save his hide No chance Elliot Isn't a n liar When he says he didn't bring the woman that satisfies me I 1 know he didn't t do It insisted Paget stiffly Different here Who else had any Interest in to bringing her except him Nobody Use your brains Peter He takes akes the first boat down do the river He comes back on the the- next one She comes back too They couldn't figure figureId Id I'd he at your house when they showed up there to tell the story That's where Mr Elliot slipped up up Peter was of ot 0 different stuff from Selfridge He had something to say So he said It Times have changed Mac You cant can't shoot down this fellow without making all kinds of trouble First t hing thing wed we'd lose our claims The admInIstration administration ad nd ministration would drop you like a n hot potato If 11 you did lid n a thing like that Sheba would never speak to you again Your friends would know In their hearts It was murder You cant can't do it Macdonald's acdonald's jaw clamped Then The Thenet n let et him get out That's my last word to him CHAPTER XIV Ambushed Colby Macdonald In miners miner's boots boot s and corduroy working suit stood b be beside be e side his horse with one arm thrown throw n carelessly across Its rump He wa was ns s about to start for Seven Mile Creek Cree k camp with 2700 In the saddlebags t to o pay the men there Diane was vas talking with him She s young and fine and spirited Of 01 course cours e It ft was a n great shock to her ber She ha had d been Idealizing you OU But nul I think sh she e Is beginning to understand things bet bet- ter At any rate she does not hate hat e you any more Give the girl time You think she will be will be reasonable reasonable- I r 7 dont don't know kno But nut Im I'm sure of ot on one e thing Shell She'll not be eu reasonable as yo you u call It It unless you are nrc reasonable You mean mean Elliot Elliot Yes res She likes him very much D Do o you OU know that when the Indian woman woma n came he urge urged Sheba not to listen t to o her story Sounds likely likely after ly-atter ly after he had spent his good money bringing her here sneered the mine owner He lie Gordon Is a n splendid fel fel- low He wouldn't lie He answered Diane DIane Di DI- ane one hotI hotly And one thing Is sure sure sure-It If i you lay a n finger on him for tor this it will wit 1 be fatal with Sheba She will b be e through with you Macdonald had thought of ot this be be- fore It had been coming to him fro from m several different angles that he could cool d not afford to gratify his desire to wipe e this meddlesome young official fro from m his path He made a slow sulk sulky y promise All right Ill I'll let him alone Peter Pete r can tell him I Swinging to the saddle ho he spurred d his horse and cantered away HI His s mind was full of 01 the problem that had ha d come Into his life lIte He De rode abstractedly abstractedly abstract edl edly so that he was at nt the lower ford for d of 01 the creek almost before he knew It it A A. bilberry thicket straggled down do t to o the opposite bank of 01 the stream o oboth on n both sides of ot the road The horse splashed through the fer ferand ford d and took the little rise beyond with a n rush Just lust before reaching the bro brow w of the hill the animal stumbled an and d fell As Its ifs rider went headlong h he e caught n a glimpse of 01 a n cord drawn taut tau t across the path Macdonald shaken by the fall began begs n slowly to rise From the shadows o othe of 01 f the bilberry bushes two stooping 8 fig fig- g t A sl ry l lri t 7 i- i o rte r r y i f f. f He Was Fighting Desperately ures urea rushed at nt him He threw up n an nn arm arm to ward off orr the club aimed at hi his s head hend but succeeded only in breaking d the force of the blow As he be staggered back stunned stunned a n bullet glanced alon along his its forehead and ridged a furrow furro through the thick hair hale A second e stroke of ot the club Jarred him t to th the heels Though his mind was not clear hi his s body answered automatically the Instinct Instinct In In- 1 that told him to close with bl his a assailants He lurched forward an and d gripped one wrestling with him fo forthe for forthe e the revolver Vaguely he knew by th the sharp Jagged shoots of 01 pain that th the e second man was beating his head wit wita with witha ti a n club The warm blood dripped d through his hair and blinded his eyes Dazed and shaken he yet managed t to o tI get the revolver from theman who ha hat had I I It t But nut It was his last effort He wa was wasI s I too far gone to use it A blow on th the e forehead brought him unconscious t to n the ground bleeding from n a dozen doze wounds On his way back to Seven Mile Mlle Creek Cree k camp Gordon Elliot rode down to th the n f ford ord In the dusk he be was almost upon them before the robbers robbers' heard him bl m For n a mom moment nt the two men stood ga gaug gazing gazIng gaz gaz- z l ing ug at him and he at the tragedy b before before be be- e fore him One of 01 the men move moved ed d toward his its horse Stop there ordered Gordon sharply sharp sharp- I- I ly and reached for his revolver The man man man-it it was was was' the miner Northrup North North- h rup jumped rup-jumped jumped for Elliot and the fie field hd d agent fired llred Another moment and h he he- e was being being- dragged from the saddle e What happened next neat was never clear clew r to him He knew that both of th the e I b bandits closed in on him and that h he e was fighting desperately against odd odds s The revolver had been knocked fro from m his hand and he fought with bare fists fist S just as they did They quartered over the ground fo for r Gordon would not let either of the them m get behind him They were larger large r than h he heavy muscle-bound muscle giants giant s of great strength but he was far more mor e active on his feet He jabbed an and d sidestepped and retreated More than once their heavy blows crashed on his face His eyes dared not wander from them for an instant but he was working toward a definite plan As he moved his feet were searching for the automatic he had dropped One of 01 his feet dragging over the ground came Into contact with the steel W With th a n swift side kick Gordon Hung flung the weapon a dozen feet to the left Presently watching his chance he made n a dive for It Trelawney followed by Northrup turned and nud ran One of them caught Macdonald's horse by th the bridle He swung to the saddle and the other man clambered on behind There was a n clatter of hoofs and they were gone Elliot stooped over the battered body that lay lap hu huddled led at the edge of the wat water r. r So badly had the face been beaten and hammered that It was not until he had washed the blood from the wounds that Gordon recognized Macdonald Opening the coat of 01 the Insensible man Gordon p 11 t t his hand against the heart He De could not be sure whether he felt It t beating or whether the throbbing throbbing throb throb- bing king came from the pulses In to his finger er tips As well as he could he bound up the wounds with handkerchiefs and stanched the bleeding With ice-cold ice water from the stream he drenched the bruised face A faint sigh quivered quivered ered through the tile slack inert body Gordon hoisted Macdonald across the saddle and led the horse through the ford He walked beside the animal to town and never had two miles seemed to him so far With one hand he steadied the helpless body that lay like a sack of 01 flour balanced In the trough of the saddle Kusiak Kuslak at last lay below him and when he descended the hill to the suburbs suburbs sub sub- almost the first house was the one where the lived Elliot threw the body across his I shoulder and walked up the walk to t the he porch He lIe kicked upon the door with his foot toot Sheba answered the knock knack and at sight of 01 what he carried carried car car- ried fled the color faded from her face Macdonald has been hurt hurt badly badly I he be explained quickly This way way the girl cried and led him to her own room Get Diane Diane and and n a doctor ordered Gordon after he had had laid the unconscious unconscious scions man on the white sheet While he be and Diane undressed the mine owner Sheba got a s doctor on the telephone The wounded man opened I his eyes after a long time but there was in them the glaze of delirium He recognized none of ot them All night he raved and his delirious talk went back to the wild scenes of his earlier life Ute Sometimes he swore savagely again he made quiet deadly threats but always his talk was crisp and clean and vigorous Nothing foul or slimy came to the surface In those hours of unconscious babbling The doctor would make no promises Hes Bes a mighty sick man The cuts are deep and the hammering hammerIng- must have Jarred his brain terribly If it ft was anybody but Macdonald 1 I 1 wouldn't give him a n chance he told Diane when he left In the morning to get breakfast But Macdonald has tremendous tremendous tremendous tre tre- vitality Of course If It he lives live it will wm be because Mr Elliot brought him In so soon Gordon walked with the doctor a afar as asar far ar as the hotel A brown thin leathery man undraped himself from froma fromn a n chair In the lobby when Elliot opened the door He was officially known a athe as s the chief of ot police of Kuslak Kustak IncIdentally Incidentally Inci Inc dentally he constituted the whole p police po a lice force Generally he was referred to as Gopher Jones on account of hi his s habit of spasmodic prospecting I got to put you under arrest Mr Elliot Elliot he explained What for demanded Gordon sur sur- Doc thinks it will wm run to murder I reckon The field agent was startled You mean mean- mean Macdonald Macdonald The brown man chewed his quid steadily You done guessed it absurd you know What evidence have you got First oft off you'd had trouble wit with h him It was common talk that when you and Mac met guns were going t to o pop You bought an automatic r revolver revolver re re- c- c volver two days ago ngo You was seen practicing with lt It It ItHe He had |