Show b jh d M en B ciocu penn Pu bublis blis 1 ina cc by ay GEORGE georgl MARSH makin W I 1 LL 5 service ervi m installment THE STORY SO FAR bound for or the gold cold count country ry six men lost their lives on the nottoway Nott away river red garrett finlay brother brot lier of c one ot of the six and nd diamse halfbreed half breed guide arrive at nottoway Nott away posing as ai surveyors surre what ayou mean by spoiling a nice afternoon nap you old say ay who tore your shirt d demanded malone you pick up all that dirt on that handsome face of yours what you been trying to do while we were asleep blaise gazed benignly down on his startled friends you wake up quick wen you hear flame was nuzzling at carrys neck when the blinking eyes of the latter suddenly widened what in thunder you been into flame youre cut and that damned smell on you ive got beaver castora red smell of that dog hes smeared with it I 1 and what happened to his head blaise hes been struck with a club solicitously garry carry examined the scratch of the knife and the swollen head of his dog when blaise had told his story of the missing dog the log deadfall dead fall set in the clearing and the fight the three friends ate and prepared to leave the island in the early dusk there was no doubt that their camp had been discovered blaise you and flame are two lucky devils said garry as they lay hidden in the shore alders waiting for the rose tints to fade from sky and lake and the dusk to mask their movements both of you walk into trouble and both of you bob up smiling but my guess is that when those two you left bound at the clearing are found by their friends we may hear something queer they have their guns with them when they tried to ambush youl you when dusk fell a peterboro Peter boro drifted through the shadows like a wraith b bound for the head of the lake CHAPTER XVI the police party were hidden near the head of the lake waiting for the return of moise with news from his father the following night in the round of the moon it had been rumored through the fishing camps that the spirit voices would speak to the during the day canoes had passed within a half mile of the camp it was evident that tete blanche had guessed that the men he sought were at the head of the lake ind and ali ivanus al scouts were hunting the shores for them moise should be showing up if were going to move to that hideout hide out tonight said finlay moise will follow de dark of de shore grunted blaise de moon is so bright it bodder him dey got plenty men batchin wat chin well need those shore shadows too garry said red when the moon slides toward those ridges be safer traveling look muttered blaise pointing hardly a mile distant the black shape of a cut across the shimmering ribbon of light banding the lake theres an otherl exclaimed red bed and an otherl what do you make of it blaise asked finlay think got a hunch that were in these islands brassard scratched his iron chin hard to tell this islands not a hundred dundr ed yards long said red if they land here weve got a tough fight on our hands be a case of wolf eat wolf the trouble regretted finlay we want no trouble tonight kill stans plans spoil the whole show tree canol banol grunted blaise dat look bad to me we watch de shore dey may land on us dere was ten in dose boat all righta said finlay this island is three cornered each man take a shore that ought to cover any landing in the dark fill your pockets with shells ill keep flame gagged and hitched to my belt I 1 wont cut the gag and turn him loose until im sure they know were here and are going to land so dont count on his getting their wind and sounding off in case anyone fires asked red do we leave our posts and back him up yes if they land weve got to get together hitching flames leash to his belt garry crossed the little island and took up a position with his uneasy dog so long as the airedale felt his masters hand he would not make any noise with the gag in his mouth but the instant he caught a strange scent his shaggy body would vibrate with excitement less than a hundred yards from where finlay and his dog waited lay the black bulk of shadow of the mainland the water between was washed by moonlight but past midnight as the moon arched into the west the murk reached out toward the shore where finlay waited shortly the strait between thi the islands would be smothered in blackness then if the had discovered the police hideout hide out they would cross with his rifle on his knees finlay sat at listening his arm circling circling the fretting dog to investigate etc murder ll Is suspected inspected it Is s thought that isidore rich burmin fur lur min has made a cold strike and alms to I 1 keep prospectors out on the way to the hudsons nud Hud soni sons bay post they visit isadore in his palatial home meet his bis wife and be moving soon if over there finlay whispered suddenly the dog stiffened the hair along his neck and back biting lifting as he sniffed Fin lays hands closed on flames nose and a nd throat wind something steady boy bo then from the murk drifted a faint sound like a splash of water ah I 1 hear it co coming muttered finlay again finlay strained his ears with caught breath for a repetition of the sound at last he heard what resembled the wash of ripples as if something was swimming slowly across the tha strait what could that mean he cut the gag and lease and the airedale tore through the alders up the shore it must be a swimming otter or beaver hes winded muttered the surprised finlay hed roar at a canoe shortly from the gloom rose snarls the thrashing of creatures battling in the water then muffled gurgles rigid finlay listened praying for the dog he loved flame I 1 groaned the man on the shore happened to you boy what did you meet out there had he lost his dog had flame gone out there in the blackness to his death it was no canoe but what was it garry waited in suspense ears still straining then something moved swiftly through i finlay sat listening his arm circling the fretting dog the water to the shore near him shook itself and bounded to his side flame you old water rat what did you strike out there inlay finlay hugged his dripping dog are you hurt boy A rapid search of the dogs head and shoulders with groping fingers seemed to reveal no wounds garry threw a loop of a thong around flames jaw and waited with arm crooked about him presently the silence was split by a demoniacal wail which lifted like an eagles screaming whistle to die in thin air the startled finlay clung to his aroused dog clamping a hand over his nose what in the name of all the fiends in hell was that wondered the kneeling policeman li ceman the voice ceased and silence again pulsed over moon drenched forest and lake shortly the night was tainted by the bellow of some tortured brute voicing his agony it was followed by mad roars of rage which echoed back and forth between the forest walls of the strait holding his struggling dog finla finlay Y knelt on the shore as the mystery dyste ry was solved in his active brain shortly he heard the thud of wood on wood fading rapidly into the distance he released flame who plunged up the shore roaring his challenge to the hidden owner of the magic voice by the way they are beating it from that howling windigo those wont stop until daylight finlay laughed until he was tired superstitious all right blaise the Wind windigo igol the giant who eats indians Indian sl but where did he lea learn rn how to do this what a voice what a voice I 1 that you garry carry called red stumbling through the bush wheres that foxy blaise ever hear squalling equalling squal ling to beat that they were waiting at the island I 1 to 0 come across but he scared them stiff those paddles were hitting the lake sixty a minute our blaise the big voice the ventriloquist I 1 how you like dat song with flame at his heels blaise moved down the beach and joined his friends Wa bistan tell me dose have fear of windigo so I 1 leeng dem de windigo song blatse blaise youre some prima don nal na you always claimed you could sing now I 1 know it said red A swell idea to scare care those mon i use isadorec Isa Isi dorei dores stepdaughter answering in an appeal from lise finlay to ambushed and rescued by malone andl and blaise it develops that they are mounted police officers blaase returned one right night after a fight with some indians dagnais tagnais tag just what is a windigo anyway blaise chuckled wal de injun vink tink de windigo is beeg wat vat you call giant who eat injun and is ver bad fallar he like to holler at night and scare dem most bush injun is scare of windigo and will not go into country were vere he live they certainly thought a man eater was loose and hungry tonight said garry you had me guessing hard blaise when you first opened up now before we get out of here I 1 want to take flame back into the bush and look him over with a torch happened demanded red finlay described the dogs strange battle in the water then they went back where the light from an electric torch would be masked from the lake and looked the airedale over hes scratched garry said red brassard peered closely at the surface scratches which crossed flames shoulders and forelegs fore legs no claw or toot make dem mark he grunted it was a knife then said finlay you think a Montag nals was swimming across the strait but few of them can swim we put cano in and have a look said blaise at their camp they found moise Wa bistan waiting and told him the story then the peterboro Peter boro followed by the passed through a patch of moonlit water before entering the bank of shadow from the bow finlay pointed to something floating ahead of them that the canoe slid up to the drifting object kept afloat by air bladders of moose entrails fastened under the arms was the half submerged body of a man blaise reached down and turned the drowned body to stare into an evil grimacing face wat vat you vink tink he demanded meeting the peering eyes of his friends tetu tetu the side kick of tete tele blanchel blanche gasped red ah hahl and good ving ting tor for sure he was coming across to hunt tor for us when flame went out and met him note nose to nose and the best man won said red good old flamey Fl ameyl flame pull him and drown him before he stick a knife in him added blaise dat smart chien I 1 saw so smart he know more dan most man but he get foolish ven wen he smell beaver castor eh flame 0 0 0 A 0 it was the first week of august for days the heat like river mist before sunrise had hung in the windless forests of the nottoway Nott away country are you game for a swim lise im stifled with this heat theres an urge in me to mingle my curves with some nice cool lake water yawned dawned corinne isadore im crazy to but since that day at the beach ive been ordered to keep away from there replied lite lise 1 I fixed that with jules this morning the king says we can go have you noticed him since he returned from that trip hes worried lise he mumbles and raves in his sleep one night he kept saying their game their game weve got to get em quick if if they see that plane and get back to montreal its all over overl lise stiff stiffened ened in her h hammock had tete tele blanche got them already what could he have meant corinne she asked with seeming artlessness wondering just how much the other knew it sounds as if they were hunting for garry finlay and t that hat darling malone boy it as if they were going to put them out of the way lise im terribly frightened 1 I am too you saw the indians who stopped here yesterday yes there were twenty of them they were hunting for the survey party 1 I how do you know 1 I heard tete tele blanche talking to them they acted drunk corinne jules is giving the liquor and its against the law jules swears that Fin lays a spy sent from montreal to jump his gold strike on the river I 1 suppose the reason for it all has jules ever talked to you of his gold strike no he treats me like a baby but im sure hes secretly shipped a lot of gold south hes made much money yes hes made money moneys his god but going to come of all this it makes me shiver to think of it three men have been shot what will the police do when they learn of it Co rinnes great eyes were wide with apprehension wheres where s it going to end if finlay stays here and tries to find jules julei gold strike tete blanched kill hint him its if horrible 4 t HO BE CONTINUED |