The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1934-01-10

pfdfted that Sonyd uent TO Kill
Kdrukhdn. Ralph dies; Curt be-
lieves hts story, and struggles, 10
reach So,ya and protect her, a. =.
f4a.b tees2 . 9'Fsgs- ~
Chapter Al E
NO SMASH
CURT took one glance along the
- south shore and groaned-half
curse and half q cry Of tragic disap-
pointment.. The plane was not In
sight,oe. gAe sas @as "a
They fired shots in the hope that
Smash might have drawn 1t back
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
q bit Of white hanging from a low
pine branch. 1t was Smash's hand
kerchief. put there to draw atten-
ton. A tin cigarette box was tied to
the limb beside It. AS Curt suspected.
the box held note. l
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.
Smash
p. s. There's a dance at Lake
Marianne tomorrow night. and 1
may hop over there but I'll 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. 4; >es ssszf ~
In the furious anger OF helpless
ness he tore the note to bits. 1t was
seldom that he lost complete control
OF himself. but that idiotic message
and the crack-up Of his plans sent
him 'tramping the landwash in a
blind fury. 81 tD@ t4e Sea 2
A tank leak--hell! Smash had got
tired of being alone and had founced
off to soak up some Of his sociability
He had not been asked to share any
OF those dangers up the Lilluar; his
job was nothing more onerous than
standing by with the plane: and be
had flunked 1t. ~
Now when they desperately need
ed him and the very hours were pre-
cious. he was Lochinvaring around
somewhere, several hundred miller
away. At the critical time wher
Sonya would reach that lake. the,
would not be there. he and Paul
They were stranded. in aaGodfor
saken wilderness. with two hundret
and forty mountain miles betweei
themselves, land her.u asi
r. - - sf~s
an the evening of the third day
Sonya's party stopped at twi
light and made camp in a drogueo
rlver-bank, pines, The three indians
her escort ION the trip north. bull
her little lean-to. deity wove I
balsam-twig mattress for. her bian
kets, and otherwise made her al
comfortable as they could. 81
e5The leader OF the three, an olde'
half brother Of Tenn-Og. called th,
halt, out of consideration for TIL
white girl in his charge. Sonya her
self would rather have pushed ont,
the headwaters lake that night. j
was only twenty miles farther an,
they could reach 1t by dawn. Nov
when the end of her long quest wa
in sight. she wanted 1t and its har
rowing uncertainty over with. 81
I9 spite OF the hard trip that da.
she, did not feel tired. She was at to-
high tension. While the Indian
were .brUiling trout for meal. oh,
walked back the trail to an overfail,
around which her party bad JUS
portrayed. and sat down on the lip o
the rock thirty feet above the pluns
ing water. /
Dusk was creeping into the noun
tain, valley. Tho poorwills were be
ginning to call. and owls drifted ol
noiseless. wing through the. ,heav,
timber. The twilight, the solitude
the song oe the waterss seemed h
her a.skind OF pause ane sejf-com
munion before tomorrow came. q
With secret rejoicing she hat
heard how Curt ard Paul, bad beatei
"a. those. fourteepi canoes. But sh.
had known they'd do It! Tenn, Og NJ
doubt had taken them a boat aftel
the attack. and they were safe nov
But where wsre, they3, Il vas pos
sibles, that Ralph hsd weskenei
when she left. aud had told Curt tn,
truth ahOutshes sjournepss 81 ~.
sIn that case. would Curt follow
her north aud try to help her out
She wanted to think so. Even TIL
faint possibility OF 1t buoyed her up
tAieBe.now, With Der bridges burnst
apd suttesly on hes avn resources
she realized HOY. completely she hal
depended on him. She felt lost with
out his protection, lost and defense
less and woefully Inadequate to cop,
with, what lay ahead .eass, . ~.