Show wild I 1 I 1 by robert ames bennet service arvice cop right by robert ames bennet CHAPTER VII continued before he could recover his bis wits lilith burst screaming from the spruce thicket half clad wet hair hying flying she dashed forward to fling lier herself self down on her bare knees beside her father under the partly washed off coat of mosquito dope his face was the same sallow gray as barths Gart hs she looked up her eyes black with horror buxby had risen to his bis feet he was advancing once more cool she flung out a forbidding hand stop keep away you murderer his lips tightened youre mad darling clear of your head I 1 shot to save your father not at him no listen you must listen to me the d d roughneck attacked your father with the knife had him down at my first shot lie he dodged I 1 thought I 1 missed your father sprang up just as I 1 fired again its the truth truth she cried truth youve killed them both A great shuddering seized her shook her like a fit of ague almost swooning she sagged forward on the body of her father buxby advanced with w wary a r y quickness but at sight of the two men he had shot he thrust his coat hidden pistol into its all the back of barths si sideward devard turned head wasa was a crimson blotch what need of wasting wast was ing ng powder on a man shot through the head bead mr camills Ra mills wound gave him bim no less satisfaction though for an exactly opposite reason the bullet bad struck high up on the shoulder blade between neck and arm buxby pulled the thickset body from under lilith and opened the front of the leather coat I 1 the steel jacketed bullet had drilled clean through and come out below the collarbone look he shouted his relief your father hes not killed only i knocked out the wounds not serious so high up through the chest same way one of my classmates was shot by a holdup take hold well get him into the canoe and make a quick run down across ac ross to the refueling post that fellow tobin will have a medical kit I 1 the pulling of her father from under her had let the girl down upon the body of garth eager assurance roused her from the semi swoon she struggled partly up to peer at her father her hands bands graced upon barths lax side even as she gazed the gray of her fathers face became less ghastly but in place of the faile of relief for which buxby looked she sprang up to flare at him in another outburst of i murderer liar theres his knife where I 1 left it he did not have it liar sneak he did not attack dad but you you crawled up and shot him without warning buxby dropped his mask what of it the d d wood louse lied first he thought it funny to keep mum about having le corded his claim to play your father and me all this time great joke that only it backfired back fired on him rm the only pilot who can find the valley no one can say that thai the claim we file on is the same cs the one he recorded the g girl irl quivered tensed and bounded sideways the belt wl ax was as lying near the knife she clutched one in each hand and straightened erect her eyes ablaze you beast she died go go or ill kill you pic he smiled with cool irony why so sc theatrical hysterics Hyster cs aie not in your line my dear lilith that at lowered her voice but not the knife end and ax she began to ide dge towards him with the blades bla des aisch ready readi to banke her vo voice ice came from her ber stiffened lips low lev and rid hoarse and deathly calm if you do not go I 1 will till kill you unless you first kill ms 1 the smile left his lips hl his eyes narrowed he replied no less quietly you are arc crazy im going it may be two or three weeks be foie I 1 can get back that should be long enough for you to starve into sanity be glad to welcome me then only how about your father does it not sober you to realize it will be your fault I 1 if f he dies for answer she took a full step nearer the look in her eyes daunted him he slanted sideways caught up barths rifle and ran across to the bank above the canoe when mode slowly she came to the top of the bank he lad had the canoe launched and was leaving heaving in the knapsack he jumped aboard with the rifle and one paddle As he backed offshore she ran down to the waters edge and flung his engagement ga ring at his face it struck his forearm and aad glanced outboard the ash cleans ed cd diamond flashed like a bit of blue white lightning that was instantly quenched in the water the canoe swung around and went yawing out upon the mighty expanse of the mackenzie CHAPTER vm VIII woodcraft out of the pit of blackness barths fai mst st dimly conscious S thoughts were of water he was wa still in swimming swimming no the water was on his face not rain nor poured water something wet sopping his forehead he opened his eyes blinked the daze from them and found him zelf self up a pair blue eyes they were cloud clouded ed and dark with misery yet with strange suddenness they brightened at that he be realized they were the eyes of lilith camill happened he murmured even as his lips moved he remembered buxby his pistol must have shot me yes dad also garth sought to tense his flaccid muscles ready to bound up she laid a restraining hand on his lie still he went went right after it be quiet else 3 ou m may ay go unconscious again the bullet cut across the back of your head all these two days youve lain there in that frightful stupor I 1 could not wake you up I 1 felt sure die stupor two days he muttered concussion brain he made deliberate trial and found he could move his legs and arms luck no paralysis soon SOO be all right but your father you said father also cant see sec why wolf volf was vas rab d only for my claim no lo blo 10 imd of c cou u c the cc cowardly eardly bama met only to LO murici you du bu ahn nah he li it ed agam dad elmp jumped d up bat batien ven gad bad no ito if here was vas a doctor WC its through i the sli shoulder the coward to run off with the canoe instead cf shooting himself like a man ran off did lie he thought he had killed your father no he said it serious senous all we needed was to take dad in the canoe and get that man medical kit yet he ran off without you yc 1 I made him go I 1 dhove him 1111 1 1 I 1 off the beastly sneaking co iad 1 garth stared perplexed you did that yet he wanted to tal tak your father where he could re treatment she frowned he thought y you lead dead but after I 1 acarl nearly fainted I 1 pushed against you to get up I 1 you wele still alive I 1 was afraid come to gouid m move ove he would have finished you so I 1 dhove him of kleaving leaving yourself self and dour our father marooned here the girl s stiffened ened her mouth wont went hat haul d dori don L t fancy I 1 did it tor you it was vas ft t was i I 1 was not going to let him finish his sneak murder it would have been the some if id 1 gone one off and let you die you can see that you must he smiled up at her frown all the more spoiling spot ting of you not half bad id say oh ob but it is bad frightfully bad no food not a thing to give dad all this time no chanca of getting any for either of you and n nov ov his fever too no medicine for it A sudden thought jerked garth up to a sitting position he swayed from dizziness then his head bead cleared he was only rather weak from blood loss and sore about the back of his head an exploring hand found a wad of moss tied upon his wound with a band of plaited grass he heard the girl murmur 1 I fixed dads the same way ashes and the moss hold bold it on ashes or soot I 1 once heard about something like that for cuts he pointed to the scattered ashes of the dead fires be quick build a big blaze and throw on green wood that southbound plane must signal it even if hes aboard he cant keep the pilot from coming down lilith bluith camills Ra mills head dropped despondently spon dently 1 I saw it this morning way out across the sky first there was the drone of the motor then I 1 saw it way off only I 1 could do nothing yesterday I 1 used your last match I 1 wanted to boil for dad the one pinch of tea left A puff of wind blew out the flame now theres no hope he took your rifle too no fire or food or gun or any chance of rescue garth looked around and saw her father tossing in feverish sleep under the shade of a slight brush canopy he gave the overwrought girl a bantering smile what merely a matter of fire medicine food and escape only you were a boy scout how about becoming a campfire girl girla fetch me a two foot willow branch the size of your forefinger a thong one straight stia ight dry stick and th that at chunk of dead birch trunk A little sand increased the friction of the fire drill point at the bottom of the shallow hole he made in the block of wood the dry birch soon began to smoke lilith had gathered tinder of dead inner bark in wide eyed wonderment she watched the simple primitive method of f fire ire makings making when garth stood up beside bedside the crackling flames of the new fire he found himself stronger than he hc expected all shock from hie wound had passed during his bis two days unconsciousness and his healthy tissues had already beg begun ur to heal now were under tinder way he said next comes medicine by asil asins the ashes you gave our wouna wounds s sterile dressings your father wa tuned up to the oink dink of condition his wound will lie heal al as rapidly a as anc what little fever he ha means nothing to cool it en crt in his wate some of t ti 1 l c cs fiarn bom owr lloc bloc virn the edge of cf the muskeg i might bd 1 l willow balk baik and add little ittle of aha bitter d deoc ion t 1 the cranbury cran brry v buce uce oil it its s to ti kno klo 1 fa tj tit T it j r n r 0 0 d tl garth pointed to tle fol out in the swamp they wr 0 1 I ginning to flock t approach of autumn how would you like canvasback or mallard for dinner her eyes brightened only to cloud again you have no gun after looping some thongs to his belt he went to stack a hollow pile of brush on a forked stub that had broken off from a fallen beech tree out in the water he bobbed under and came up with his head between the forks of the float the leaves and twigs made a blind from which he could see out cut without being seen he waded neck deep up the muskeg stream so slowly that the stub and branches appeared to be an ordinary bunch of driftwood he allowed a flock of teal to swim by they were too small to bother with when he stepped off over his depth he began to tread water by a quiet movement of his hands under the surface he be glided the blind into the midst of a mallard flock the trick was to grasp a ducks feet and jerk the bird under before it could squawk he waded ba back ck to shore with five dead mallards tied to his belt after the meal on roast duck he set some rabbit snares he then showed lilith how bow to make cords by splitting off strands from peeled spruce roots while she worked at this he collected more ducks and hung them over a smudge for smoke curing next came the carving of eskimo hooks from duck bones with bait a catgut leader and a spruce root line he began to catch mackenzie whitefish lilith had never seen so beautiful a fresh water fish all mo mother ther of p pearl earl belo below wand and frosted silver above the newly caught fish proved far better eating than even the best of trout mr camills Ra mills slight fever gave him a distaste for duck meat and the rabbits that were snared but he ate his bis full share and more of the delicious fish besides the cranberries lilith gathered black currants and blue berries and mushrooms more afore fish were caught than could be eaten fresh A number were soon on the smoke rack along with ducks and rabbits for the present and near future the question of food had been met but the summer had about reached it end crid still more rapidly than before th nights were becoming longer and blacker A cold sleety rainstorm drenched the camp it brought only temporary discomfort for garth kept the fire alive under a slanted heap of spruce boughs none the less the storm spurred him to le ie doubled activity he knew it to be the forerunner of the autumn blizzards that liht mi bt now how down off the snow snowe clad lad selwynn at any time to be continued |