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I
IT
By ROBERT
AMES
BENNET
WNU Service
Copyright by Robert Ames Bennet
COE
CHAPTER IX
—] Gs
Murder.
In the morning Garth for the first
time showed haste, The dawn was far
too beautifully rose. He made sure
that Lilith's blankets were back in her
cockpit before he handed her aboard.
He fitted the glass wind cowl to the
cockpit rim, which came up almost
level with her eyes,
“It we strike into a blizzard, get
your cap over your ears, and blanket
yourself, head and all,” he warned.
“You don’t want to lose your ears and
nose,”
The constable was already snug un-
der his own cowl Garth swung Into
his pilot cockpit. Old Tobin gave the
propeller a spin for him.
This time Garth needed no circling
in order to trace the air route. Aboard
the cabin monoplane he had watched
Huxby's Instruments and noted the
landmarks from above. He now knew
the way in by air. He did not even
have to follow the zigzag course that
he had been forced to grope along In
guiding Huxby. His mental map of
all those turns, bearings and distances
enabled him to draw a direct air line
to the lost valley. He headed along it
as straight as the crow flies.
By the time the lovely rose dawn
glared into an angry red sunrise, the
r plane had flown ail the way
across that weary desclation of mus-
and broken-ridged lower moun-
Close ahead loomed the last
in front of the Selwyns. The
its that had reared up bare
I brown under the summer sun now
wed with a white mantie. The
pots precipices too
sarine
caring
kegs
tains,
rance
80
were
the snow,
clouds foretold
arth had o
another
it.
inging In around the out-
utraced
ain to the pass, he banked
drove past the east side of the
on a long upsl
miles nerth from
to the west and
2
tain,
the pass,
headed for
east-
the
like
anked
notch ed
wall of
iowest agg
Above
bumped
barrier the plane
Py seat,
h paid no conscious heed to the
His hands and feet
controls with automatie
attention free to
passage,
isted
precision, leaving his
center upon what lay ahead.
His
show
the b
the
first glimpse
1 him a column of smok
ick belt of spruce at the far end
of the lake. Much thicker
than ordinary cam
out
the
As the plane drove clear above the
saddle between the peaks, he shoved
the stick forward and cut the gun,
With the roar of the engine stilled, the
plane swooped down at the lake like
a monstrous bird of prey. Relatively
speaking, It was driving at its quarry
as nolselessly as a great horned owl
of the North stoops to strike a rabbit,
Also, by entering the valley over this
distant saddle, Instead of through the
pass, Garth felt sure the plane would
not be seen.
His next problem was to effect a
landing without the roar of the re
started motor. He had already made
out Huxby's big cabin plane, moored
at the mouth of the glacier stream.
That was the only safe mooring place,
The lake had already skimmed over
with thin Ice except where the out
rushing glacler torrent kept a water
lane free, well out from shore. Huxby
undoubtedly had been shrewd enough
to foresee a freeze-up if he moored his
plane below the foot of the placer
trough,
Absence of any smoke near the plane
told that the miners were camped at
the placer. The stream mouth was too
far from the diggings for the hurried
workers to tramp back and forth ev-
ery night and morning. Besides, there
would be snowdrifts to wade through.
From every Indication, the claim.
Jumper could be surprised and taken
before he realized that any other party
than his own had come to the valley,
The one need was to avoid using the
plane's engine. Its roar would be
heard for miles,
Garth calculated the volplane angle
with his utmost skill. If he hit the
water too soon, the propeller would
have to be used to pull the plane in
to the landing; If he held on too long,
there might be a crackup,
It was a matter of fractions of sec.
onds. He allowed for the fact that the
slight wind was abeam, instead of
sucking down from the glacler, His
one fallure was to notice In time the
shrunken volume of the glacier stream,
The plane took to the water smooth.
ly, at almost the exact distance off
shore that he had planned. The diff.
culty was that the outswirling current
lacked the force he expected. Instead
of slowing down or stopping short, the
three-seater drove In hard at the cabin
plane, :
The stream mouth lacked width
enough for the small plane to squeeze
past the large one. Nor was there |
rocm to maneuver between the off-
shore rocks. Garth acted with instant
decision. He swerved the three-seater
to clear the tall of the cabin plane. As
he stripped off his goggles and swung
of
3
i
, 1 darks
ana darker
ke, it stood
distinct against the vivi ite of
snow-sheeted tundra slope,
down from his cockpit with the moor-
Ing line, the pontoon stems smashed
like eggshells on a waterworn rock,
across the narrow channel from the
tail of the other plane,
lefore the current could float the
three-seater back into deep water,
Garth leaped ashore. Lilith had opened
the cowl of her cockpit and was start.
ing to climb out. Garth glanced at the
threatening sky,
“She has settled down hard and fast,
Miss Ramill. Better stay snug aboard
until we return.”
The girl's reply was to scramble for-
ward on the shoreward wing of the
plane, Garth waded out in the ley
water and had her hand down his rifle,
the three pairs of snowshoes, and all
the blankets, He tossed everything to
Dillon, then took the girl on his shoul
der.
The policeman had started upstream
with the outfit. He walked across the
now shallow ford without getting a
drop of water over the tops of his
heavily greased shoepacks. Garth slung
Lilith on his shoulder like a sack of
meal and splashed across after Dillon.
At the far bank Dillon stopped to
put on a pair of snowshoes. QCarth
lowered the girl upon a bare rock, and
ran down the left bank to swing aboard
the cabin plane. With him he took
the blankets, When he came ashore,
he had on dry socks and moccasins,
He frowned at Lilith, She was flop-
ping awkwardly along on snowshoes
behind the policeman,
“Take off webs
the cabin,” he ordered.
“I will not,” she refused.
ing with you.
arrested.”
those and get into
“I'm
I came to see that beast
R0-
“Don't be a fool.
back before
started,
you,
frigs#
minute,
We'll be there and
more than got
There's no time to wait for
Blizzard may swoop down any
"
you've
iy
He had slipped on the third palr of
snowshoes. He took his rifle from Dil
lon and started off as guide. The con-
stable followed at the same rapid galt,
He was an experienced snowshoe run.
ner. Lilith
swinging
tried to imitate thelr deft
webs,
e-down Into a
3
stride
tripped and pl
drift,
cto ot " sis fn ” ele]
Instead of turning back girl's
0
with the She
. fe
inged fac
cry of his
blizzard
and close
the stream
a walt un-
ith the freeze.
then w
stride f un. A severe
skim ice
ut from
al
ould
*d free and pried up on the sur-
vty]
i for
his companion
wa through
a clear ring
the snowy
came
on metal,
“They're drilling below the frost-line
to blast a shaft” he said ~ licher
gravel on bedrock, at foot of the
placer trough”
Dillon forged Into the lead.
trail me now, sir.”
Without any protest, Garth fell In
behind. The Law was now in com-
mand. A few strides brought them to
the dyke of igneous rock that walled
the lower end of the placer trough,
From behind a stunted spruce, they
peered across the treeless width of
rock to where a large fire was flaming
at the edge of the matted timberline
scrub,
Over the fire hung three big iron ket.
tles. Beside It stood a small eradle
for rocking gravel, But there was no
one working the rocker, nor was there
anyone In sight. Even the ring of
sledge on drill in the newly dug pit,
Just beyond the fire, had ceased,
"Not so good,” Garth murmured.
“I'm not so sure it's a surprise.”
“You'll stay here, sir.”
“No.”
Constable Dillon spoke with cool
logie: “If it's a surprise, I need no as
sistance, If he Is warned and prepared
to resist, better for you to support me
from cover.”
“Well—perhaps.”
“The only way, sir,
sponsible for
lady.”
That elinched the argument against
Garth. Having brought the willful
girl with him, he now had to look out
for her,
“Very well, Dillon”
“Walt till I take position.”
He shifted to the left side of the
stuited spruce and erouched down
where he could peer between the lower
branches. At the other side, the con-
stable atood up and stepped out Into
the cpen. Hardly was he clear of
cover when a harsh shout came from
the serub beside the fire:
“Halt! Throw up your hands”
Garth caught the menace In Huxby's
voice, and leveled his rifle, There was
nothing of the four-flusher about the
engineer, He was a coldblooded killer,
Constable Dillon paused. But he did
not put up his hands. The Northwest
pollee do not surrender, Dillon merely
swung the barrel of his carbine back-
ward under his arm, and made quiet
reply:
“I have here a warrant for the ar
rest of Vivian Huxby for theft and
of metal
i
vie
“You'll
You stood re-
bringing the young
he agreed.
assault to murder, Any persons who
Interfere with his arrest will make
themselves lable.”
“Bah, you cock-capped red Jay, you
can't bluff me,” Huxby gibed. “You're
covered. Move, and you get a bullet
through you, Drop that gun and shove
up your hands.”
A sldeward jumping down-thrown
would have put the constable back in
cover, But he was a member of the
Northwest mounted police. Retreat
could no more be considered by him
than surrender. Also, he had no au-
thority to shoot his man. The warrant
called only for the arrest of the nee
cused. He had to do his duty at what-
ever risk,
“You will be well advised not to re
sist,” he sald,
With that, he raised his right snow-
shoe and slid it up a Jow cross-drift in
a forward step. As he bent forward
to bring up the other web, a rifle
roared in the dense scrub.
Garth fired into the faint haze-puff
of smokeless powder, Back came a
bullet that clipped a branch at his left
elbow. He shifted sideways towards
the tree trunk, and rose to peer
through a higher opening. A slight
movement of a spruce spray in the
scrub brought his rifle to his shoulder,
He paused a moment to peer over the
sights, his finger kissing the trigger,
Another twitch of that spruce twig.
His finger tightened on the trigger
Crash! He hurled down on his right
side. The first thought that flashed
into his mind was that his rifle had
burst. His right arm had gone numb
as if broken by the shock.
Luckily, he did not at try to
spring up. As he paused to feel at
the numb arm with his left hand, the
bark flew from a limb close over his
head. The scar of white wood showed
that the bullet had been fired from off
to his left,
He flattened down and crawled Into
the snowiess hollow alongside the tree
n the hollow lay his rifle. It
once
ters be
CUR.
He Swung the Bcdy of the Con.
stable Across His Shoulders.
had not burst. But that was no con
soiation. The first shot from off to
the left had struck square against the
side of the breech and smashed the
magazine,
One look at the weapon showed that
it was ruined. He wormed past it to
the far side of the tree trunk. During
all the many seconds that had passed
since the firing of the first shot, he
had heard no call nor any sound what
ever trom Constable Dillon. He peered
out under the low drooped spruce
boughs on that side of the tree.
As he expected, the worst had hap-
pened. The policeman lay on hid back.
He had been shot through the heart
One glance told Garth the fact that his
companion was beyond all ald.
He lcoked for the constables ear-
bine, It was nowhere In sight. The
low drift behind which Dillon had
fallen gave Garth enough cover to
crawl out beside the body. But the
carbine was not under its owner.
Garth pulled the snowshoes from the
feet of the dead man, On the heel of
one web he perched the constable's
cap. He reached out sideways and
lifted the cap so that it peeped above
the top of the drift. The cap flipped
back off the snowshoe, plerced througn
by a bullet from the scrub beside the
fire,
At the roar of the ghot, Garth bobbed
up, three feet to the left, to look for
the missing carbine, It lay half buried
In the snow, a long 10 feet away. When
shot, Dillon must have flung out his
hands as he pitched over backwards
In the midst of the convulsive jerk,
death had loosened his grip on the
carbine.
Huxby had proved he could shoot u
rifle with deadly accuracy, and his
men were nearly as expert. To make
a dash for the carbine would be equiv.
alent to committing suleide To le
quiet would give the killers time to
realize there wae no rifle waiting to
meet thelr attack. The fourth man
HS
GL 0 smpone
from the rear,
With his knife Garth slashed out the
webs of Dillon's snowshoes. Then,
worming his way backwards, he start-
ed to drag the body downslope. The
tree put him under cover from the two
killers near the fire, A drift enabled
him to crawl to another tree without
being seen by the man off to the left,
A sideward shift brought him to the
shallow channel of the frozen spring
rill. Down the channel a few yards,
an up-jut of rock offered a complete
cover. He swung the body of the con.
stable across his shoulders, stepped
into his snowshoes, and ran asiant
downslope,
Every few seconds that passed with-
out the roar of a rifle behind him,
meant a widened margin of safety.
The pursuers must have falled to no-
tice his broken rifle in under the
spruce, or else they thought he was
hiding in the rill channel, walting for
them to come within range of the con-
stable’s service pistol.
Whatever the cause of thelr delay,
he had gained a long start before more
yells told him they had cut his trail
At the outburst, Garth eased off a lit-
tie on the desperate speed of his run-
ning.
His fast mushing had already cov-
ered three-fourths of the distance to
the stream. It was now a simple mat-
ter of running to Increase his
handicap over the killers Only a lit.
tle time would be needed to cast free
the cabin plane. As drifted
in the current, the cross-wind
swing her
out the water
on
she out
would
Then a quick run
lane, and the take-off
around,
Hose ahead, he
Ra She
snowsh
caught sight of LI
was sitting
Her right foot was
up on her left and she +
bing hard at the ankle
At sight of the lim
on her
knoe
shoulders, she
“Oh, oh, Als
“Murdered.
here, all
this ay from the
»
They're coming
and bent
ler the toe
nowshoes, Decelved
plane, and mush back f«
ghe followed ven at an ordinary
ye 4 ory 4
might
yet be
(TO BE CONTINUED)
Ellis Island "Once Gay,
and Named Oyster Island
In the days when New York was a
Dutch possession and known as New
Amsterdam-—in the Seventeenth cen
tury—Eillls island, the famous
grant station, was called Oyster island,
and was a “gay and exclusive re
sort.”
“For almost 150 years Oyster island
continued to be New Amsterdam's
favorite resort for pienics, oyster
roasts, clam bakes, and fishing par
ties,” says Edward Corsl. former
United States commissioner of immi-
gration zt Ellis Island 1n his valuable
book “In the Shadow of Liberty: The
Chronicle of Ellis Island.” “It passed
finally Into the hands of Samuel Ellis,
a farmer of Bergen county, New Jer.
sey.
“It later became the property of
the state of New York (how, not clear)
and in 1808, New York ceded the island
to the federal government. It was
then used as a powder magazine and
arsenal and after various uses by the
government, in 1800, it was designated
as an Immigrant station.”
Mr. Corsi notes that during his ad
ministration—in 1082--*1 was to wit.
ness the actual changing of the tide,
the first In more than a hundred years,
when more people had left our shores
than were arriving. The changing tide
of Immigration was brought about by
the depression.”
In that year—1032-35576 persons
were admitted, while 103,205 left. In
1928 the figures were: admitted, 307
205; left, 77,457. ~Kansas City Star,
Nova Scotia Is Scottish
Nova Scotia, the land of Longfel.
ly Scotch.
Scotia's parliament is accompanied by
the skirl of bagpipes, and several
newspapers are printed partly in
Gaelle. In the Nova Scotian county of
Inverness, 72 per cent of the Inhab-
itants speak Gaelle, while less than
half of the similarly named county
The length of time during which the
ne omusin latent 1a
uman
Itself is very Yemarkable, extreme in-
stances showing a delay of a
From 20 to 60 days is the usual
of time between the Infection and
RANTED that mother and big sis
are looking chic and
for words spring.
too
this
ter
charming
leurs or thelr bolero costumes, If
with plain, to which there has
clive
EO
However,
sed
would
A8 ACCESKOTION
high-style this season.
we fre saying
vogulshly attired adults are the wh
show, not when
grrayed youngste join
tition t
the processio
Then does compe become
and it is the tiny tots in their new
i outfits that ii be getting
} we
€ T's ever
garbed. Which they sh
dren’
i of
in delecta
hair weaves,
Tweeds
el's
wool plaids and ser
in the
navy twil
ge are all-in
st of juvenile coatings.
Close attention is being paid
loring and styling, with
trend dominating. Inverted
crisp collars, velvet pipings well
as insets in tallored collars are high
style detalls to consider. Most impor.
tant to remember is that fashion de.
crees that every wee cont or suit is
to be companioned by a matching hat.
While grown-ups are going in for
daring color to the limit hk colors
are not so much in the children's wear
pleture. As a matter of fact, it is the
medium tones that are most generally
the
pleats
as
igh
i
in use this season. Pastels are also
y
in aqua,
nitely favored
all-white coats will be we
atiract
pe, White
hand-embrol
n touches,
hat is of cloth identical
the coat.
perky matchir
with that
The adorable child In the foregreoand
has on a coat of skipper blue novelty
weave wool with the Princess Elizabeth
lines given to it such as are regarded
as exceedingly smart for the younger
set this spring. Her matching Scotch
cap repeats the trim of blue plaid silk
used on the coat.
© Western Newspaper Union.
of
MULTI-DUTY GARB
URGED FOR SPRING
There's a lot of talk these days about
the “basic wardrobe,” which is a good
idea for the spring budgeteer.
The idea is to select the spring suit,
coat and printed frocks in one color
theme, to be worn with interchange
able accessories. Suppose, for instance,
you start with one of the smart new
man-tallored suits with black jacket
and striped skirt. With it, if you shop
wisely, you will get an extra skirt to
match the jacket.
Then you should choose a topcoat
in tailored style, also black, which may
be worn over the suit or with a printed
slik frock,
Your printed silks should be bright,
gay and simply made, so that you aay
wear various frilly lingerie accents
with them, changing thelr mood with
the Jabot or collar you select. With
these for a foundation, you may achieve
| endless variety by choice of contrast
ing accessories,
Parasols and Fans Give
Frivolous Touch to Garb
Parasols add a frivolous touch to
| many summer outfits. In bright print.
| ed cottons they appear with beach
costumes and in polka dotted silks they
accompany summer sults. Seme of
them have long erook handles,
Folding fans made of field flowers,
tulle or organdy and flat oval lacquer
fans, only a little larger than a hand,
lend a glamorous alr to evening cos.
New Gloves
time when in a hurry.
do get them on without splitting they
will never fit so well as when
WITH A VEIL
By CHERIE NICHOLAS
A bit of straw, a brim of closely
stitched net, a full-blown rose and a
fragile, frivolous, flattering veil and
presto! The milliner evolves as se.
ductive a little cocktail hat as the world
e'er gazed upon. As here pictured this
intriguing headpiece is posed by Helen
Chandler who wears It in her newest
play, It carries a highly important
style message in the tight brim that
frames the head, namely, the use of
many layers of net closely stitched.
Milliners are making many wide
brimmed hats as well as turbans and
toques of stitched net this season,
Bowknot Motif
You ean tie yourself in knots, fash.
fonably speaking, this spring. Chanel
spontors the bowkast and the new
Jewelry proves just how smart they
look on a costume. Hinge bracelets