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Show FORLORN ISLAND By Edison Marshall Copyright by Edison Marshall V'NU Service SYNOPSIS With his yacht, the Intrepid, abandoned aban-doned by Its crew, Felix Horton, millionaire, mil-lionaire, with his mother, his daughter daugh-ter Nan, and Roy Stuart, puts into Squaw Harbor, Alaska, to recruit. He engages a bunch of nondescripts stranded there. A gigantic Pole, San-domar. San-domar. is their leader. Captain Way-mire, Way-mire, the Intrepid's skipper, Is an old friend of Eric Ericssen, unemployed sailor, and Eric engages to sail as chief officer. Nan and Eric Indulge in a moonlight flirtation, which brings them both to the threshold of love. The Intrepid Is wrecked. Eric takes command of a small boat, with Horton Hor-ton and his party. Unable to help, they watch Sandomar kill Captain Cap-tain Waymire and leave the ship with his crowd. On land ing, they learn there Is no communication with the out side world. Fire heart, priestess of the island, descended from a white man in the remote past, knowing a little English, welcomes the castaways. cast-aways. Sandomar declares there shall be no law on the island, but Eric, having the only gun, cows him for the time, declaring he is the law. He lays out work for all. Eric's love for Nan b wells, and he tells her he means to win her for his mate. She is not unwilling. Fireheart claims Eric as her own, and realizing the importance of her friendship he Is forced to temporize. tem-porize. Defending himself from at-1 at-1 tack, Eric's revolver apparently mis- fires. Sandomar, deaf, does not hear the trigger fall, nor realize Eric's de-fen de-fen selessness. He turns away and Garge follows him. Eric finds the revolver, re-volver, which had been Waymire's. Is rim-flre, while five of its six cartridges are center-fire. Eric has one effective cartridge. CHAPTER VI Continued 10 "It's too early to turn In," she said Hloud. Then, in low tones to Eric: "We're all ready. I want to stay here with you and Wilcox till the last minute. min-ute. I couldn't bear to have you go through It alone." "I'll never forget It, Nan. I was starting to break, hut you've given me fresh heart. By G d, I can face. 'em now !" "Pad's watching everything, about fifty steps off. He's going to come In at the first sign of trouble. And don't worry about me. Eric. I've given you my promise, and I'll keep It. As soon as I see there's no hope for you, I'll sprint for the boat." "(lood girl! I think that's better than trying to leave now. Sandomar might get it Into his head to follow yon and anything might happen In the darkness." He drew a long breath. "Nan. are you all right?" "Ripping." Put the glitter in her eyes and the crimson Hower In each pale cheek belied her words. "I'm not going to wait any more. I think they've got some game, and I mean to beat 'em to It. If I show them I'm not afraid of them, maybe they'll back down." Nan steeled her suffocating heart and leveled her gaze to his. "I don't believe they can stop you. . . . Now let drive." Eric stepped full Into the firelight. "Garge." he called clearly. There was a brief silence. The gang, massed around Sandomar, froze In their tracks. "I'm "ere." the little cockney answered at last. "The fire's getting low. You and Sandomar rustle some driftwood." The gang stared long at Eric, to see If his gaze would fall. It only grew sharper, so one by one they turned expectant eyes to his adversary. It was GarL-e who had brought the tale of the defective revolver: here was n direct and unmistakable challenge for him to prove his story. No doubt Eric was Mulling, hut It was a bold bluff, and these bold men gave him credit. Sandomar grunted a question; (large waggled an answer. Put Eric's voice cracked through the silence, cutting the parley short. "You heard me, Garge? Get some driftwood and be quick about It." The little cockney steeled his soul and stepped forward. "We ain't going go-ing to 'eed your orders no more." It was all or nothing, now. The men held their breaths. "Look here. Garge." Eric spoke slowly and clearly. "I haven't forgotten forgot-ten what yon and your pal tried this afternoon, and I'm Just hoping for a chance to pay you back. I give you and Sandomar one half minute to obey my command." "What yon going to do If we don't?" "I'm going to put n hole through you. And your half minute Is going by mighty fast." "That gun of yours won't shoot !" Garge's voice rose shrill. . The straits were now desperate. "We'll see whether It will or not." Eric drew the revolver, and pointed the barrel straight Into the air. "Are you going?" Erie was no longer cool. 1 1 is eyes were bla.ing. his voice hoarse, his posture tense iiud (hrealeniiig. Garge's 'nrc began to turn gray and weazen up. It might be that he was breaking. break-ing. . . . Put suddenly, from no visible cause, the whole aspect of the scene changed. Nan's narrowed luminous eyes saw the (inference even before Eric's, and her sharp, sane fears swelled into vage monstrous shapes of terror. Somehow, Erie no longer held the upper up-per hand. Garge's pale lips drew Into a hideous lear; Sandomar's hands clenched and quivered; the men crouched ready to charge. Events were whirling toward an undreamed .llmav. Some black plot had prospered pros-pered -a thunderbolt was about to rail. . . . "licsKie you I" It was Nan's voice, I wild and shrill "Look beside you !" The fire was to Eric's left, so he whirled to the right. Through the dark wall Into the red circle leaped a white wolf In human guise. It was Swede, his tawny hair erect, his eyes no longer pale but red as garnets. Id his powerful arms he swung a weapoD primal as this scene, a native flint-ax. There was no more time for cool-headed cool-headed calculations. Eric's lifted forearm fore-arm whipped down until there was one steel-blue line between his eyes and Swede's. And the last relic of the Iron age did not fail. Swede had aimed too high. As the revolver winked Id the firelight and spurted gay red flame, he was checked In mid-air, and appeared to strike not at Eric's head hut at his feet. With a queer awkwardness, almost comic, his legs shot out behind him and he fell flat, his arms spread wide. At the back of his head the pale hair turned slowly red. Just as though his magazine was still charged with sudden death, Eric swept the empty weapon before him until Its black eye seemed to look straight into the staring eyes of every foe. "Who wants It neirt?" Eric asked, bitterly. His lip curled up, In hatred and scorn. "There's seven of you left why don't vou try something?" Then, V S?--;-. iW;i u "Beside You!" It Was Nan's Voice, Wild and Shrill. "Look Beside You!" as their faces turned one by one to yellow tallow: "How about you, (large? Didn't you say you were through obeying obey-ing my orders?" Garge opened his little squirrel mouth to speak, but he had already tulked too much. With a deep, animal ani-mal grur.t, Sandomar slowly stretched out a long arm and raked his half-open half-open hand across the quivering lips! It was a sullen, sulky blow, like that a she-ape might give a comrade that had led her into brambles, and apparently ap-parently had no power behind It. yet Garge was knocked head over heels Into the sand. Without a glance at his fallen pal, Sandomar picked up the end of a ten-foot ten-foot pole he had brought from the beach and had laid under the bluff out of sight. Por what purpose he had saved It Eric could only guess; i-.ny-way It had failed. Lumbering up, grunting, the ungainly creature threw his burden on the fire. The shower of sparks showed Eric standing tall and grave, bis weapon lowered to his side, white flame on his face. Nan waited behind him, her hands clasped over her breast. But Swede, who had not known the Law, did not raise his head, even when the reviving fire crackled cheerily in his ears and cast its growing radiance into bis open eyes. l'.efore Eric slept, he saw that the oars wore back in place and all signs of the abortive run-away removed. His victory was not so easy, his future so secure, that he dared Ignore one safeguard. Nan stood haggard and trembling at her turf-house door. "Eric, I couldn't live through another such night. I'd sooner die!" "You've got to light on." Eric took her hand In both his own. "We all need you, Nan. I couldn't have won without you, tonight; It was your warning that saved my life. . . . Put maybe there won't be any more such nights, for a long time." "They know you still have five cartridges, don't they? Five between us and the place where Swede's gone. . . . Anyway. I'll tight on. You can count me In to the last." As Eric neared Ills slooplng-lint, what seemed to he a pale shadow detached de-tached Itself from the grassy wall and came stealing toward him. "While Chief." It was Fireheart, who stood with outstretched hands. Eric took them, but his own were cold. "It Is late. Yon should be asleep." "1 wait for you." Her tone was guttural, gut-tural, yet It had a lilt. "I know you catch'm love now." "1 don't understand." "When Fireheart leave lire while ago, she no go sleep. She lay, think, roll over, get afraid. Think maybe other while men kill you. Ity'ni'by she hear big noise. She get up, go see. You gone, while girl gone, everybody gone but Swede. He lay by tire, no go any more, no come make love to Fireheart no more. You lis him." "Hut I didn't do It because of you. Fireheart. I killed Mm because I had to because he iillncked me." There was n long, dreary pause. At hist the girl threw back her head. "Alayho you catch lovo for whllo glrL yes?" She nodded many times. "Her skin she no much whiter than Fire-heart's, Fire-heart's, and she not know how sew skins, trap birds, but she heap pretty and maybe White Chief want her." The girl's tone harshened. "Fireheart, she love hard like north wind. But she no-love like boorga, like big gale." "But the white girl is your friend. You would not try to make trouble for her." "I wait, I see. If you catch love for her, she no my friend. If I no get you, no girl get you. Maybe I kill her. Maybe I have hunters kill you, too. I am Fireheart, priestess of Lost People." Peo-ple." The Aleut girl grunted and trudged away. Eric lingered In ti;e chill dark, sick of heart, baffled, the pilot-star he followed fading on his sight Yet all was not lost. His last cartridge had not been spent in vain. Early In the morning Garge came to Eric's hut suing su-ing for peace. "Me and Sandy made a mistake yesterday, and we 'umbly ask you to let bygones be bygones," the little cockney said. "We ain't going go-ing to make you no more trouble, sir. We sees you 'old the upper 'and, and though we don't much like It, we 'ave made up our minds to stand it." Eric did not smile, even a grim hint of a smile when he remembered the empty revolver in his pocket. "That's good sense. Otherwise there'll be more lives thrown away. You and Sandomar Sando-mar will be treated Just like the others." oth-ers." "Aye, aye, sir! Now, sir, I'd like to make a 'umble plea." Garge's tone grew confidential. "It may seem queer, coming from me, but I'm making It for Sandy's sake, to keep Tm out of trouble." Eric could not Imagine what was coming. "Go ahead." "Can't the two young ladies 'urry up and settle down with the men of their choice? They both 'as their preference, pref-erence, no doubt, and it wouldn't be no 'ardship. You see, sir, as long as they're running around free, Sandy won't put 'em out of 'Is mind, and make 'isself comfortable with one of the squaw-s. 'E's like a bull seal, 'e Is, and sometime I'm afeared he'll lose 'Is 'ead and get 'Isself shot. I don't want nothin' to 'appen to Sandy." - There was sober truth, here. Erie promised to give the matter his attention. atten-tion. "But It probably can't be done at once, and in the meantime you'd better keep your eye on Sandomar," he warned. "He's made too much trouble already. If he so much as touches either of the girls, he's going to Join Sw-ede very quickly." This warning echoed solemnly in Garge's mind during a brief, grim ceremony following the morning meaL Native and alien gathered on the beach, forming a half-circle about a still figure wrapped In a sea-lion skin; Eric stood before them and gravely read a chapter from Mother Horton's Bible. After the brief service, Eric called his friends to Horton's barabara for counsel. Not once did he hint that his weapon was empty he managed to give the Impression that he had solidified so-lidified his position but he urged the utmost caution In all dealings with the Aleuts, and repeated part of his talk with Garge. "There's not the slightest doubt that even lawless men like Sandomar take less Interest In a woman with a mate," Eric said. "As Garge put it, there are not enough wives to go 'round, and an eligible girl Is a constant source of trouble. As far as I know. Nan is not engaged to any one, but Marie and Wilcox seem to have hit It off, and if she'll marry him, here on the Island. It will be better for every one." The two lovers agreed to tie the knot. , As the sun sot In the dreary western west-ern sea. the bridal procession started for the chapel. Fireheart led, her dark face transfigured, almost beautiful, with some half-heathen exaltation, the fiaming pride of what she deemed her divine ordination. Marie followed In ship's clothes; In attendance came Nan. wearing the blue dinner dross boarded from the wreck, her dusky skin glowing, her pointed eyes alight. Behind these trailed the remainder of the Island populace: hunters, squaws and children, Eric and his friends, Sandomar and his wolves, n strange parade. In the dusky chapel, beside the tarnished tar-nished gold candlestick and the single silver Ikon, Marie and Wilcox knelt Fireheart began to chant In some alien tongue of which neither she nor any one here understood the least word. Boy guessed at once that she was reciting re-citing the Hussian wedding ceremony, ns passed down by word of mouth from a bearded zealot of Vladivostok, marooned here nearly two hundred centuries before. Hut that It was magic of first water the priestess herself never questioned. Finally she joined their hands, prayed for them with a zeal that hurled Eric's heart into his throat, kissed them both, and bade them rise. In the silence. Mother Horton began be-gan what the Aleuts thought must he the sacred hymn of the palefaces. Her thin voice wavered nt first, hut gathered gath-ered power as her trihospoople Joined In one by one. singing as though their hearts would break. No doubt It was high magic. All the castaways were now swelling the chorus save the man called Boy, who was smiling tolerantly, and Sandomar San-domar who saw their lips moving but could not understand. The Aleuts wished that they, too. could lean) such big medicine, to make nt their own weddings when the visitors had departed de-parted across the haunted sea: SluniM nuM ncnunintunre bo forgot, mid hover brought to inltHl f VVo'll tlml n 'vip of klmlne rU for !) of nuM liinn nyniv ITO U1B lA)NTLNi:iCll |