Show 7 ay EMILIE LORING ad service SYNOPSIS THE STORY SO 60 FAR FAK janice trent runs away from rom wedding ned paxton rich but a gay blade unbeknown to bauce harcourt a family farnoly friend the he becomes become secretary of an alaska camp of which he be li Is chef engineer biale wife of 0 the man mail whom he be sue suc ceedee li Is also attracted to him br bruce ce at t first wants wanta to tend send janice back bach on a trip toabe to the c city ity abe encounters P paxton and te tells Is h him tin she Is married to liar har court the latter bears bean it and insists on a wedding that day after a vi edding party arranged by the samp sisters who run the waffle waffie shop bruce and jamie janace go eo home only to be disturbed shortly by millicent who aho tells them her husband joe hale has been shot dead it you had only waited she exclaims to bruce and crumples druce bruce spends the night in investigation the commissioner arrives and a probe Is on jimmie cheater brother who hated joe seizes a plane in the meantime and bops off now continue with the th story CHAPTER XIII the commissioners eyes were sharp but reassuringly friendly as he took command of the situation mrs hale did you quarrel with your husband before you went to the dance last evening did he object to your leaving him was it only last evening she shivered hi vered ile he want me to s go but you went yes for a short time did he threaten you not more than usual mm I 1 see had he quarreled with anyone at headquarters with mr harcourt you cant suspect him you cant bruce never quarreled with him he was at t the waffle shop every moment till he walked home with me and then he come in I 1 but the shooting was done with his revolver how do you know the question was a strained whisper it was found on the shore she looked up with agonized eyes at harcourt standing by the mantel I 1 brucel bruce ill I 1 you and your brother were in in the 11 house helping decorate it did you notice whether the gun was there ere 1 I I 1 notice anyone there besides you and your you r brother kadoyama Kad yama brought in the greens miss marykwas mary Maryg was unpacking some things in one of the bedrooms mrs hale describe what you found when you entered the cabin joe was lying face down on the rug wh wheelchair wheel eel chair overturned ined I 1 dont know how long I 1 stood staring at him I 1 felt something tugging at my s skirt kirt it was my little dog begging to be taken up that broke the spell of horror I 1 raised joes head and shoulders realized what had happened and rushed for mr harcourt the commissioner fitted spatula fingertips finger fin er tips together with nice precision any theory as to the motive for the attack on your husband mrs hale her thin fingers tightened no unless unless it was robbery joe always carried a lot of cash why did you go for mr harcourt instead of your brother go for jimmy why he hated joe and she stifled a cry with one hand youre not trying to make out that jimmy did it are you brucel bruce brucel bruce I 1 you know jimmy you know that hes incapable of a thing like that did he tell you then that he was going away away where she was on her feet swaying as she stood harcourt pressed her back into the chair take it easy millicent jimmy went off in a plane where bruce where in just one hour he will be on his way to find out we wont trouble you any more now mrs hale good afternoon see you in the morning come on harcourt out of earshot of the samp cabin the commissioner stopped that woman knows more than ashes telling a whole lot more well let her think were as dumb as she thinks we are while we go after chester the commissioner said bruce knew every field where a plane could land harcourt admitted it 1 I 1 do we have three large camps stocked with provisions for two years they have good fields unless chester had an accident he must have come down in one of those he go to a city or town bf any size if 11 he is running away he would know that you would have his description broadcast we well 1 I I 1 start in an hour leave someone in charge with instruct instructions eions to let mrs hale have her head get em cm all feeling secure the idea going to eat at t the he waffle shop no ai m my y cabin I 1 want to talk with pascal pasca my houseboy house boy and leave grant in charge tubby grant was strumming a mournful ditty on his ukulele as harcourt entered his cabin and left instructions keep your eye on janice will you what a heck of a honeymoon by the way millicent suggested robbery as the motive of the attack on joe no money was found on him or in the cabin you remember kadoyama will bear watching rose from the chimney out of earshot of the samp cabin the commissioner stopped drifted lazily into the pink afterglow 9 low as harcourt entered his cabin he stopped on the threshold was that really an embroidered cloth and shining silver on the small table laid for two or was he seeing things the plates and tumblers of the warranted to withstand wear and tear variety were his lie he would swear to that who was humming to the accompaniment of an egg beater he flung open the kitchen door ili janice linice I 1 Is T the e girl in her gay smock furiously beating eggs in a bowl bobbed a dancing school curtsy what are you doing here here I 1 milord send word by miss martha that it if I 1 did not return to the H house pronto he would come for me 1 I send for you because I 1 W wanted anted a cook dont bite miss martha inti anti mated that as a chef pasca left something to be desired 1 I seen my duty an I 1 done it look at that asparagus with sauce vinaigrette I 1 found a basket of gulls eggs im making an a plump yellow not one of those thin things with a soap sudsy filling something tells me that I 1 have mortally offended your houseboy house boy he cares so awfully for himself as a cook harcourt looked gravely at janice seated across the small table for the first time in my we life I 1 understand why my fat father her always said grace at his own table mother was something for which to give daily thanks if he had nothing else he cleared his voice where did all this elegance come from lie he touched the beautiful cloth with a shining suver silver spoon 1 I told you that I 1 had not rea realized quite into what I 1 was adventuring thought I 1 might have a an occasional afternoon tea and you drew this it is all w wrong rong jan but we wont go back to that now he looked at the clock 1 I am taking off in just thirty m minutes in where after jimmy chester oh not nol not nice jimmy chesterl chester does the commissioner think he did it 11 ile he told her of the interview with millicent hale while pasca served the simple supper As the eskimo set cups of collee on the table harcourt smiled at the girl this has the restaurant at which we dined beaten a mile feed tong pasca F fuel uel the tanager I 1 will be at the field in ten minutes A As s the door closed behind the man and dog janice asked why are you taking that particular plane because I 1 can take oft off after a run of less than three hundred feet and come to a complete stop one hundred feet from the spot where the plane first touches the ground As I 1 dont know where I 1 may have to come down its the best bet ile he looked at her steadily do I 1 need to tell you that Milli cents intimation ti that it would matter to me if she were free is a figment of her crazed imagination janice was intent on the pattern she was etching on the cloth with the tip ol of a silver spoon imagination 1 it sounded lilic the real thing to me he caught her shoulders you know better belter you know that I 1 good lord is that the commissioner knocking cant he allow me a minute with with my family he opened the door the smiling impeccably dressed man facing him said suavely 1 I was told that I 1 would find ned the choked exclamation came from janice harcourt glanc glanced ed at the clock five minutes before he was due at the flying field only five minutes he looked straight at paxton whose eyes were on the girl come coine in jan here is a fric friend nd from the outside world As she took a step forward he glanced unseeingly scein gly at his wristwatch wrist watch sorry that I 1 have to leave headquarters just as you arrive paxton but janice and grant will show you the wonders wonder s of this north country he caught the girl in his arms its like tearing my heart out to leave you beautiful I 1 he kissed her eyes her throat her mouth she struggled for an instant before e she relaxed against him he pressed his hia lips to her hair Dear dearest estl I 1 ila ha ar courtl the commissioners shout outside crashed into his husky voice voice janice caught the back of the chair ns as he released her her long lashes were a dark fringe against her colorless skin paxton was staring out of the window a fighting set to his shoulders harcourt picked up jumpers helmet rifle his blood raced ile he had intended to kiss janice lightly a mere gesture to impress the late flance fiance with the reality of their relationship lation ship the feel of her in in his arms had set him aflame he had kissed her as though he were starved for her as he was would she forgive him she followed him to the door in true wifely solicitude said in a voice disconcertingly steady good luck to you bruce As he stepped to the board walk she leaned forward to whisper furiously your technique is is superb you must have had heaps of practice but why martyr yourself to impress ned he caught her hand she twisted it free stepped back the door closed harcourt was still stubbornly clinging to the conviction of jimmy chesters innocence innocence when on the third day of the search he left the northernmost camp not one of the three he had visited had yielded a clue the commissioner was irritated and air air worn lie he had ordered a return to headquarters had radioed grant to expect them that afternoon As harcourt climbed to cruising altitude the first uneasiness as to chesters safety seized him once he thought he heard the vibration of an engine ahead it cou be the commissioner must be a sound mirage he sent the plane up again and came out into the sun the altimeter registered a mile lie he kept above the clouds till he came into clear sky descended to get his bearings was that a camp below men looking no bigger than beetles moving digging probably archaeologists in search of the first americans ile he looked at the compass his heart stood still it had gone dead some electric current in that prickling rain storm had done the trick where was lie he A buzz in in his car warned him that he must have more forward speed instantly or the plane would stall and spin out of control As he climbed swiftly he looked round the horizon to get his bearings toward the south the sky was black with smoke old kalmal tuning up now he knew the direction in in which to fly he mounted into the clouds they were moving south so uth they would serve as compass the drone of an engine was he really hearing it the effect was weird suddenly fog caught him to his astonishment he came out into brilliant sunlight what an in infernally fer nally queer worldly the berg dot ted sen sea was over his right wing in his relief he laughed the plane had flopped on its side ile he righted it and took his bear bearnes how long had he been hying flying aimlessly in the storm he glanced at his wristwatch wrist watch noon lie he frowned at the gas gauge do much more experimenting with that supply he peered over the side aide of the ship an ice floe big as an able bodied island with acres of plateau ile he wing slipped nearer wires humming three of them two moving one hiort A plane on its sidel side the phantom of the clouds cracked up could one of the dots be chester no jimmy went alone engine shut off he side slipped down landed bumped and skid ded 0 the rough surface to a stop the hoe floe stretched away inimitably illimitably not a collection of cakes but acres of grinding heaving ice fields their smoothness broken by an occasional crevice choked with loose fragments by swiftly running rills lie he pushed back his helmet the crip pled planel plane 1 good lord what a 2 wreck propeller smashed one wing gashed into fringe fi inge by the ice where was the pilot TO BE CONTINUED |