The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1933-12-30

Ctttt y ttafRtttftC. - Ott ~ v OaN0tp
irhonl Curt lores, has rdShIy tried
to reach Igor Rdrakhan, tce0lthv
crook, tCh0na Curt Is trUin0 to
bring to justice. Ralph Nichols,
scoinaded Ia a battle scith the for
Dltdabls Klosohee Indians. has e1-
planned that S0nya fcent to kin
Kdrdkhan. Ralph dies Curt be-
iieUes his story and struggles to
reach SoHyd aud protect her.
Chapter IL
NO SMASH
CURT took one glance along the
~ south shore and groaned--half q
curse and half cry of tragic disap'
pointment. The plane was not IN
sight.
They fired shots In the hope that
Smash might have drawn II bach
into some little bay. But they got
no answer. Smash had failed them.
They padded over toward the
cabin. AS they drew in. Paul noticed
a BIT of white hanging from a low
pine branch. It was Smash's hand;
kefchief. put there to draw atten;
ton. A tin cigarette box was tied to
the limb beside 1t. AS Curt suspected.
the box held a note.
Old Timer:
I'm clearing out for Tellacet.
Our left wing tank sprung a slow
leak and ! thought ii ought TO be
fixed I'll get back tomorrow morn
Ing without fail
r. S. There's dance at Lake
Marianne tomorrow night, and 1
may hop over there but Til be back
bright and early the next morning.
Curt turned The note over. looking
for the date. There was none. Smash
had crafty forgotten even to date
his message.
In the furious anger Of helpless.
ness he tore the note to bits It was
seldom that he lost complete control
Of himself. but that IdIotic message
and the cIack-up OF his plans sent
him trampisg the landwash In 3
blind furv.
tank leak-hell Smash had got
tired of being alone and had aouneed
of to soak up some of his sociabiiity.
He had not been asked to share any
OF those dangers up the kiliuar: his
Job was nothing more oneroas than
standing by with the plane: and he
had fIunked It.
Now when they desperately need.
ed him and the very hours were pre-.
cious. he was LochinvariHg around
somewhere. several hundred miles
away. AT the critical time when
Sonya would reach that lake. they
would not be there. he and Paul
They were stranded. In a God-for-
saken wilderness. with two hundred
and forty mountain miles between
themselves and her.
-
I'M the evening OF the third day
~ Sonya's party stopped at twi-
light and made camp in drogue Of
riyer-bank pines. The three Indians,
her escort on the trip north bull
her 4 little lean4o. deftly wove /
balsam-twig mattress for her blan.
kets, and otherwise made her az
comfortable as they could.
The leader OF the three. an older
hair brother OF Tenn-og. called the
halt. out OF consideration for the
white girl In his charge. Sonya her,
self would rather have pushed on I'd
the headwaters lake that night. Il
was only twenty miles farther and
they could reach It BY dawn. New
when the end OF her long guest was
In sight. she wanted II and It's harl
rowing uncertainty over with.
In spite OF the hard trip that day
she did not feel tired. She was at toe
high 4 tension. While the indians
were broiling trout for q meal. she
walked back the trail to an overlalls
around which her party had insl
portrayed. and sat down on the lip Of
the rock thirty feet above the plung.
ing water.
Dusk was creeping into the noun
tain valley. The poorwills were be-
ginning to call. and owls drlfted on
noiseless wing through the heavy
timber The twilight. the solitude.
the song OF the waters. seemed 10
her 4 kind Of pause and self-com-
munlon before tomorrow came.
WITH ! secret rsioielpg she. had
heard now Curt and Paul had beaten
OF those fourteen canoes. But she
had known they'd do IT, Tenn-og no
doubt had taken them q boat after
the attack. and they were safe now.
But where we're theyf Il was pos.
sihle that Ralph had weakened
when she LETT. and had told Curt the
truth about her journey.
In that case. would Curt follow
her north aud try to help her ontI
She wanted to think so. Even the
faint possibility OF II buoyed her up.
Alone now. with her bridges burned
and utterly on her own resources.
she realized hoy- completely sha had
depended on him. She felt lost with.
out his protection. lost and defense.
less and woefuily inadequate % cone
With what Law ahaad