Show rHE jEE ISLE Ori OF Or RETRIBUTION i ty Ey 1 If HALt I rT Kr LD aY ft Q dM BEGIN nEIlE RE TODAY TODAr Des Bess Gilbert Ned Comet Cornet and n l the lattera latter fiancee Lenore Harden Harden- worth Harden worth are shipwrecked They take taker refuge o fur on an 11 Island where here they Plod find a man named who promptly makes the three thre hIs hl pris-onera pris otters onera He tell tells t ll them that the only other inhabitant ot Of the Island Is lother hIs Indian wife Trite The Tho prisoners on rs u are r allowed to build buld a cabin fOI to fo themselves Lan Lan- Lanore Lanore ore Lan ore Is la not Inclined to labor ao so she ah flatters om ana ne allOWS her to remain with the squaw while he ell Bess B s and Ned until the they th tall faU unconscious Bess and IId Ned ore are given ven n different trapping routes Together they plan an escape from the Island and through Lenores Lenore's enore treachery hears heers ot of o their arrange arrange- arrangements ments Ho follows them out on the tho Ice lc and forces them back toward hll hie hi cabin NOW GO G ON Wm WITH THE TIIE STORY They walked almost In Silence Nod Ned In front then Boss BOH Bee their cap cap- captor captor cap captor tor bringing up the rear a strange death march over those frozen seas sea The file lilB trudged on Ned Ned rd Jid J d the way unguided The Th hours passed The dim shadow of ot the th shore crags strengthened And another twi- twi twilight twilight twi twilight I light Bas S laying its Ita first shadows on on the he snow mow as us they stopped stepped upon the snowy beach It was at this 1 point that Dess Bess suddenly an able able quickening of her pulse an untraced bU but breathless excitement that was Willi wholly apart from the tact fact that she Eha was nas nearing the cabin of her The al air Itself seemed curiously hushed hushed electric as It If a great greats storm nero hero gathering the moment waS Teas poignant with II a breathless suspense She could not have hav told tord why A moment later Ned turned to toh her r ostensIbly to help her up the steep slope of ot the beach She saw with amazement that his face v as stark white and that that his eyes c es e ned gloved 1 10 cd tike like live lve coals Yet no message was as conveyed to Dooms Dooms- Dooms dorf dorf dot behind It was only her own closeness to him her 10 lute e that brought her soul to his hie hl that told her of ot some far reaching and terrIfic crisis that was wa at hand haM hal d at atlant last Walk Walle exactly In my steps ho he whispered under his hia breath It was only the tho faintest wisp of sound no louder than n his onn on breathing yot ot et Bees Dels caught story c e er word She did not have to be bo told there that there was Bas Infinite urgency be- be behind behind hind bo-hind hind the tho command commend Hoi Ifor lie nr os seemed to leap and twitch yet cut cut- cut there thero was noa no visible sign that a message had boon been passed be- be be between h tween heen een them I be-I Now Nod Ned vas nos leading up toward I I I the crags Into a little pass between een the rocks that w was s a nat nat- natural nat natural ural egress from the tho beach on to the hills He Ho Walked easily one step atop s p after another In regular cadence only his glowing epee 03 could have told that this Instant had by light or circumstances bO- bO beyond be beyond yond Des Bess Bo a ken become tho the most crucial In his life lite And It was as a strange and Ironic thing that the knowledge he Ilc relied on now the facility that might turn defeat In- In Into Into In Into to victory was not aonie finesse gained in his hl years cars of ot civIlized 11 living some ing no cultural growth from some great creat university far to the south but merely one ono of tho the basic tricks of o a humble trade rf had told him once that a good trapper must learn to mark his sets Any square quare yard ard ot of territory must bo so identified In th the eyes that the trapper car return d days dais S later wan walk straight to It and know Its eVer every detail Ned Cornet l learned arned his trade heI He was a II trapper and he knew thIs llila snowy past pastas pas as an artist artistI knows his canvas lIe He stepped boldly through Den Bess walked l j just t t behind stepping in his hl tracks Her h heart art raced It vas niia as not merely because the tho full truth WM hidden front from her that she walked straight and un- un afraid unafraid iUd ld She could hould s follow ely bro where Ned led Now Noss both hoth bothof bothof of It them then had pasted pM ed through the little eft narrow gap gol bet between een lofty ept crags trudged just behind calamitous Then something sharp and cal cal- cal as aa a lightning bolt seemed to lo strike the pass paes There Was WaR a 0 loud aloud tIng ring and clang of metal the sharp crack ot of a 0 snowshoe frame broken to kindling and then ob- ob ob obliterating lIl rating both a wild bellow of human agony that ota ofa of ot a mighty might grizzly hounded Bounded tl to the tho death Ned and ana les had passed In safety BarNy I I but had stepped Squat el ely Into the tha gl great eat bear benr trap that X Ned had set act the th UI t t before The rite cruel jaws Java snapped teun II a dc aclang clang cIting anc of ot Iron and the crunch ot of flesh lesh Th The shock more than any 1111 human frame framo could endure hurled to his knees yet let et so 80 mighty waS waa w II his hia physical stamina that thal he lie was Wils able to retain his grip gripon on his hig rifle And the tho Instant that h he l ent down Ned N- N tl ln sa lIge fury tury to strike out his hated life b before fore he could again He was l i as upon him before DOoms Dooms Dooms- dort orf could raise ralsa his hi rifle As he sprang he ho drew his knife from freM Its Mh th l and cut a white path through Antino the gathering duck dUlk Anti And no now their arms went ent about pOoch each other in a final struggle for tor mast mast- ery mastery Caught aught though ho Will was In the tho trap a has ft as not beaten yet Incredible f He met t the attack with In- In In credible PO power er His great hairy r I Lo Doom lort hal had I into the Great hear DIAl Trap hand caught Ned B s arm um aa na It des des- descend d and though ho C could lIld not hold It he lit forced him to drop the blade bladt With the other he reached for tor his hili enemy's throat This ass as the final conflict yet yot ot of such might nero hero ere these theae contest contest- contestants anta ants ao so terrible the tho fury tury of Their onslaughts that both knew at ot once that tho the fight was one ona of ot secOnds These two mighty men gave rave all th they y had The fingers finger clutched and close closed at Neds Ned's throat The right hand of the latter from which the blade had fallen tugged at the pistol butt at holster Bess Boss leaped In like a wolf she she In defense of her Iter cubs cube but one great sweep of arm hurled her In fn the snow There Thero were to be bo no outside forces influencing this battle The TIle trap at foot toot was Nods Nod's only advantage e and he ha had do- do doCO coed do-coed CO coved ed his enemy into It by his ovo own n cunning It Was ft as man to man at atIat last a 1 cruel oruel war settled for good and all It could endure but but an instant moro more Already those iron fingers were ere ere crushing cru out Neds Ned's life So closely matched wore were the two foes so o their strength that their cely moved at all each ach had the Other In an lion iron II on embr ce Nod tugging with his left lett hand at atthe atthe atthe the fingers that clutched at nt hIs throat trying to pre pre- prevent preVent pre prevent pistol vent his bis foe too from drawing drafting tho the pis- pis pis tol that ho he wore worn at his hig belt and turning It against him It was the tho last oar v t ar and now It had become merely a qU question ot of which would bl bleak eak first They lay together In the snow anew utterly silent tor for all human eyes eye could see their races white with agony every muscle exerting It its I full tull pro suro ever s 8 tiger closed more mora n or tightly at Neds Neda throat ever Neds Ned's Ned pistol rl right ht hand drew slowly at the It ol of at belt Neither tho the gun nor the strang- strang trang-gling trang fingers finger would be needed In Ina Ina a moment more The Th strain Itself r would soon oon shatter and destroy detroy their mortal hearts heart The night seemed to be falling Neds Ned's eyes his hi familiar snowy n y world wa was dark with the nearing shadow ot of death But the pistol was wa free of the holster now and he ha was 1111 wa try try- trying trIng tn ing to turn It In his hi hand It took all the strength of ot his hla hi rs- rs re re s to exert a alast last last vital ounce of preB pressure ure Then 1 hen there here was wag curious low 1011 sound Bound mut- mut muffled mut rl fled d and dull as ae a sounds sound heard In a adream dream dream ream And dreams passed over him like wavea wave over water M as a he relaxed at last lad breathing In great grut sobs ob in the reddened drifts Bees Beis emerging Into ness ness crawled slowly toward him lIe felt the blessing of ot her nearing presence e even en In his hi sleep half half But their late ml master ter lay curiously Inert his foot still hold by the ClOud jaws of ot Iron A great groat prey beast had fallen tallen In Inthe inthe inthe the trap and the killer-gun killer had sped a bullet ranging upward and shattering his hi wild heart e e e All this was waa just junt a tL page pago In Holl Islands Island's history She had had ono one I dynasty a thousand thousand years before his first track in her spotless sno snouts s and all that had been done and endured was vas not more than a 8 ripple in the tides that t beat upon her shores hores With a anew anew now new spring she ehe came camo into her own again Spring brought the Intrepid id sputtering through the new I pas pas- passages pas passages sages between the floes and the theold theold theold old island kings s returned to rule j i before ever the masts mast of ot the tho little craft had faded and vanished 1 In Inthe inthe inthe I the haze The Tte Intrepid had taken cArgo other than the usual bales balos of furs ture The sounds bounds of ot human voices human voices were no more moro to be heard in the ee and nd the Wolf olf no lon longer er start Mart led rear icar and ana r at hart hy by the sight of a tall living form formon formon Oil on the trails trail The traps were moss mess o lost and ond the wind might fag rage tago tho the night through at atthe the tho cabin window and no one would h hear and no one would be afraid The rhe savage pOVl powers potters ers of the ft VI wild lid held undisputed away s ay Once onee more not again to be lIe set to naught bYI by these sel sel Ing mortals with a law unto themselves Henceforth I all law was that of o the tho wild never to be bo questioned or disobeyed I Even the squaw had gone on the Intrepid to join her people In n a distant tribe But there Is no need to follow follo her On the head head- headlong headlong headlong long j journey south to spread prend the tho word of their re rescue cue of their hal hal- halting halting hal halting ting at the tho first port to Bend and to learn that the occupants ot of the second lifeboat had been re res- res res i lIel tied from J lard months be- be before be before fore tore of o Godfrey Cornets Cornet's glor ot at atthe atthe the sight eight of ot his sons lions son taco and the knowledge of the choice ho he had made of the light and shadow of their life lite trails trail In the cities of ot men there thero ere Is I nothing that need be fur fur- further fur further ther thor scrutinised To Hell Island they were for forgotten otten The trindY v snow linow fields Knew them no mote more Yet Yel for tor all aU they wire were w ro bitterly cruel the wilds had been kind too They had shown hown tho the gold front froni the dross They had revealed to Ned the a way nay of f happiness and It led led him him to straight Into Bess arms Thero he could rest at the cud of othia his hili days day's toll loll there thero ho he found not only lovo and life but the tho sus- sus sustenance sus sustenance of his spirit the soul of I strength by which ho might sand erect and face faco the light lIe Thus they had found a sate safe har- har harbor harbor har harbor bor where the Arctic Ind ft Ind might never or chill chili them a 0 hearth where here such terror as dwelt in the tho dark dorle outside could not come In InTHE inTHE THE THC END |