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CAUGHT IN THE WILD
By ROBERT AMES BENNET
WNU Service
Copyright by Robert Ames Bennet
SYNOPSIS
As Alan Garth, prospector, Is pre
paring to leave for his mining claim
in the Far North, a plane lands at
the airways emergency station. In
it are Burton Kamill, millionaire
mining magnate; his daughter, Lil
ith; and Vivian Huxby, pilot and
mining engineer. Believing him to
be only an ignorant prospector, the
men offer to make an air trip to
Garth’s claim, although they refer to
his samples of platinum-bearing ore
as nearly "worthless." Lilith Him-
ill, product of the jazz age, plainly
shows contempt for Garth. Through
Garth’s guidance the plane s
reaches the claim site. Huxby and
Kamill, after making several tests
assure Garth his claim is nearly
valueless, but to "encourage” younp
prospectors they are willing to take
a chance In investing a small amount
Sensing treachery ahead, Garth se
cretly removes a part from the mo
tor of rhe plane. Huxby and Lilith
taunt Oarth, but thf»lr tone soon
change* when they try to start th ..
Plane. Returning to shore they try
to force Garth to give up the mi
lng part. Garth manages to set the
monoplane adrift and the current
carries It orer the falls. He points
out that he Is their only hope in
guiding them out of the wilderness.
Garth begins the work of preparing
for the long Journey He insists
that the others help. Ramill and
his daughter must bo hardened f
the hardships ahead in their trek
the outpost on the Mackenzie. Garth
experiences difficulties in getting
his companions into line.
CHAPTER IV—Continued
—7—
Though Garth had no pad, ho stood
Up with the moose quarter on his hue
and lifted his end of the pole to hi
shoulder. Jtut he was accustomed to
packing. lie bore the meat on ids
pack-board and his half of the tw
quarters on the pole with ns little difll
culty as Huxby toted the other end of
the pole.
Wncn they reached the camp Mis
Ramill and her father were out gath
erlng wood. At one end of the lire
thick smoke was rising from gree
sticks and leaves; at the other end, tin
pan of sliced muffle was boiling hard
After he and Huxby had lifted the
moose quarters upon the rack, Garth
brought water In the aluminum pot
and cooled down the stow to simmering
heat. Miss Ramill had much to learn
about the culinary art.
After the meal Garth glanced at the
rod after-glow of sunset.
‘‘Mr. Ramill, the leanto and blanket
are for you and your daughter. Hux
by can take the lee side of the tire
I'll keep It going. Turn In wheneve
you please.”
A yawn surprised Lilith Ramill Into
a mocking laugh. She turned to her
swollen-fneed tinnee.
‘‘What a howling farce, Vivian t Can
you imagine me going to roost at sun
set, Invteud of sunrise?”
Huxby forced a smile and felt at a
particular sore cluster of bites on the
back of his neck. Mr. Ramill cast a
wistful glance towards the leanto.
“I presume, Lilith, you will prefer
not to share the hut with me. Perhaps
I can manage out here beside the tl
like Vivian.”
“No,” Garth differed. “You’ll sleep
under that blanket until you have
hardened Into shape, and you’ll turn
In now. It’s been a big day for you.”
I he girl bridled. “How about my
wishes—and the proprieties?"
"We'll leave that to you,” Garth re
plied. "If you consider it Improper to
•hare the blanket with your father,
you’re welcome to sit up and help me
grain these moosehldes.”
Huxby stiffened. “None of your In
solence! You’ll treat Miss Ramill with
utmost respect.”
I “Ihe lady shall receive from me all
the respect to which she shows herself
entitled," Garth said. "Why not make
it mutual, all around?"
Lilith Ramill was no less completely
oufmaneuvered than the engineer. She
spoke to her father: "Well, I must
say, Dad, If you’re letting him order
you around, I refuse to stay up and
slave all night. Come on."
He crept after her Into the brush
leanto. Garth at once set to making
more catgut. Huxby had gathered a
thin padding of spruce tips and moss
at the far side of the tire and lay
down. Like the girl and her father, he
soon fell asleep.
t After finishing his first task. Garth
tended the fire and added water to the
simmering muffle stew. He next be
gan graining the hair from the moose
bull hide. He could have stretched out
and gone to sleep no less readily than
bad the chechahcos. On the other
hand, he was able to keep awake as
long as he wished. He scraped stead
ily at the coarse moose hair, the while
his ears drank in the voices of the
Wild.
By the time the sun glared over the
jagged crests on the northeast wall
of the valley, Garth had the hair
grained from both the moose hides. As
he started to cut Into the larger skin,
Miss Kamill crawled from the leanto.
She blinked and yawned, straight
ened her rumpled sports skirt, and sat
down to lace her boots. He gave her
a friendly good morning.
“Good? Pah!" she scoffed. “I feel
like the morning after. Here 1 am
flat. Not a drop of anything for ».
bracer; no bath; no clothes or face
cream or lotions; no make-up! Not
even a cigarette! Yet you have the
face to gibe me about It!”
At that, he could not resist giving
her the old quip: “Cheer up; the
worst Is yet to come.”
She Ignored It to point at the sim
mering muffle in the gold pan. “Look
at that filthy mess; half full of ashes.
If you had a spark of decency, you’d
throw it out and warm me a pan of
water for my face and hands.”
He finished the cutting of a moc
casin piece before he replied: “In
the first place, I'm too busy perform
ing needed work to act as lady’s maid.
In the second place, that muffle Is not
filthy. You’ll say it’s the most de
licious aspic you ever tasted. About
the rest, douse your head In the rill
That will give you a combined wash
and bracer. If you wish a smoke,
there’s the fire. For cosmetics, I’ll
soon he making up a batch of grease
and pitch mosquito dope. My final
dose of frogite went on too thin to
last long.”
She looked her disgust. “Grease
and pitch ! When I have a headnet?"
“Soon ns we start traveling through
brush It’s a question which will go
first, your not or your stockings. Dope
doesn’t snag on branches, and you’ll
find It a better cosmetic than rouge
and powder."
“Ugh! If I use your nasty dope at
all, If will he on my legs."
No go. You’ll he scraping against
rocks and running upon snags. Won’t
have any knees left if you try the
Highland style. How about those lynx
skins for leggings, along with moose
moccasins?"
For the first time since they had
met, the girl gave him a genuinely
iriendly smile. “That’s decent of you,
Alan. IIow soon can you make them?”
(ut me a steak off that nearest
leg of moose. While you’re cooking It,
I 11 see what can be done.”
When she returned the knife and
started to broil the great slab of meat
she had sliced off, he laid out the pair
of lynx skins. A few knife strokes
cut oil the great hair-padded paws and
slit the legs into thongs. When the
irl brought him his broiled moose
steak, lie showed her how to wrap a
skin around each leg like a high-
topped legging, tying it with the
crossed thongs.
“There you are. Miss Ramill. It’s
a pair of leggings such as our an
castors wore when they pirated the
high sons In viking ships and sailed
the Thames with Ilenghlst and
Horsa.”
Huxby sat up, blinking. The thin
shake-down of moss and spruce tips
had done little to soften the stony
round, lie rubbed his stiffened hack
and hips. “Confound those rocks I
The engineer looked at the partly
eaten steak In Garth’s hand. “IIow
about breakfast?"
“Help yourself to nil you want.
Along with your own, you might broil
steaks for Miss Ramill and her fa
(her. Miss Ramill is nbout to take a
lesson In sewing. She will soon need
a pair of moccasins.”
The last remark checked the girl’s
intended refusal. While Huxby sul
lenly cut the three steaks and started
to cook them, she carried out Garth’s
suggestion to grease her lynx skins
with a chunk of fat.
When Garth finished his meal, he
threaded a needle with smoked eatgu
and showed the girl how to sew the
thick moosehlde. Holes punched with
lie awl made the work fairly easy.
Within n few minutes she caught the
knack of handling the awl and needle.
Though her stitches were irregular,
they promised to hold. He cut out the
mate of the first moccasin, and- an
other pair smaller In size.
Mr. Ramill crawled from the leanto,
stiff, hungry and Irritable. But sleep
ml the open air had whetted all ap
petites. As with the broiled liver, the
three chechahcos—millionaire, mining
ngineer and fastidious heiress—went
it the hot meat with fingers and teeth.
They were down to bedrock—to the
fundamentals of living. All the ele-
ancies of civilized eating were ab
sent, even the supposed necessities—
forks, plates, seasonings. Yet the es
sentials remained. They were hungry.
ml here was food. It was neither as
tender nor ns savory as had been the
liver. None the less, it was food.
At the end of the meal, Garth said
that the first need was to fetch In the
forelegs of moose. Miss Ramill rose
with her father and Huxby.
“Sorry," Garth fold her. “Your fa
ther needs all the walking he can get.
Someone must stay to mind the fire.
I might mention there’s a shallow
rock pool a little way along the bank,
beyond those alders. You’d find the
ater pleasantly warm for a dip."
“Really? That’s not so bad."
"Yes. Only be sure to keep the fire
oing. It will hold off the wolves and
olverines.”
Huxby took Ramlll's arm and start
ed off with him after Garth. They
kept in the rear all the way to the
muskeg swamp.
This time, instead of lynx mates, a
family of wolves were feasting on the
moose meat. As sight of the men, the
hole family bristled and growled
but started a slow retreat.
"Shoot, Garth!” urged Mr. Kamill.
"They're making off.”
“Quite all right,” Garth replied.
“Good thing they’re gorged. I might
have had to waste cartridges to get rid
of them. What I'd like to know is
why they chose this solid meat, In
stead of the offal.”
As if In answer to the question, n
snarling growl far deeper than that of
the wolves came from the border of
the muskeg where Garth had killed
the bull moose. Up out of the thicket
reared a huge gray head. Massive
forelegs stroked apart the willow
stems with chisel-like claws eiglR
inches or more long.
It was a grizzly—a full-grown ursus
horribilis. Garth believed the beast
to he as large as those monsters of
the same breed that ruled over the
southern Rockies and the Sierras in
the early days when Indians still were
armed only with hows, and the few
white hunters carried only muzzle-
loadirig flintlocks.
The ears of the great she-bear were
flattened back. Her little pig eyes
glared red. The monstrous jaws
gaped to let out a roar of defiance that
shook the solid ground.
“Good G—dl” Mr. Kamill gasped
"A—a bear!"
Huxby gripped Garth’s shoulder.
"Shoot, d—n you! Shoot, or give me
that rifle!’’
“Shut up,” Garth ordered him.
“That roar is only a warning. She’ll
not charge If we mind our own affairs.
You and Mr. Kamill take hold of that
nearest untorn leg and start off quiet
ly. Don’t hurry and don’t run.”
The cool certainty of Garth’s tone
compelled belief and obedience even
from Huxby. Mr. Ramill was already
reaching up for one of the two moose
legs that had not been pulled down by
the wolves. The engineer hastily
"That Roar Is Only a Warning.”
turned to help him. As they started
off, Garth took the other unmangled
leg on his shoulder and sauntered after
them.
The grizzly mother had not repeated
her roar. Had they run or given any
sign of hostility, she would have
charged. As It was, she stood, an
enormous quivering mass of curiosity,
watching their quiet retreat. Her
jaws had closed their ferocious yaw,
and her ears were no longer flattened
back.
Garth's gray eyes twinkled as he
glanced back over his shoulder at the
huge beast, lie could not have asked
for a better bugaboo to make his com
panions behave. Safe our of her sight,
he told the two to halt and get the
moose leg on a tote-pole. Huxby at
once started to curse him for not
shooting.
“Go try it yourself,” Garth replied,
and when Huxby drew away from the
offered rifle, he nodded approval. “You
are wise nor to attack a she-grizzly
with cubs.”
Spurred on no doubt by the knowl
edge of that gray monster behind him,
Mr. Ramill managed to hold up his
end of the tote-pole all the way to
camp. There he sank down, purple-
faced, wheezing that the exertion had
killed him.
llis daughter sat by the fire brood
ing. Though refreshed by her bath
in the warm pool, she had begun to
feel the craving for drink and tobacco.
She had done little stitching on the
moccasins. But she livened to horri
fied alertness when Huxby told about
the grizzly.
Garth forestalled an outburst of
hysterics. “Keep cool. The old lady
will let us alone of we keep clear of
her cubs. Keep up the fire, and she
will shy clear of you. She doesn’t
fancy fire. Burnt her paws trying to
rob me of a roasting porcupine.”
A look at the gold pan showed
Garth that the moose muffle had be
gun to dissolve. He cooled some of the
gelatinous broth in the small pot. Mr.
Kamill not only gulped down the
drink. He smacked his lips and asked
for more. At that, both Huxby and
the girl were stirred to try the rich
drink.
Garth was glad to have all three
take their fill of the savory, highly
nourishing dish. He knew what was
coming. He asked only that the pan
be refilled to dissolve more of the
muffle.
The three were accustomed to the
free drinking of their kind. They had
already begun to feel the lack of the
usual cocktails, mealtime wines and
between-meals whisky. This was ag
gravated by the lack of tobacco. Ta
ease them as much as possible, he
broiled lynx meat on a grating of
willow stems, basting it with moose
fat. The tender meat kept them oc
cupied until the muffle broth soothed
their jangled nerves.
There was a limit, however, to eat
ing, and once its effect began to puss,
their craving returned more intense
than before. First Miss Ramill, then
Huxby, and last of all Mr. Ramill
began to make ironical remarks aimed
at Garth. He ignored them for some
time. The remarks become more of
fensively witty and sarcastic. He
dropped the moccasin upon which he
had been sewing, and picked up his
rifle.
“I've had enough bitters and sour
berries, thank you all. Feed them to/
yourselves for a while. I’ll go get the
sleep I missed last night while acting
as guardian angel of your sweet slum
hers.”
Navaj'o Woman Is
Boss of Wigwam
Her Word Final, Says Au
thority on Indian
Customs.
CHAPTER V
Mate Woman.
Far up the tundra slope, above the
trough of his platinum placer, Garth
found a dry moss-bedded nook on the
sunny side of a boulder. He lay down,
pulled liis hatbrim over his eyes, and
let himself fall asleep.
A full eight hours later the sun
swung around its wide circle until the
shadow of the rock fell upon Garth.
Roused by the passing of the warm
rays, he pushed back his hat and
sat up. He came down to the camp.
Mr. Ramill sat beside the fire between
his daughter and Huxby. Two of
three pouches that Garth had hidden
under the moss in the leanto lay open
before the men.
Miss Ramill was emptying the last
contents of the sugar pouch into a pot
of thick tea. She was first to see
Garth’s noiseless approach.
“Hail to the chief,” she mocked.
“My dear Mr. Garth, you are most
fashionably late to dinner. Will you
not join ns in a cup of tea?”
Her father turned to eye the unin
vited guest with a shade of uneasi
ness. “You see we found what you
were holding out on us, Garth. It’s
the only trick you failed to put over.”
Huxby said nothing. He tensed,
ready to spring up and fight.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
Finland’s National Bath
Is Worth Talking About
In some country districts of Fin
land, both sexes frequently share the
same vapor bath, for preparing the
“sauna,” as It is called, is an arduous
task and the steam for one is enough
for several people, according to a cor
respondent in the Detroit News.
All afternoon the housewife is kept
busy heating great stones in the bath
house oven. Then when the bather—
or bathers, as the case may be—Is
ready, she throws water over the
rocks, so causing the room to fill with
clouds of hot steam.
Wishing to make the most of op
portunity, Finnish bathers stay on a
platform near the roof, where the hot
test steam collects. Once perspiration
sets In, someone rubs the bather’s back
with a branch of birch leaves. The
aroma from these is quite pleasant
and fills the bath house.
After they have steamed well, the
bathers like to cool off by taking a
dip In one of Finland’s many lakes.
If there Is none nearby, they must be
satisfied with a cold shower, or In
winter a hurried roll in a snow bank.
The Finns are so fond of their steam
baths that farmers often build their
bath houses before constructing their
home, and all the large cities have
public bath houses.
White women insist on their rights
and fight for independence. Navajo
women are such complete bosses in
the wigwam they don’t have to
worry about emancipation.
They head their clans, which are
established on the mother’s side,
and holds the strings of the family
purse because the Navajo wealth is
in sheep, which are handed down
from mother to daughter.
This is divulged by Wick Miller,
who has given much time and study
to Indian arts and customs.
“Navajo women don’t argue about
equal rights,” he said. “And they
don’t insist on deferential gestures;
they know their word is final, their
position is enviable.”
One of the Navajo weavers, Eekh-
pah (Coming Again Woman), sub
stantiated this Idea. “I don’t argue
aDout my rights,” she said. “I don’t
even think about them, and neither
does any other Navajo woman.”
Dressed it. deer-skin moccasins and
a gayly colored skirt topped by a
dark velveteen blruse, Eekh-pah
fingered her turquoise-set bracelets
and talked quietly about the cus
toms of her people.
“Our women keep busy,” she ex
plained, “wits making blankets and
rugs. We get the wool from our
sheep, comb and card it, and then
spin It on that.” She pointed to a
distaff, a remnant of the ancient type
of spinning wheel.
She further explained that the wool
is dyed after It is spun and then
woven Into rugs and blankets on a
loom.
Eekh-pah speaks English as well
is a white woman for she went
away to school. Returning to her
tribe, she married a young brave who
already had a wife and baby.
“I didn’t want to marry him. I
didn’t love,” she confessed. “But my
people pursuaded me to marry him.
Now, I 10 longer live with him; I
am divorced.”
Divorce among the Navajos con
sists in separation without benefit of
a court decree. Marriage, also, often
takes place without a ceremony. The
common procedure is for the Navajo
maiden and her lover to begin living
under the same shelter, thereby an
nouncing to the clan they are mar
ried. Occasionally, after the first
child Is born, they have a marriage
ceremony.
“It Is not strange,” said Eekh-pah,
“for a Navajo man to have more
than one wife at the same time. But
the woman never has two husbands
unless one is dead or unless she has
a divorce.”
Think to Our Utmost;
Then We Can Seek Help
Thinking is only one aspect of men
tal activity and mental activity i 3
only one aspect of vital activity.
Life must go farther than mere think-
ing can carry it. It cannot stop where
thinking stops. Then what Is to be
the guide of life when thinking fails
to be a sufficient guide? Is there to
be no guide at all? A negative an
swer is too often given, and hence
the confusions of the hour. R ut
there is no justification in thought or
anywhere else for the negative an
swer. Thinking stops very often
before it needs to stop. It ought to
proceed as far as it can, and when
it does so it sees the reasonableness
of seeking help beyond itself.
Possible
Goethe said, “Every wrong
avenged on earth.” It may be if the
laws are enforced.
Fate?
Staying single is hardly
planned. It just happens.
INSTANT LIGHTING
Iron the easy way in one-third less time
with the Coleman. Iron in comfort any
place. It’s entirely self-heatinj?. No cords
or wires. No weary, endless trips between
a hot stove and ironing board. Makes its
own gas. Burns 96% air. Lights instantly
— no pre-heating. Operating cost only
V2t an hour. See your local dealer or
write for FREE Folder.
THE COLEMAN LAMP STOVE CO.
Dept. WU313 . Wichita Kane.* Loa Angeles, Calif.:
Chicago, 111.i Philadelphia. Pa. (6813)
GENTLE HINT
Air Pilot—Have you heard the re
mark, “See Naples and die?”
Passenger—Yes.
Pilot—Well, we are over Naples
and the engine is not functioning.
Just Average
Wife (heatedly) — You’re lazy,
you’re worthless, you’re bad-tem
pered, you’re shiftless, you’re a thor
ough liar.
Husband (reasonably)—Well, my
dear, no man Is perfect.
The Professional Angle
The champion athlete in bed with
a cold was told that he had a tem
perature.
“How high is it, doctor?” he want
ed to know.
“A hundred and one.”
“What’s the world’s record?”
BlIY YOUR FIREWORKS DIRECT: assort
ments $1 and up. or make your own selec
tion. Free complete catalog. Send today.
H. E. RKOIIRS CO.. Box 45. Cluster. N. J.
Pelican’s Pantry
It is the pelican that carries his
own pantry with him.
Calendar Ready
for Distribution
He Knew Pat
Mike—I haven’t seen my Uncle Pat
for ten years. I wonder what he’s
been doing all that time.
Ike—I can guess: ten years.
Drowning Person*
It Is a common belief that drowning
persons rise three times, but accord
ing to the United States public health
service, it has no scientific basis.
Many drowning persons do not come to
the surface at all after their first
submergence. When a person finds
himself drowning he naturally makes
a frantic struggle to save his life. In
doing so he draws water into his
windpipe, which causes him to cough
and expel air from his lungs, lie
then sinks. If all the air Is expelled
from his lungs he will not rise to the
surface at all, especially if he is fully
clothed. On the other hand, a drown
ing person who has some control over
himself may sink and rise more than
three times before his strength fails
completely.
Pheasant* Poor Mother*
While the incubator is a satisfac
tory method of hatching pheasants, the
hen has many advantages in caring
for the little ones. As mothers, pheas
ants in captivity leave much to be de
sired. Instead of worrying with a home
and family, the real mothers spend
their summer roaming in a large field
and “looking prettf," .
Parliamentary
“Do you think you’ll be able to
get the speaker’s eye?”
“The speaker hasn’t done any
thing to me yet,” said the athletic
young member. “If he does, I won’t
aim for his eye. I’ll aim for his
jaw.”
feALEHEA*
CA
1936
JANUARY
1036
Sun
Mon
TUE.
Wed
Thu.
Fri.
Sat.
M
M
T
2
2
i
*
6
p
7
p
8
§
V°
12
p
13
P
£
V 5
16'
f
V 8 '
V
V
*
22
23'
p
¥
f
V
¥
¥
30
$
p-
p
•^p-
H-
• P-
P-.
p—
Ask at the nearest store where Car-
flui and Black-Dranght are sold for
a big 1936 CARDUI CALENDAR.
Large figures, easy to read. Weather
forecasts for every day. It shows
holidays, moon’s phases, eclipses.
If the store hasn't ordered, or If the supply
ha* run oat before you ask for a Cardul
Calendar, send ns 10 cents and we will
send you one, by mall prepaid. Address:
CARDUI CALENDAR, Chattanooga, Tenn.
GENERAL ALARM
Worm—Doggo nit, that fool near
sighted firebug thinks I’m a piece
of hose.
Nothing Gratis
“You can’t get something for
nothing in this life.”
“That’s right,” replied the gloomy
citizen. “If I want even a few
kind words about my disposition
and some hope of future success.
I’ve got to go to a fortune teller
and pay for them.”