Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1926-03-04
CHAPTER x-COntinued


"Can we run TIT he called, above
the thunder of the whitewater. mus
Giles set In a crouch. nerves raw with
suspense.
down. fat"
With a fierce lunge Of his blade,
David swung the nose OF the craft
toward the beach as an Indian rose
20 his feet In the low scrub. In mock
cry OF his victims the assassin
laughed as he deliberately raised his
rife But the Mannlicher with the
lone shell spat first and the surprised
Ojibway crumpled where he stood.
Down. cried David. rifle ex-
ploded on the shore. and the men in
the boat again iattened, as a bullet
spllntered the gunwaIe. Then. caught
in the pull OF the first pitch. the canoe
slid sidewise, until Strengthened by
the lunge Of two paddles. and nosed
down. out NJ range OF the beach. into
the white half-mile OF the boiling Fry
ing Pan.
The thought Of two women who
would wait for his coming-the moth
er at home and the girl far on the
Wailing-waIt while two battered
bodies lay stiff In the ice somewhere
along the Jackfish. flashed through
Steele's brain. then the battle was on.
As the boat shot down the first
hume. the stark despair which had
gripped Steele when they had been
sucked into the head Of the rapid,
gave way to desperate hope. Fer II
was clear. from the insistence OF
David on the poles being free Ia the
boat, that he had foreseen= the possi-
bility OF being driven into the Frying
Pan. He believed the fight to get
through worth making.
On leaped the canoe. like a runaway
horse, ever seeking the black water
channels, hanging momentarily on the
lip OF disaster, only to be lifted ana
swung on by the pole of the fighting
bowman burying its nose in the
spume OF broken water. TO rise shake
free, and plunge on into the white riot
beyond.
Finally. as the rock walls of the
gorge swept past in a gray blur to
eyes which hunted the water trail
ahead, David's right hand shot up and i
cfrcIed In the air, then regrIpped his
paddle
whirlpool gasped Steele, the
hope which had grown with the pass
ing moments. dying
A matter Of seconds and they would
take the big chute ahead; beyond
this, the suck of the whirling water.
Once in the grip Of the eddy. the
canoe would up-end and go down
into the nav OF the vortex.
From braced knees the bowman.
Gaming far cupboard. with bowed
back. fought the nose of the boat In
shore as 1t plunged and took the
,hute; then, as II shot with the cur
rent for the pool below, two mad
men battled with their blades for the
which meant victory
IT,
With a leap the canoe hit the pool;
caught In the lip of the
'ddy; but held by the lunging blades.
heered of, was free. and shot on
hen. charging through stretch of
,roken water. rode the boilers" be
DIV the last pitch and out into the
asy going of the open river. j
With legs awash In the slop picked Z
p in the rapids, painting, spent. the I
wo men smiled into each others I
rawn faces. i
ssxxya ,fot,oa -. hcth rna.,..... -
he Frying Pan r gasped Steele. 4
"Good Job. dati" grunted the Ojfb- 4
-sy, proudly. between breaths. "Dey v
~ we lie-w'en we tell dem-at Nepi- G
on. Now we cum back-an' get de r
Findigos,, b
And LaAamme - t
I'VE get BEEN anyway-de wIndlgo.
iebbe." r.
Thought you said It couldn't be i
mp !
"Wal, look her ovair one tam. and b
t'ink eef you keep lef' side ov dat "
Idly. you can run eet" II
I'VE beat IT, but / thought II had us I,
hen we struck It. heard but one =
lot from the shore when we started; Il
} you suppose that there we're only v
70 there7" a
"Onlee two. t'ink. Dey wait for a.
J to come. cen. Wen I hit dat one. n,
odder get scare. He not know
out dat she'll Dat ees wy he miss" II
THAT was good shooting, Davidl n,
ou fred so quickly. you couldn't have b.
en- the sights-and our only she'll" OF
"Wal. we drop down piece. get de Of
alter out, and patch her up. / got
% bad leaks under me- II
suppose that Indian follows down 2,
e gorge. he'll get pot shot. at US II HI
; 60 ashore here RI
David laughed loudly. @W'en he 81
e us haid for de Fryin' Pan. be say: m
o-joI Dere go two dead menP He n,
sel not follow" 4.
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