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Show ; . . I The White Desert BY COURTNEY RILEY COOPER. (Copyright, 1922, Little. Brown Co.) 1 : CHAPTER i it wtls early afternoon and down in the hollow which shielded the leramb-ling leramb-ling utile town of Dominion the air wan warm and hizv with the friendliness friend-liness of May. A longi flleek, yellow racer came to S Atop beside the Ka.s tank and wheezed Into alienee. A young m.in i"S'' from his aJmoHt flat position In ihs low-slung driver's teat, atrutched hlmcelf and slured upward toward the glnrlriK white m Mount Talu-chen Talu-chen the hiphest peak of the .'onll-nental .'onll-nental harkbone. frowning In the coldness of snows that never departed. depart-ed. "Otu? ' "Yep" The young man stretched narain. "Fill Up the tank and bet ter Rive rue halt a g.illon .i oil Young he was, almost hoylsh. vet eountertwila nrl njr this was a SSrlOUS-I SSrlOUS-I new of expre.-.ylon that nlmoot approached ap-proached somhorni x' Th Byes were I dark with something that approached I sorrow. the lips had a tightness abont them which save evldenc.' of the pressure of suffering, all lorm-ing lorm-ing an expression which seemed to come upon him unaware Rm in a ' flash it was Rone, and boyish ugraln. I he had turned, laughing, to survey I the g.ig tender. "Marry Houston, huh" Must bo a new ma ke. I " 'Camouflage' laughed the young man again. "That's my name." Oh. is it"" and the Villager chuqkled with him. "You've uot th' platfl rlifht where th' name o i ear is plastered Usually, and It plum fooled me Where you headed for"" "Over Hazard." "Ain't daft, are you "" "I hope not. It's May, Isn't it?" liok up there.' The old man1 pointed to the splotched of white,: thousands of feet above. ' It may bo1 spring down here. boy. hut It's Janu-' ary up there Thoy'fl only boon two! I'll r. nvir It'irnrH utm.A X- v. - ii. - . ' i Till I'll and they come through Inst week, Both of 'em was old .taa;er.s. Both of 'em came through here lookin' . like icicles an' swearing t' beat four c o' ji kind." A thrill shot through Barry Ilous- , ton. His life had been that oj the smooth spaces, of the oasy ascent of well ,a .-(l cr kI.-s of -t ,-. . : s and comforts and of luxuries. The very I ragged neps of tho thing before him 1 1 lured him and drew him on. "They've got me." came quletlv I'm (folng to mak ethe try!" The gears meshed. A stream of i smoke from the new oil spat out for a second. Then. rOOrlhg and chortling chort-ling with tho beginning of battle the machine swept away toward the slight turn that Indicated the Horag-gly Horag-gly end of the little town of Dominion, Domin-ion, and the beginning of tho fir.-t grade "A six per cent grade If it's an inch:' ho murmured "And this is only the beginning." He settled more firmly in his seat and gripped hud nt the steering wheel Gradually, the severity of the grade had increased to ten. to twelve and In short pitches to even eighteen and twenty per cent! A stop while the red hissing waterl splattered from the radiator cork.' and the lifted hood gave the machine a chance to cool hefore replenlsh-I replenlsh-I ment came from the murky, discolored dis-colored stream of melted snow water. Panting and light-headed from the altitude. Barry lemed acnlns: the machine for fl moment. something touched his f.ic. and melted there snow ' An hour and three more after that a last final, clattering journey. I and Ban leuped from the seat with something akin enthusiasm. Through the swirling snow which' Sllfted Pist the glare of his head-l iightn. he coiihi discern a sign which! told him he had reached uq. summit, I that he now stood at the literal top' Of the world. From now on he could progress with the knowledge that his engine1 nt lenst need labor no longer. Rut the dangers! Harry knew that they I -' i had only begun. Tho descent would I be as steep ius the Climb he had just; made Again he started, the brake bands squeaking and protesting, tho ma-' chine sloughing dangerously as now ' and again Ur sheer weigh' forced It forward at danger o:.-, speeds. He grasped desperately for the emergency brake. For five minute-thers minute-thers had come the strong odor of' burning rubber; the foot-brake linings lin-ings wen- gone.; everything depended1 upon the emergency now! And a' most with the first strain Careening, the car seemed to 4p beneath him. Tho brakes were prnL'-tho prnL'-tho emergency had not even ln.tocl through the first hill Barry Hf1"'! ton was now a prisoner of ape.'1 , cramped in the scat of a run:,lwi,i' oar. Clutching tight at tho wjfioel. leaning, white, tense-fared out! ln,r' the -mow, s lie struggled to I'ego-. tlati the turn to hold the iKrr,flt I pleci of runaway machinery Ju lno 1 road and check Its ipeed fronf' llrVM, to time In th snowbank! One chance was left and! F took it the "burring1 of rr rc'ira In lieu of a brake if thel burred gears could onk hold th( . r f '"' r' ! mile or so more v V Bui a sudden snapping sWJ ended hope ) fie gea i s flW mCHheij, and mesjsfhg, had brokeiiT Again a wild. Careening thing, the! cur was speeding down the stoeposl of grades like a human thing de-! termined upon self-destruction A skidding curve, then a straight-' nway. While Barry dung iG the wheel with lingers that were white with the tightness of their grip A second sec-ond turn, while a wheel hung over the edge, a third and The awful, suspended agony of' space A cry. . crash and a dull, I twisting moment ,,( de ulen. d viifer. Ing. After that blackness. . V. ""'"y. oarry Houston opened his eyes. It was the room of a mountain! cabin with Its sklls and snowshoes , His eyes centered upon the form of I gtrl atandlng beside ihr little win-1 , dow. Fair-haired she was, though Barry did not notice It. Small of build and slight, yd vibrant with the health and vigor thut Is typical of those! wn. live in the open plages. Dar! 1 second turn while a wheel hung' over the edge third mid blue eyes that snapped as she looked out of tho window, watching with evident evi-dent eagerness the approach ot someone some-one Barry could not see. Barrv fell the instinctive urgo to call to her, to raise himself He winced, with a sudden pain, a1 sharp, yet aching throb of agony which Involuntarily closed his eyesj and clenched tight h!s teeth until it should pass. When he looked again, he was gone, and the opening of al door in the next room told hlm where. Ho sought to move an arn only again to desist In pain. H. . tried the other, and It responded The covers were lowered, anc Harry's eyes stared down upon oandaged. splinted left arm. Broken, tlo turned his head at the sound 01 i voir. here calling from the doorway door-way to someone without. "He s getting along fine. Baltlste." Barry liked the enthusiastic man-! man-! ner. "Uui! Heeirj no ver" bad. He be all right tomorrow "That's good It frightened mo, for him to be unconscious so long " "Lemma see. I fin' him six o'clock Now eet is the noon. Six hour. M'alea Thayer he come in the minute. He say he think he kne neem.'J The eyes of Barry Houston suddenly sud-denly lost their curiosity. Thayer" H.ury h;ol lak.-n ar(ieu,,- pains (., keep irom him the information that he was anywhere except the EBosI For 11 had been Fred Thayer who had caused Barry to travel across count rv In his yellow speedster Thayer ho "He say the U'sleU Houston, who own the mill, had written him he was coming." In the other room, Barrv Houston blinked rapidly and frowned. He had written Thayei nothing of the sort The names of two persons flashed i across his mind, one to be dismissed Immediately, the other "I II fire Jenkins the minute I g.-j ' bock!" came vindictively. I'll " I He chocked his words i A moment later . I "How's the patient " ( was ! Thayer's voice, the sanif Thayer that he once had locked upon with all tho enthusiasm and pride of bO' hood, but whom he now viewed With isplclon and distrust. "Guess I'll go in and stay with him until lv wakes up He's mv boss yr.Sl,.0WrrlB0 tno olJ '"an died." Within the bedroom. Barry Houston Hous-ton gritted his teeth. Then, with i sudden resolve, hjj rested his head again on the pillow and closed his eyes Barry could feel that the man was bending over him. studying him mere came a murmur "Wonder what the damn fool came wfas?"" Wonder if he5 CHAPTER 11 iv ZlB,? "f.fort that Houston gave no Indication th.-.- he had heard Wore there had been nly and he had not hoped tq have from "ic lips of the man himself i - on thai conditions were not right at he lumber mill of which Barry Hous' i ton was the executive head. But now ( ce ftpJ2w5S? narro "MS i them n whloh carried Thavcr nut "L Kht of recognition ; f rth u nar'd hand. I m Thayer, you know Thayer jn manager at the Empire Lake, "Have r a manager?" The thin man drew back at thM Barry turned his head wearily .jon't know what you talk. 3SSrJsg you're "I" Am I?" "vv-ell, then, who ore you " ' I don t know nivself " .Jhayer turned and walked to the "Ba'tlste." Ah. oul! ' I, '-Mr. Houston doesn't teem to hJ fContlnued In Our VMt Is8ur) i |
