The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1934-01-05

pride In having another scalp at neI
belt.
The more he thought about her
joining Karakhan, the m ore 1t
seemed to clash with all that he had
seen of her during two weeks of In
innate association. In Helen Mathie-
son one could understand such a
flight; Helen was blinded and en-
tirely dominated by passion.
But Sonya was not Helen Mathie-
son. Sonya had gone through more
| in her life, she was more mature,
deeper of insight, far more thought
full. For all the fire in her, she did
not seem a girl who would ever let
passion override her sense Of right.
Her association with Karakhan
was simply out of harmony with all
the rest of her nature.
When they got up to go on, he
saw that Ralph had drifted back to
the borderline of consciousness; his
eyes half open. his lips moving. He
was too far gone to talk, but he rec
ognized his friends and understood
what they said to him. Curt bent
down, encouraging:
Don't let go, Ralph. We're leav-
ing the Lilluars ard taking you out.
Tomorrow at this time you'll be in
Prince Rupert, End there they'll fix
you up"
Twice more during the rest of the
night Ralph came out of his stupor
for a few moments. The second
time he tried hard to tell Curt some
thing. Curt believed it was some
thing about Sonya. for her name
was distinguis' able in the broken
whispers. But whatever it was, ii
went unsaid.
MORNING came at last, with the
w gray smoke-mist curling up
and trout breaking the surface in
slvery flashes.
They stopped ten minutes to rest.
and then hurried on all the faster
now that they had light to travel by
With enn.Og in the prov, guiding
them down the river that he knew
SO intimately. they shot over dan.
gerous white water without pausing
to scout course. Their hands were
blistered from the paddle work.
their arms ached intolerably. but
for RaIph's lake they drove them
selves to the limit.
One hour of merciless padding,
then five minutes of rest; another
hour and another five minutes ON
tie sand-in that steady relentless
fashion they reeled off the long
miles of the fight south.
At noon they came to a sluggish
lake of reed patches and sloughs
where ducks and geese and teal in
countless numbers had their sum-
mer rookeries. AS they were thread
ing a shortcut channel, Curt glanced
back toward the lake head and hap
pened to see a colony of little black
terms rise out of slough and ex-
plode like a puff of feathers, with
shrill cries of alarm.
Evidently something out of the or
binary had flushed them. AS he kept
watching he saw scattered ducks
and teal go up, lower down the
slough, indicating that the cause of
the alarm. whatever it might be. was
coming down stream.
Suspicious, he and Paul stopped,
backed into thick clump of flags
and waited. A minute later two ca
noes came skimming around a reedy
point and headed down toward
them. Travelling light, three stall
wart men to boat they had come
south even faster than his party.
To let them go past would only
have meant an ambush and fight
further down river. They had to
be stopped. Waiting till they were
within easy range, he and Paul
opened on them with a sudden blast.
The ricocheting bullets, smashing
through the wind-water line Of the
craft. sank them before the thun-
derstruck Klosohees could realize
that ambushing was game which
two could play at. With their canoes
laundering under them, the six
leaped out and swan for the near.
est flags.
Muddied and bedraggled, they
stood on their bit of quivering bog
and stonily waited to be shot, as
Curtis canoe nosed across toward
them. Curt looked them over. Like
TennOg they were tall rugged men,
hardy mountaineers as virile a
type of Indian as he had ever seen.
Tell 'em we're not going to kill
en-" he babe Tenn-Og. Find out
where the main band is and what
they're doing, and where the white
girl is"
He listened closely as Tenn-Og
talked with the six, but he could
not understand word of the clicks
and grunts except the names of
Siam-Klale and LeNoir.
When the palaver was over and
he had made sure that the six men
could get across to the shore, he
backed the canoe off and headed his
party down stream again.
fCopyri0ht. 1855 William B. MotoeruJ
With their tragic burden, Curt
and his men continue their flight
tomorrow.