Show DM 4 N 7 I 1 I 1 B B I 1 I 1 BS BB B B fi M I 1 f by ARTHUR UK STRINGER W H U SE SERVICE CE STOUT so 80 FAR fan sim osith he h hlin of be belm up to a AIM A hindi st wm area to be k ibana arnut cr nUt domed and hi utby glubt ut bm ate KM oell to ur ex atee ID are of at use mona trumpeter elar wa pyne etere be py them nanch se la esa able crater deleet in norland akely ta be bay I 1 lockheed were bat 1 while we ard 1 li wy ur paso b otolea w chea ha be berta es oat to nod ft ald ij aided b W bained G nd 11 b by tm aid ad pro ore le leban ban sea and ad wes minty ir be return to rm bryne Fr aher ir lonii to I 1 myne axi the lockheed 1 nd 11 11 pilot aimed into sum sibe it Is ab bs batni g sair oat of 1 the on dainto I 1 tor gioi ant when lots bind attempt desepte to la ex 1 kibano th plane cheo be h D ll 11 4 bechet bec set b by karnell re sued bavei haia ba alsid dim 14 inter on I 1 elded bleed eikemo inc cerdo ed to IB of as fayne 1 barso b which bein out to be pitchblende K bubla lu bla beare ol 01 a now nd manty ea who azaad zaad sude plan alme mid bed are r inse dain it hv bell bee been jd j d by tb was adre a nd hit ane alas teat slide slade would dot be anre test left hit plane I 1 unguarded ute abar real a I 1 ir that I 1 ba happened based to be him ibe hyim hi booe as 08 blode to in her a lather I 1 plane to fix and we biro now w with ft abe at atory CHAPTER pvn A low lowering a ring surn sun and a quick glance at her gas gauge told lynn that her cruising had carried c her farther as afield than she had first intended ti tired tid d and dispirited she be set her ship down on a manya many armed manyard Zd lake that met a series ot of limestone ridges on one side an and d merged into scattered islets and muskeg on th the e other and after eating and ad noting the this thinning aming light about in her es she decided that enough flying h had a d been done for one day I 1 rf so she slept apt that at night in the plane e bam cabin as she had done often tene enough 9 11 before for her ase sleep to tor all her weariness or be was both broken and troubled when she wakened awakened in the gray light of morning mg it was oddly like awakening wak on ng to a can call she se sat up and looked about wondering as to the source of that ghostly a summons she smiled when she heard I 1 it repeated repealed ifor for what had come to I 1 her er over or the lake water draped with w tob t its morning mists was the echoing ca call of a trumpeter swan ly lynn do quietly opened the cabin hath hatch end and studied the lake s surface A moment later her eyes coasted the nearer dearer shoreline and ahr through ough the scrub spruce she saw a bor bear crawl down to the water a edge and d drink she thought at first that it was wounded its movements were so al alow 0 w and uncertain then the b bear ear w with ith an effort stood up on its h hind ind I 1 legs age and the staring girl saw it was not a bear but a man lynn clambered down fro from th the plane and d hurried ashore ab she cour coursed ad over gravel beds end and gul hea and pushed her way through a tangle of briars or am her breath coming m shorter and d shorter g gp gasps P as she he ran she did not at ga call out mil but 1 I 9 gladness 1 aaness and anxiety ewel swept through ugh h her e r in interlocking waves as she he hurried on for even before she coffron confronted t ad th that at squatting figure re she knew it was slade she dropped to her knees in go front of f hun him alan she cried his is gaze remained empty and un r pon ive its not a dream alan she panted red a as she he crowded closer to him and fir brushed bushed back the tangle of hair from h his I 1 face she could see a little of the vacancy go 90 out of his eyes eye lynn L ya he mumbled still incredulous yes ves it ua lynn she be told him en it ims his ragged body with her arms ive found you lynn noticed noti cedi aror for the first time the gauntness 0 of his is tremulous body she supported t ac I 1 b him go as in he a sank ank to the ground where he be sat at staring ng at his worn and battered flyers flyer a boots 1 I 1 lost a t my knife he uttered muttered that count now dow she told him there a food and everything we need in the plane but im I 1 m wo wondering dering it you can walk the that I 1 far he laughed again less harshly 1 I guess I 1 could still walk a fun hundred miles for a meal h he said ar as mcalla he once more got I 1 to his fe feet t it s what ive been doing waldir walking g walkin walking a she eased him to t 0 the ground al along ong a slope 0 of f moss covered or v erad oxe rock when she reached the lake arm where the plane was testing resting tro then h an she hurriedly made a fire 1 re and brought brought canned milk and ad coffee from her or cabin stores he remained a as passive as a child go m a hospital war ward it while she tugged and turned and rid red him of h his tat clothes ahe she b bathed ached his bruised body tivit noting he the I 1 a cuts t and a oil scratches which s she 1 later anointed is I 1 w with I 1 ante witch hazel then she dressed him in the padre s it denim shirt which was wag too small for in him im and in the padre padres denim demin overalls which were to too wide in m the waist w and now she said weve got to get you I looking king less leas like a bear he smiled a little I 1 itt a as she lathered his face and be bent nt over hun him with her razor H hwd howd wd you find me he asked se as the razor blade scraped clean his hi hollowed hallowed cheek check the swans wed wakened ons me ah he ahe bald d as she a scraped sold 1 I might he have slept on if it hadn haan t been for them fowl I 1 40 yes kes its lynn she told III him ive found yoo yen and not seen you 1121 he blinked inked down at the plane plan wings brog in the 1 lake ake cove surrounded ti by its sheltering ridges what is it asked lynn ive a got to go back cried slade dialto lg at struggling to his I 1 set feet back where asked lynn startled by the look of hate that darkened his face to where hiding with that bockh lockheed and ad ive got to find turn torn stead and frayne his voice shook with passion ive an account to settle with them he told her briefly of his capture and abduction of chis his escape fr from the island 1 and of his 1 loss oss 0 of f strength as he ened brie d to fight his way down to the coast and if you come he concluded id have gone out the way they wanted me to then you go back she maintained Y yva youve va faced danger enough h we know what those men are now stop at nothing and I 1 dont want you killed he shook off her hand and faced her who knows what those men are area he demanded she told him of Um Uma anaka discovery end and of the flying padres padre flight that brought him to the two elbet tied old sourdoughs from t the h a kass kasa kana slades eyes narrowed as he listened then my hunch bunch wrong he tied cried out as his face darkened with a newer or hostility Us he looked at the spruce ridges that stretched away to the south then he looked at t the faded blue wings wing of 1 the plane place L lets I 1 a get going he announced with a brusqueness the that t brought her gaze about to his his face fac s not yet she said r realizing in g how remote from her he be stood d in his he I 1 man a world of conflict wh what at is h n ita he questioned ailed by the intentness with which she continued to s study tu d y ht him if you go I 1 back G k t there h e re she told him inn s it will be like go going g into hot bat tle it will but he cut her short it 11 be battle all righta right was the b jark bk k that game came fro from his dry Y was lips 1 Ps 1 vt we cenit cant tell what will if happen she ehe went on we can t be sure it of anything but before we go I 1 wool want to be e sure of one thing of what he asked ms his eyes on the plane but after another look at his gaunt face ace she knew there was no room for life a subtler hungers in that h tired end and broken broke body ot of it his and p slide ide coming to her rescue e kept her ler from answering his q question as I 1 go let s go was III all she be said aid as she stooped to gator gather up her seat scat to d P possessions gesn sled slade or at the controls control southward w with et h his is throttle wide open lynn from time I 1 line to time was consacro conscious a of the grin grimness ances a of his ace ace n yet she smiled as she realized that a part of his griz grimness onesi was due to the assiduousness id ne with ih which ch hie he we was chin ch chewing in d dried ti ad b beet se as h he a raw flew he had been hungry she he re m med b for forlong a long time line T then he he stopped chowing chewing and scrutinized cru tuned the country under bi his s floats the emptier rock ridges had a d given way to more closely watered ered catered Zat terrain to a region of lakes e end and streams stream interspersed ed wit with it di dolorous r stretches of muskeg and mars marshland i and we must be getting there h he a called over III his shoulder as a still larger la lake be floated under them and we was left behind I 1 there should be smoke lynn told him father said a fire would be kept going where asked slade where what you left your ship she explained aimed already y searching the blue misted adges be before I 1 ore her but slade we was the first to catch sight eight of the far off plume of signal ignal smoke he could see the gray drift above the furred darkness of the spruce pruce slopes his law dw hardened as tie he changed his cour course a point or two an and d or storied droned d down own on an the many armed ad lake that more and more took on an aspect of familiarity his Doco memories noc ot of that district clearly were not palatable on ones W where here a in my y planar he demanded as they dropped lower it should be here said aid lynn busy searching sar clung the chorel shoreline but it was not the there all slade could see after drifting lot into the lake or arm between the ridges was a ragged old figure with a rifle watching 9 them them as they came behind him burned a shuge huge fire of a of spruce holes boles sending a drift of smoke up the air it a minty cued cried slade slad 0 as the their pont pon pontoons grounded on a g gravel reval be bar r L lynn you was the first to clamber down an and it hot hurry ashore s wheres wheres F father she questioned but the ragged old sentinel with the rifle was watching th the long legged figure with the mooring g gas gear to in its it hand so they boond found you londy 1 he exulted am and youre back in the nick a 0 time son for theres hell bell let loose in these hills wheres Wh erea father persisted lynn minty finally conscious of her queSt questioning ionin inspected her with a ey reproving roving eye hes out for you lady and h he sure b ost lost sleep wonder won derm who id aare h happened to you hered you find this puddle jumper 9 that can wait said slade what I 1 want is that swan hunter minty spat end and squared his shoulders de n then youve sure come to the r right alit q quarters on arter son he asserted for hes he s barri barricades barricaded barrica G adad ded over at that lake end 0 his hi and an d he a sl ingin lead at anything th that at comes e within thin half a mile a 0 his hide bids hideout out or and that flyer of I 1 his q questioned gas t ened slade 1 a amt I 1 seen ED no do flyer answered ed minty aty and I 1 iam am t seen no plane go come a and 9 go what hes try bryin to do do id say is hold us off until a plane can swing in and III pick el him up slade turned to his ragged old friend band let me have that rifle he said aid but nt minty promptly backed away not t on go your life he retorted 1 I got use f for or this old girl he pont pointed red toward the wid widening 1 vista I are of muskeg country that stretched away into to the orth north zake aekes zekes a out there biblical that swan man hunters side kick and im goin ear to help hran him do down that h human arnan got gorilla you go mean Kar carnali nali cried slade that s jus who I 1 mean a linda the link 1 louse 0 us tr tried i ed to outflank us be to the night gh t but ut zake zekea got him cut off fro from in his camp mate out there dodgin lead like a coyote and im goin out to back up my bunkie even as he spoke the sound of a repeated rifle shot thinned by d distance t c came to them I 1 ill I 1 go with you announced sl slade a lynn could see his gaunt face ace one once amo more r a darken with hate then he turned to he her stay here with the plane he told her he pointed to the fire and better keep smoke ke a showing until the padre gets back she was able to forgive the peremptory enop tory note data I 1 in his voice as she moved closer to him he stopped for a moment to study her face but he tailed failed to fathom the source of her anxiety bety you 11 be safe in the plathe plane 1 he told her if youre in doubt or there a any threat of danger you can take off 1 I thinking about myself she said aid with reproving quietness then what a worrying youl he asked matter of factly she baug caught lit at his sleeve 1 I d don nt t want you to go alan his eye eyes s remained preoccupied as he freed himself dont worry about me he said ive got to go but what good will it do but 1 I dont know yet he retorted but carnali tried to toll kill me and I 1 in going to do what I 1 can to round him up she knew enough of frontier life to realize there were times when women men figured small mail in men s scheme of things and this was another occasion she remembered when there was no an room for tenderness in life 1 fe all right she said aid well schooled in quick decisions from others other IU ill be here with the plane place when father ther gets back ill tell him which way you went sh she wanted to say more but she tr knew it was useless TO BE |