Show a 0 by EMILIE LORIN 0 service f SYNOPSIS ma THE STORY SC SO FIK FAR janice trent runs rum away from rom ned paxton rich but a gay blade b 1 ade by becomes a device she he secretary at a wilderness in alaska ali camp but bruce harcourt nar court nunly appointed IWO fut who ax has known know a her ante girlhood A was wai not aware ot of it ull latr mrs hale icile wife ot of the deposed chief ahlet bencine engl nerr li Is also attracted attract rd to harcourt her husband treats treat be her bady badly halt hale cufferi a stroke or feigns on the departure of the hales froni alaska ti Is postponed hale Js Is believed to hive have an n affair mith alli tatiana Tat itna in ardlan girl iler her sweetheart theart Kadi Had ami yarna resents it tale hale calls janace J a nice 1 14 the of 0 millacent hale to take some lome dictation a codicil to his will millicent suggests going with bruce and lilt ills assistant tubby gra grant n t on in aa airplane visit to thi th city janice Is invited also in the meantime famce rescues a cat belonging tu to the th samp iston sisters who nho tun run the waffle shop from a bunch ol of huckles hu Kad yarna threw the rat cat to ta the dogs the indians believed it wig wai a bad omen tho dogs attack janice and broce arnce rescues her ile he is furious arcus with her now continue with the story CHAPTER VII still clutching the black cat who was stirring in her arms janice looked the matter matte with the sartorial effect those dogs nearly ate me up and you stand there glowering at me because im not properly dressed dres with a furious lunge for freedom blot flung up a spiked paw clawed her cheek from brow to chin with a cry of pain janice dropped him demoll you ungrateful harcourt flung an arm about her half bare shoulders jan I 1 jan dearl dear I 1 that infernal cati cat his voice broke he pulled forward a chair sit here dont touch it dear dont touch it ill bring something to ease case the pain ills his voice was shaken his face taut colorless harcourt entered with a bowl in one hand scissors and gauze in the other sit still he drew up a chair set the bowl on it dipped a piece of gauze in in the liquid it contained bent over her this will make it smart like the dickens at first like the dickens was expressing it mildly im sure that kadoyama was the kidnaper she put her hand to her cheek and winced perhaps blot has clawed him 1 I doubt it the natives regard the black cat with malevolent superstition kadoyama may have been acting for them forgive me for lashing at you about your clothes jan they were an excuse to blow off steam looking out of the office window I 1 saw you in m the kennel yard I 1 thought id never get to you he cleared his voice ills his turbulent eyes met hers you were wrong ill not threaten again to send you home ill try another plan take care of bf that scratch see you later he closed the door behind him ill try another plan the words ran like an undertone through her mind what could bruce have meant she examined her reflection in in the mirror two red angry scratches streaked her cheek from brow to chin she was a sight andone and ane black cat snoozed as peacefully in the firelight as though he never had done anything more harmful than lick cream from a saucer her anger cooled as she looked at miss martha somewhat later beside the table with the open bible her gnarled big knuckled hands gripped a news paper she seemed tired she was absorbed in in a murder case of course crime accounts were meat and drink to her her white feet were stretched ched at ease her heavy shoes were beside her chair rosy rost benign miss ala mary ry was ab sobbed in in a copy of vogue she looked up to ask in a thrilled voice janice did you notice tins this dress the princess 1 I cant pronounce her name is s wearing janice blinked a mist from her eyes dear little miss mary st starved for what gaunt miss aliss martha cal calad led the pretties of life sakes alive janice and her fash ion magazines have st artud a clothes epidemic in this camp caught mary sending fo for r a free week ipek end sample of tissue cream and face powder fatima spends every spare pare min minute ute with her nose in a mail order c catalogue ata logue WI with th a of disdain miss aliss marohn returned to her paper hapl chair tipped back against t the he chinked walls tubby grant strummed strummer strum med a ukulele crooned softly black haired accompaniment to its tired eyed jimmy chester lounging on the couch pulled at his short mustache with a hand which looked surprisingly white in contrast to the dark seal ring sn the little finger an authoritative knock was followed by the opening ning of the door bruce harcourt entered 1 I the mat matter ter you look as though hough you had bad seen a ghost miss martha rose stiffly pattered forward in her s feet her was warm w with ith affection voice it just does roy rny old eyes good here mr bruce you to see you dropped in for the evening weeks now low I 1 come to for weeks an think of it since janice came mary bring out the bowl an cracker with the nuts weve been savin savin for him mary samp blutte fluttered red forwe forward to y ile 14 n Z harcourt entered the matter you look as though you had seen a ghost I 1 take his cap miss martha patted a chair invitingly sit here mr bruce my im all flustered havin you back again tubby grant drew his hand across the strings of his uke struck into hall hail to the chief janice turned her back on harcourt and bent over her papers give these to the lady who turned her back on us tubby there was laughter in in harcourte Har courts voice beginning to be friendly was he A trifle late in the day janice resented indignantly thank you I 1 dont eat cat nuts grant paused in in the act of setting down a saucer full of meats says you who gobbled all that walnut fudge miss mary made for me all right well keep these for them as likes em cm ell eh chief harcourt laid down his hammer and rose he crossed to the desk gently lifted danices Ja nices chin hows the scratch dear the color flamed to the girls hair her heart seemed to stop what did he mean by speaking to her in that possessive voice touching her with fingers that sent a tingling warmth from feet to head the room was so still she could hear fur tive rustling in m the moss chinking were they all as paralyzed with surprise as she chester face white took an impetuous step toward her grant caught his arm laughed an embarrassed shaky laugh come on jimmy were de trop night miss martha miss mary the door closed with an inarticulate word or two about lights in in the waffle shop the samp s sisters hurriedly departed janice rous roused d from her stupefaction hands gripping gr IP the back of the chair behind her she faced harcourte Har courts indomitable eyes what did you mean speaking to me like that before before everyone I 1 felt as though id been tagged or or posted no trespassing Tres passing she stopped for breath glad I 1 got the idea across good night jan we start at sunup sun up remember a 4 0 A faint pink glow was brightening the east as janice stepped from her cabin attired in in a one piece flying suit of weatherproof weather proof gabardine over her blue wool sports suit she gripped the handle of the gay indian basket which the samp sisters always mindful of the paramount importance of provisioning an expedition had packed to the brim in the other hand she carried her camera under one arm she had tucked a soft felt hat to wear when she reached the city city the mere word had her all excited harcourt nodded and called a greeting as she approached the plane which looked like nothing so much as a mammoth darning needle abs observing erving her approach with two calculating sinister eyes he seemed taller and sterner in his flying clothes there was no hint of his manner of last night grant carne came puffing up good morning little bright eyes its a wow of a day ba gosh lies hes taking the new tanager its a humdinger jump in done anu h flying in g no this is is my positively pos first experience my friends happened to prefer boats and cars harcourt approached eyes on his wristwatch wrist watch ile he glanced at the girl sure you want to go janice nodded assent her wice voice come you will be perfectly safe and comfortable almost no bumps or air pockets in the early morning ill see to her straps tubby toddle over to the hale cabin and hurry up millicent ashes always late lie he appeared as cool and impersonal as might a hired pilot as he explained the mechanism of the plane danices Ja nices mind was a jumble of cockpit rudder bars clips and control sticks grant returned she was watching for me cant conle come if you ou ask me that woman has about abo ut reached the limit of en durance joe made a row last night somehow hed heard of her plan she he did dian didn nt t dare cross him for fear 0 of f consequences the sooner a man like that is kissed goodbye good bye the better t she gave me a list of things to get for her in the big city will boj go jan janice sternly controlled a frantic desire to jump out assented breath lessly yest if I 1 wont be in the way grant dropped into the seat scat beside her harcourt adjusted his goggles secured the flaps of his helmet fastened his sheep sheppie i e c ont coat climbed into the cockpit 1 T turn u r n her over bruce is feeling perky grant shouted janice caught her breath in an unsteady gasp shut her eyes tight opened them cautiously looked down the plane moving the earth all blurry patches of color was falling away ground mists were pelting after one another like a flock floch of white sheep in a gargantuan pasture toward the horizon the sun a disc of name flame tipped moun tain tops with scarlet gold or blinding white heaps of cumulus clouds were piled against the hazy skyline like mounds of whipped cream far away green glaciers glinted through shimmering mist she tried to speak grant grinned and advised through the earphone better talk in this till you get your air lungs the sun rose clear and ruddy lakes and streams which had seemed opalescent silver warmed to molten gold harcourt throttled to a speed to maintain altitude grant prepared hia hi camera breathless with interest janice watched him as lie he made an exposure every twenty two seconds after a while she looked down upon a panorama of forests spruce and cottonwoods cotton woods lakes and bivers rivers barren up uplands JU rids plateaus connecting mountains like jade links in a mammoth necklace fields of seed grass cut by bear trails like lines of experience peri ence worn deep in the face of an elderly giant no sign of habitation save on an occasional shack of a woodchopper wood chopper or fish wheels set in a river she could see miles of glaciers galleys gull gul leys cys rounded knolls iridescent flashes of color wagon roads like threads crossing and crisscrossing criss crossing A railroad looking in the vast stretch of world like a toy abandoned by a boy called away from play twisted and turned like a glittering serpent sometimes b by y caverns which were abandoned gold mines or gold producing creeks fur far below ethereal az as a spiders web unreal in that wilderness ns a castle in the air a trestle spanned a frothing river janice pointed eagerly a question in her eyes grant nodded said through the phone it our heres ait ros bridge skimming racing scudding studding scud ding the plane flew on grant took innumerable pictures at the direction of the pilot they left the lite wilderness houses and farms increased in number they hovered over a city a city laid out like one half of a wheel its spokes converging toward a lovely sweep of river harcourt thrust out an arm to indicate a left curve pointed earthward aride an all easy turn going to land tubby grant interpreted janice looked down upon a field doted do ted with lethargic flies the plane circled losing altitude the tha flies swelled to bumble bee proportions people people moving the ground rose in one corner lay a twisted smoking mass of framework A little bounce another the plane taxed to a stop the two men stood up and stretched pushed back their goggles peeled off theft jumpers liar har court was on the ground first lie he held out his arms come As janice stole a surreptitious glance at the smoking embers he pressed her face against his shoulder dont look at that someone trying a crazy stunt probably wonders have been achieved in planed plane building but no genius has yet designed one warranted foolproof fool proof better leave your flying suit in the bus get a taxi tubby while I 1 see if I 1 can help grant deposited janice in a cab and disappeared it seemed as though she waited hours before they hey joined her the lips were compressed the blood seemed to have been drained away from under their bronzed skin harcourt gave a curt direction to the driver and the automobile shot along the street TO ITO BE CONTINUED |