The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1934-01-06
Chapter SO
NEWS OF SONYA

THE main band. Tenn-Og said,
L had discovered the escape of the
whites and had started north to
Karakhan's place to guard him.
These six. runners had been sent
south ON the chance that they might
catch up with the whites and am
bush them. ~
Sonya was on her way north !;
nothing had been heard of her since
she left with her three guides.
DO you know where this white
man is hiding?" Curt asked Tenn
Og.
At the headwaters lake of the
Lilluar, the Indian told him. He him,
self had once lived at that lake, al.
most at the very place where the
white mans cabin now stood.
A week ago Curt would have con.
sidered that information priceless
but now it meant little. In general
way be did plan to return later and
make a second attempt to get Karak-
han; but in all probability the Rus
sian would be out of the Lilluars
and gone by that time.
He was nobody's fool; he GER
tainly had read the handwriting on
the wall. He had a plane and plenty
of gas for it, as LeNoir's trading ac
count showed. The wearisome job Of
following his trackless air path
would have to be done all over
again.
"How can you go back to youl
people, TennOg?" he asked. Those
six are going to tell the others that
you were with us, helping us.
With grunt and shrug Tenn-Og
stated that he did not care whether
he went back or not. He was almost
an outcast now, he said, because oil
Siam-Klale.
Ever since his talk with Tenn-Og
that first night, when the Indian
gave him so much informG .o.l vol
unfairly, Curt had felt that he stood
off somehow from the other Klo
sohees. His tones now and his ref
erence to the subject implied there
was some bitter personal feud be
tween SiamKlale and him.
The stories about the brutality in
Siam Klale's nature, made Curt
sharply uneasy about Sonya. She
was UP in that country alone, in the
charge of Indians who were com
pletely under the thumb OF the sub
chief.
If he and the main band overtool,
her party. he might seize her. brush
LeNoir aside, and disappear with hei
somewhere in that unknown coun
try. Once she reached Karakhan she
probably would be safe; but any one
of a dozen accidents might inter
vene to strand her in those wild
mountains and keep her from reach
ing him.
AS the afternoon wore along, q
perceptible change came over Ralph
At FIRST Curt could not decide what
the change BODIED; but as the signs
became more pronounced, he recog
nized their grim meaning He could
never get Ralph out, or even get tc
the plane with him.
JUST at twilight they reached the
~ Iskitimwah mouth. having GOV
cred in twenty-four hours a stretch
of river which had taken his party
four whole days on the up trip. HI
called a halt. All need of hurryins
had passed. and the buffeting of the
waves was causing Ralph intense
pain. The most they could do wa.
to ease him for the little time tina
remained.
Near the tributary mouth the.
went ashore ON pine island. thu
island of black lilies, where Cur
hal spent some dark hours once
ne ulu uOIs iCSOShi1C tuC ptdCc th
they had landed, and then he woult
not change. Inland at messy spo
they spread the sleeping robes ant
carried Ralph there and laid hin
down.
All three of them were stumbling
from exhaustion. On top of tn
heavy strain of the fight and thu
long day of Imprisonment, they ha'
had no sleep in more than sixt.
hours, and had Just finished terrifi,
stretch of canoe work = twic'
around the clock without pause.
Curt made Paul and Tenn-Og ca
little food, and then took them
coupls of rods aside. you two Ii
down." he babe. "and get some rest
In our condition we're fit for moth
ing, and we don't know what's ahea'
of US. I'll stay up with Ralph. cal
do everything that needs to be done
| God knows it's not much"
In the eastern sky the mool
| "PietV Hill" sactinr, or roIifor