The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1921-11-18

plane of icy lava, smooth as glass,
struck a buttress that sent him of at
a tangent down the face Of the cliff,
bounding from impact with an out
thrust elbow of the rock, whirling in
to space. into the icy turmoil of the
waves. flooding into the inlet.
Peggy Simms fed down the trafl
with a steel drill in either hand
straight across the beach toward
Lund. The Finn turned on her with
a snarl and side swipe of his knife.
but she leaped aside, lodged the 9TH
er slow-foot. and thrust a drill at
Lund, who grasped 1t with a cry Of
exultation, swinging IT over his head
as If ii had been a bamboo. Hansen
had shaken off his men, and came
leaping In for the second drill.
The knife fell tinkling on the frozen
rock as Lund smashed the wrist OF the
Finn. The girls gun made the second
would-be stabber throw up his hands,
while Hansen snatched his weapon,
flung it over the farther cliff. and
knocked the seaman to the ground
before he Joined Lund, charging the
rest, who fed before the sight Of them
and the threat Of the bars Of steel.
Lund laughed loud. and stopped
striking, using the drill as a goad,
driving them into a huddled horde,
like leaderless sheep. knee-deep,
thigh-deep. into the water, where they
stopped and begged for mercy while
Hansen turned to put finish to the
separate struggles.
1t ended as swiftly as il had begun.
One hunter could barely stand for his
kicked knee. Rainey'S back was
strained and stiffening, Lund had lost
a handful of his beard, and Hansen's
cheek was laid open.
On the other side the casualties
were more severe. ,Deming was
drowned, his body flung up by the
tide. rolling in the swash. Beale was
coughing blood, though not danger
ously wounded The Finn was crying
over his broken wrist, all the fight ont
of him.
Lund took swift inventory, lining
them up as they came timorously out
of the water or struggled against the
cliff at his order. Tamada had come
down from the fires Peggy had told
of his share, and Sandy's timely
shout. Lund nodded at him in a
friendly manner.
you're a white man, Tamada," he
said. You, too, Sandy. I'll not for
get it. Rainey, round up these dere-
licts an help Tamada fix 'em up. I'll
settle with em later. Hansen, put the
rest of 'em to work, an keep 'em
to it Do you hear? They got to dc
the work of the whole bunch"
Lund turned to the two hunters
who had stood apart.
"Wal. you yellow-bellied neutrals,"
he said, his voice cold and his eyes
hard Thought 1 might lose, and
hoped So didn't your Pick up that
skunk Beala an tote him aboard
Then come back an go to work.
You'll git yOre shares, but you'll not
git what's comm to those who stood
by. Now git out of my sight. You
can bury That when you come back"
He nodded at the sOdden corpse of
Deming, flung up on the grit. "YOr
H
out of what you owe him at poker
He amt goin' to collect, this trip"
Rainey, lame and sore, helped Ia.
mazda patch up the wounded, turning
the hunters quarters into a sick bay,
using the table for operation. Beale
was the worst off, but Tamada pro
pounced him not vitality damaged
After he had finished with them he
insisted upon Rainey's lying. face
down, on the table, stripped to the
waist. while he rubbed him with oil
and then kneaded him. Once he gave
a sudden, twisting wrench, and Rainey
saw a blur of stars as something
snapped into place with a click.
81 think you soon all right, now"
said Tamada.
':You and Miss Simms turned the
tide" said Rainey. IF they'd got
these tools first they'd have finished
us In short order"
Fools said Tamada. Suppose
they kill Lund, how they get away?
No one to navigate. Presently the
gunboat would find them. 1 think
Mr.. Lund will maybe trust me now"
he said quietly.
what do you meanT
''Mr. Lund think In the back Of his
head arrange for that gunboat to
come. He cannot understand how
they know the schooner at island He
think to come JUS this time too much
curious, think"
att was bit Of a coincidence"
Tamada shrugged his shoulders,
slightly.
81 think japanese government know
all that goes on In North Polar re-
gion," he said There Is wireless sta
ton on Wrangell island. We pass by
that pretty close"
Rainey chewed that Information as
he put on his clothes, wondering II
they had seen the last Of the gunboat.
They would have 70 pass south through
Boring strait 1t would be easy TO
A.