Show F heart eart 1 of the north N or by william byron mowery co corrum it t b by 1 william dirom mowry CHAPTER IX 12 wing wings over the Wil dernell 0 ON first day of flight as flaun broke full anil and the tile bull chased away amay a layer of clouds beneath bene ith the lie white bilte lil te alan looked down ft lilt man marit tilt liti g at a strange phenomena V lvcy I 1 er grien forestry eusery lakes anil and allbery til cry network of rivers far below maln past last nt tit a epcie to amaza liliu him in thirty minutes ho he was wn coi cohering ering a distance ahil 11 would mould take a whole das da g hard by canoe or koi natik knowing that if lie and buzard shoved up at a police pollee post or larger it would mould mean a quick and sorry end of their flight lit alan planned to abold guch such religiously lie had a con diction that he lie and buzzard eie wanted anted they had left too mm bracke in rd edmonton monton clews clems that nod speedily be followed up tir tip there a wise ise live outfit had certainly connected them alth ft ath aba theft of all that government gov eminent property and had radioed instructions for their arrest eventually he lie and buzzard were going to be caught it was as in eyl evitable table as sunset soon or late they would have hae to return to civil leation and face the music to alan the worst of it was that buz lard rard was going to kiy a heavy price for helping him on this thank less job for himself he did not greatly care he hardly thought of 0 it he ile was headed north ngien on his last patrol his ills greatest pa patrol t rol As they worked on north the they made moderately good time bill but only by incessant care ard worn engine trouble caused them delay again and again they gat sa down on some unknown river hier or lake tale and sneaked for hours over oer the old roo mo tor for fuel was nas a constant problem avoiding Blount mounted ed detachments and hoval signal corps stations like tie plague they dired stop only at wilderness burled posts where here ra dios dlos were uti likely and no police handy they could be tain fain of getting 11 fuel and what the tile did pet get was mas usually half halt kerosene alan nas as looking forward to his ills etith lilt bill as the end of all fill his ivora worry about gaa gas and oil I 1 besides the fuel there at goose point bill had promised to cade calia some supplies up the aloiska near joa joycea joyces ce s home ajan man was fervently looking ahead to meeting dill bill at rn traverse lake to getting those precious supplies to seeing joyce again there on the big aloiska all of his loy ally to the sister of his dead pin pirt ner could not keep heep him from cora com paring joyces joycea vital fat spirited per son allty with voth leisure bored ennui and joyces two year years of heroic sacrifice with rilza elizabeths beths idle deliberate dependence on their last evening worn out by a day of engine trouble and head winds and blind ingrains they alighted in a little bruce burled ebu lake on river a short hundred miles south of fort ill durance anchoring the plane they paddled ashore cooked a warm meal and rolled up in their blan keta for a few hours of desper atela needed rest tomorrows the dac of davs das buzzard remarked thit king of ill the supplies and a base to maneuver from I 1 it its s the diy daiy of days alan agreed but he was uns thinking of joyce running down the path bareheaded in the sun to gre t them tomorrow he would know it she haq safe tomorrow after the rendezvous with bill the incite edair would be dropping down upon the big aloiska Alo oska buzzard was as asleep almost in st antly b but it alan tossing in a u useless attempt to sleep finally got up built a tiny fire and sat beside it thinking a dead pipe in hit teeth all he tint salt abaro andor tb 1 l m spruces spruced he fie tried to look steadily dlly at his looming marriage to ulza beth and decide his cours no longer blinded by idealization of her as a girl he saw now with pitiless insight that all along she had not wanted him unless he had a good income and was out of the north she might love lore him as well as she had ever loved anybody but to her he was not greatly more than u means of getting what she wanted out of life the prospect of marrying her when his respect was gone made alan wince uince and his respect was gone with nith a vengeance biose mo ments in tro cabin then han she offered herself to him had birn a shock and a revelation she had acted not out of excusable passion not out of love but as a guaran tee that he lie would mould take that vic VI toria torla job he lie thought of the lad dent alth something of revulsion now he was groping to see the honest and righteous thing for biro him to do lie ile wondered whether it would be courage or a weak beld ing to desire for him to break with Fl elizabeth izabeth and sweep aside the obligations ligat ions binding him there was right on both sides elizabeth was waiting uniting for him he had promised co 0 o marry her and take tale her out he had burned his bridges and corn com bitted himself to that victoria job yet it was wrong to enter a loveless marriage that would mould bring tragic up happiness it was wrong to marry elizabeth when his wholehearted whole hearted respect aud and love went wit to jovee in the lonely anguish of his lie fie laid his ills deciano deil slun n MOM ir or less in the hands of tilt 1 e lie flit ft it lie niu t see joice joce aga again ln t before lie could take a ucil deishe elve step if he lie did culture thore six 1 crim trials and so cleared lier her father falli cr elie she mould be crateful krate ful with lilt all lier her heairt he ile imant to tell lier her about the tragic which hud hill bound him film to Ut IJ zabeth Izabeth it he could win an back that old intimate bilth lur and they thet could inglat in gin ane anew then the tile right thing win to pit duces imp hap abbie A little after gray damn alin alan rebuilt the ire fire break breakfast fart and reluctantly awakened bis his part ner lier later when toey skirled out to the plane bunyard glanced at the tanks and remarked tersely 1 I 1 hope your buddy this lard sock has lilts got borne some gis gas arid ol 01 out to that lake it 11 1 ie e our finish if he fie liaga 1 will 1111 hare it there alan assured he ile may not riot be there himself lies he 8 probably on duty hut but we agreed exactly where to cache cathe it it 11 be waiting for us they in taxied tailed twice tice around the hie tile to warm the bering motor tools took off olt and headed north toward goose point at I 1 ake hn Tra traverse erse with the heavy rains stopped and tle insect scourges abating ab lulng ajan knew the bandits were on the tile mole again or shortly would be when they did stir he wanted anted tj to be there on tt tl e nig big aloiska to look out for jom her rier since lie caine cattle to believe that dive macdill m knew nothing of the rl he ind irid been puzzling ling about tint thit pack of stolen furs ft 4 A 4 t 11 he tried to look steadily at his looming carriage marriage to elizabeth something dark daft and cpr lay behind that pack there was vas some connection between the trader and those crimi criminals nils but what alan reasoned those furs dian didn t get in that shed by accident those men might ha hai had a grudge against di die e in and planted them there ahey might lave have fig poured mired bed show them to us rind get in hot v rater ater that guess I 1 Is s at least possible if it its a true then their grunge might lead them to strike at fit joe if they intended anything against joyce they doubtlessly would mould at tempt it just before they started eastward on gieir trek through the great barrens and st strong rong woods alan had dreamed of that dreamed of her being captured and taken along ai the bandits had captured BIar giret IN with ith haskell refusing to extend her any protection whatsoever alan felt that he and he alone between her and a terrible danger daner if it any anything thin happened to the plane or to him and buzzard looking ahead attend through the propeller disk he glimpsed the great blue lake late of his ren rendezvous demous with bill rill A few minutes later on the northern shore he sighted goose goos e point reaching out into the sunlit waters of en Trai traverse erse leaning he pointed out the promontory to and shouted into hig his partners partner a ear the place glide down and light closel clostin clo seIn ln as you can I 1 dont don t see bill there but he probably get away from duty to wait for us our supplies are cached in that red willow thicket back next to the woodi woods ile well it go ashore and get them buzzard cut oft off ignition the en ell pine rine roar stopped A the plane glided down doun at a mile long tan gent and swept over goose point alan leaned out into the slip stream and looked under keel lee searching the flag and billow illow u head fiend land for a possible sight of bill hardsock Ilard sock hardly expecting to meet bill he hp vas a as not surprised when his old pi birtner r aner failed to show up but as the machine glided silently orar the point his ees tics were mere caught by an object thereon there on the muddy land atash ash at a second glance he saw it was a large gasoline drum lying in full view at the very tip of the headland the sight right of 0 the drum startled balul he ile queried silently why the devil deill did bill put that thing out there so glaringly 7 he lie didn I 1 need to draw my attention we me ar ranged about the cache ilmond the print point the plane the surface plowed on through a lio cr of ani 1 ante to a tup stop three li undrel ard ards olt off the lie landmass land nash mash in tile lie scarlet and gold police launch hidden behind a low moping mye liulam at water unter edge in 11 actor haskell and corporal chippie watched clied the tile machine mbarr low the lie point As it cuine come down domn und and down domn haskell askell ll clied his ride rifle it little tighter and intently ills heart leaped its n the machine touched the tile wave a veletA lets skimmed on a little distance and came o 0 to a stop heyre Ili 11 feyre eyre going ashore he to hippie as though un able to bellsie his ills incredible inci edible luck ft A ell skim out anarum the plane get ready I 1 uneasy alan op up in the and searched the beada ind with his ills gins glasses ea over and om he kept telling himself that it like his cautious old patrol partner to roll that drum of pis gis ot there while lie be was searching the point he lie felt buzzard excitedly grasp his arm alan I 1 look I 1 lords sake I 1 look there therel alan girled and looked where he pointed at the southern shore et c tle the lake luke eight miles away on a long timbered headland head Jand there a sudden sheet of lame flame had leaped up nearly sixty feet into tie nir air and stood out abue the tree tops top with a fiery flery puff and anc cloudlet of smoke visible for miles and miles across the tile olen water miller A few seconds later the died d wn a little as though it hai had hen ien of origin but a dump of paper birdies birches up which the flame had ried still continued to bi rn like a g torch focusing on distant head lend ahn alin saw not liln wept the f re tt i rapped birches aa As he lie brought the glasses down domn mystified frown lg his ills uneasiness swept through him film again sharp and insistent that suspicious drum of gasoline ell 11 surely hue hie rolled it out there tint thit huge burst of bre fire across tile lie lakeit lake it f rad ld some meaning buzzard ard something some things s wrong rong I 1 lerel ere I 1 all m wrong roll I 1 I 1 don t like the idea of going ashore here if some things wrong you dunt dont know ahat we me might be walking into iela eh what re you going to dol do alee eie got seven gallons of gas in the wing tank and he me in the emer fenly and we can cant t get far on if thal it I 1 abe U 1 be so but mit I 1 im in not walking into any trap somebody alere where we me saw that hg fig gob of 0 fire I 1 m suggestion sug gestin we ire ct et into the air again and it p across and hare a look see our best bet this bayot I 1 here Is 1 all olt off color and I 1 know it if I 1 A IJ U right ile e 11 II hop across but a couple more hops around oer this landscape and well uell be rock ing on the wa waveless wavelets wave lets irom brom the height of a hundres feet alan looked ahead through his hk glasses scrutinizing that timbered joint aint alere the birches were mere still ablaze he ile started as the glasses picked up a tiny man figure far away amily on that hend headland land hatching he saw it rush out upon the extreme roh tip nith tle plane ijane I jane whirling mIi IrlIng er he lie caught the figure in sharper focus and recognized bill hard sock I 1 baving his arms hat and pit pi t oa of a pine tree bill was mas trying to draw their attention alan leaped forcad d cupped his ills hands and shouted to buzzird bill 1 there on the held heid land ll 11 ajit ht and tail in lies nav ing us down domn so it must be safe ile veil 11 soon see what the tile trouble Is they angled down on the water and d close in ashore in a canoe bill came piddling out to meet them I 1 kno no i bcd ed 3 on oud 4 mike it alani alan I 1 he panted looking lookin with mirvel ln eyes at it buzzird and the pline 1 I knowel icum allow up sometime the ras gag and oil that Is most of it its it s right ashore here ready for you there s more cached up the Alms kalooski Alo oski lt too I 1 v vas as scared seared han ou on lit down over there I 1 lord I 1 I 1 was afraid you were mere a goner hastily introducing a new pirt ner to an old one AI in de minded ft hat dou mean bill 1 chat un der heaven are you doing oer here hat happened mm alin youre you re all shot am half dead bill admitted ills olce was thick he could hard ly stand up IN ith the long I 1 over a n fearful reliction tion had hail set get in he lie looked ready to fall down asleep rut but bhat happened alan repeated alan man that johnny jump up caught onto our trick he ile no was out to bag this air lichine and nail nall you two and he came skittish close to doing it IL lemme tell it 11 1 I had find those drums cached over there on corse point like lite we me ar ranged and I 1 ws waiting malting there neier suspecting a thing one cv evi ning ding been four or five days ago I 1 ive ve d n near lost track of time anyway I 1 was sitting there in the willows slapping mosquitoes and listen listening lill to a couple of raise cain coln with something bach back at the timber edge 1 11 I nothing much to do so I 1 sort of moseyed back that way to ste t hat all tie the fuss a nus us about lien hen I 1 got up pretty chube au I 1 all at once ellid tobacco smoke cagar ette simke anike JUM a balut whiff ilaff but InI mistake staLe about it it 11 lint lie the 1117 li 11 lim 17 pit s L hoe ito s smoking eni oking burky around atrell ix rc it nolde in ule me leery away aay I 1 followed lily nose up vi nind ind and snuck up real careful there la in the first drogue of hat enin was as a it smoky that ogi bitting sitting against a tree lighting one on he tile butt of the last were mere that kint of elg ci giretto irette that 1111 kell gets rhear from front carls alan lian afien he fin flolly illy got wise ice to somebody being near lie grabina for ills 1 lut but I 1 lumpe jumpe I 1 for him film too quick and tilt lilt hlin film a couple clince find ond lilla he lie wis ca c ming out of it I 1 lopped that gun of ill bis around a tree tl TI en ell I 1 collared hlin him and aed tilled bini film whit the cond condign irrin tion his intentions might he at first it he closed up like an ower and t do nothing but grunt and look sur s ur I 1 was of him laying low there watching me so I 1 up and la latimei amed hi h I out of him then and there till fill he did pry open his jaws jams Il akell had hired him to shadow me and spy out what hat I 1 n na all |