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THE STORY SO FAR: Running away
from marriage to Ned Paxton, rich but
v blade, Janice Trent becomes secre
* * 'jn an Alaska wilderness camp over
the protest ol Bruce Harcourt, a long
tjnje friend. Bruce Is chief engineer,
succeeding Joe Hale, deposed for negll.
rence. MilUcent Hale, his wife, Is also
attracted to Bruce. Janice tells Ned
paxton she Is married to Harcourt. The
latter overhears her and Insists on an
immediate marriage. The newlyweds are
Interrupted at home that night by Mrs.
Ha le who says her husband has been
shot dead. She exclaims: “If you had
on lv waited, Bruce.” Bruce spends the
night investigating the murder. When
Jimmie Chester, Millicent’s brother, runs
off ia a plane Bruce brings him back.
In the meantime, Ned Paxton Invites
the women to his yacht. Janice and
he, and two natives, leave in a launch
to view a volcano closer. Suddenly It
erupts. The boat Is stranded on a lonely
bC^ OW continue with the story.
CHAPTER XVI
An uncanny howl from somewhere
inland rose to crescendo, slid into
diminuendo and died away.
“What’s that?”
The teeth of one of the pilots visi
bly and audibly chattered as he an
swered Paxton.
“That a wolf cry, yes sirree.
Smoke an’ fire drive dem to shore.
Dey no lak fire. Not much ever
come oder time. Hunters come
here. Shack up by trees.”
Paxton’s voice showed strain.
“You’ve clung to your camera, I
see. We may wish it were some
thing to eat before we get through.
There are two cans of crackers in
the launch, that’s all. If only this
infernal smoke would lift, we’d get
back to the yacht. The men were
right. There’s the shack.”
Janice’s heart went into a tailspin.
On a little hill, a spur on the side
of the mountain, sagged a cabin of
warped, weather-beaten boards.
She didn’t know how long she
and Paxton stood there staring at
the distant hut. He wheeled at sound
of the put-put of an engine starting.
With a startled oath he ran back
to the water’s edge. Janice stum
bled after him. As they reached it,
the stern of the launch vanished into
the mist.
“Come back! Come back!” Pax
ton shouted. Only the fading throb
of the engine responded. He drew
his revolver and fired into the air.
As though in answer, a wild wail was
relayed by echo after echo through
the woods. Janice caught his arm.
Her voice came raggedly.
"Ned! Ned! Save your ammuni
tion. Remember that ghastly howl.”
• • •
A shower of hot stones pelted the
man and girl. Rain splashed.
“Come on, Jan. We’d better make
for that shack while the going is
fairly good. I’ll bet it leaks like a
sieve, but it will be some protection.
Those infernal quitters threw out a
can of crackers. I’ll take that
along.”
He picked up the tin.
They passed great patches of blue
lupin. Wild raspberry bushes, high
er than Janice’s head, clawed at
her wet clothing, as though to di
rect attention to the dead ripe fruit
hanging in maroon clusters. She
gathered handfuls, carried them in
her hat which she had lined with a
damp but spotless handkerchief. The
woods rustled with the motion of un
seen life. A porcupine rattled across
the trail ahead. An otter swam
down stream, two martens scuttled
into a tangle of brush. A fox trotted
by, stopped, one foot raised, looked
back before he dashed off as though
Pursued by furies. A fat ptarmigan
rose with a whiz which sent Jan
ice’s heart into her mouth. A few
blood - thirsty mosquitoes buzzed
about her head, before drifting
smoke sent them winging. Did ev
erything living feel the pervading
imminence of danger?
Paxton’s eyes were inscrutable as
mey met Janice’s. Something about
me grimness of his mouth set her
heart thumping. He waved his hand
toward the hut.
Let’s investigate. I have a light.
1 was trained by an old sea-dog
rjever to leave the ship without a
hash, a gun and matches.” He
Pulled an electric torch from an in
side pocket of his soaked blue coat.
ts glow revealed a room high
enough for a man, a tall man, to
stand upright without hitting his
ead. A bunk against one wall was
heaped with dried boughs of spruce,
loose-jointed pipe, one end poking
rough the roof, acted as smoke
conductor between a rusty cook-
E °ve and the outer world. A de
generate chair and a rickety stool
e h pt dissolute company. A table,
ose legs sprawled outward like
°se of a teetering new-born calf,
upported two tallow streaked bot
es and a dirty pack of cards. A
.kettle and a frying-pan burned
, ac * hung from a crude shelf,
gainst the wall leaned an axe with
J °ng handle and nicked blade.
Paxton snapped a gold lighter. Aft
several futile attempts he suc
1° producing a small flame
!,c!l he applied to a candle stub
one bottle. “We will save our
eS for the fires. My knowl
st °f camping is all laboratory
’ n ° held work, but I know
for that.”
> e ‘ l '■• v hung ( over the table breath
hh the wick caught and a
flame set ghoulish shad
r- on tb e walls. Paxton
n i ■ n cysaai jbm
She took careful aim. Fired.
snapped off the electric torch, laid
his revolver on the shaky table, a
card of matches beside it.
“Those must be kept dry. Think
you can start the fire in the stove
while I collect brush for a signal to
the yacht? Wrecked on a desert is
land stuff.”
He flung his wet blue coat over
the chair-back. Axe in hand he
smiled at her from the threshold.
Good, but not good enough. Did
he think she didn’t know that the
outside fire was more to keep off
marauding animals than to signal
the boat, that she had forgotten
those banshee howls? She steadied
her lips and smiled back at him.
This last hour had aged him un
believably. It had set deep crow’s
feet at the corners of his eyes,
etched lines between his nose and
lips. Except for war service, all
his luxurious life he had played
hard and worked little. His once im
maculate buckskin shoes oozed
mud; his soaked white flannel trou
sers were criss-crossed with black
lines, where wet shrubs had lashed
at him; little green rivulets, spon
sored by his necktie, were cavort
ing down the front of the silk shirt
which was plastered to his body.
His eyes with a laugh in their blue
depths met hers.
“I don’t like the suggestion of crit
icism of my appearance in your ex
pression. You’re not so hot your
self.”
The liking she had felt for him
during the first weeks of their ac
quaintance, which had flamed into
love—or fascination—crumbled into
gray ashes of doubt and distrust,
stole back. It warmed her voice.
“I’m a sight. I feel like a rag
doll which has been left out in the
rain.”
She heard the crackle of brush un
der his feet.
She lifted a rusty cover from the
stove. Her thoughts raced on as
she laid a fire of dry leaves and
brush. Billy and Bruce had taught
her woodcraft when they had
taken her with them on their fish
ing expeditions. If only Bruce were
with her instead of Ned Paxton.
She struck a match to escape the
memory which set her heart pound
ing unbearably. She watched the
dry leaves ignite before she clapped
on the rusty cover. She listened.
The fire roared. Had she put in too
much fuel?
How the pesky thing smoked. She
wiped her smarting eyes as she
hunted for a damper. Her throat
stung. It was humiliating not to be
able to start a dinky little fire, but
she would have to ask Ned to help.
She stepped to the entrance for air.
What was that? Good grief! What
was that behind the tree near him?
A dog? A gray dog? A dog’s eyes
wouldn’t be green. A wolf! What
was hanging from the creature’s
cruel mouth? Cloth! A piece of plaid
cloth caught on one yellowed fang.
Sickening! She tried to call a warn
ing. Her tongue dried to the roof
of her mouth. Her body prickled
with horror. The animal took a
stealthy step toward the man on the
stump. Stopped. Not a muscle rip
pled under its skin. Ned would have
no chance to save himself.
Eyes on the motionless creature,
Janice backed to the table, seized
the revolver. On the doorsill she
dropped to one knee. “Steady!
Steady! Remember Jimmy’s in
structions,” she warned herself. She
took careful aim. Fired.
Man and beast leaped simultane
ously. The wolf soundlessly slunk
into the shadows. Paxton ran to
ward her, caught her shoulder.
Shook her.
“Why in heaven’s name did you
do that?”
She steadied trembling lips. “It
was a wolf—just back of you—he—
he was watching you—hungrily. I
thought—l thought—”
She dropped her head in her
hands. Shuddered uncontrollably.
“A wolf! You shot him?”
“I shot at him.” There was a
touch of hysteria in her laugh. “I’m
not too good.”
“God, we’ll have the whole pack
down on us.”
Indignation steadied Janice’s
nerves as no commendation would
have done. “I call that darned un
grateful. You would have been torn
to shreds if I hadn’t fired.”
“Why didn’t you yell?”
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, PERRY, GEORGIA
“Yell! I was dumb with horror.
I came to the door to ask you to
help with the stove, saw that terri
ble creature moving toward you,
and fired.”
1 He loosened the fingers still
clutching the revolver, laid it on the
table.
“Did you care when you thought
me in danger, Janice?”
Her heart flew to her throat. Blue
eyes aflame could be more terrify
ing than fierce green eyes.
“Care! Wouldn’t you care if you
saw a human being in peril of his
life? Isn’t the smoke stifling? Can’t
you do something to stop it?”
“I—” He coughed, sneezed, wiped
his eyes. “What’s the matter with
the infernal thing?”
Lids half shut, tears marking
grimy furrows down his cheeks, he
poked about the stove. Tears brim
ming from her smarting eyes, Jan
ice tried to help. He shook what
seemed to be a damper. The por
tion of the pipe which pierced the
roof fell with a clatter which set
her already taut nerves twanging
like violin strings under the fingers
of an impassioned virtuoso. A vi
cious orange-red fang shot from the
standing smoke-stack, licked at the
rotting branches of the roof. Damp
as they were, they ignited. Fire ran
from twig to twig.
The man and girl stared incredu
lously.
“We’ve done it now! Quick! Out
of this!”
Paxton pushed her to the door,
caught up the revolver as he dashed
by the table. Janice grabbed her
camera, snatched the tin of crack
ers. As they jumped to the mossy
log she heard the crackle of wood.
The walls of the shack were on fire.
Side by side they watched the
lurid light inside flicker, flame,
wane. Heat poured out as through
the door of a furnace. Janice turned
her back.
“I’m thoroughly toasted on one
side. ‘ ’Tis an ill wind, etc.’ It
would have taken hours before an
ordinary fire to dry our clothes.
What is the next feature on this
peppy program? It ought to be an
nounced over a coast-to-coast hook
up.”
Paxton’s eyes shone blue and
clear in his smoke-grimed face.
“Janice, you’re the best sport in
the world. You set a great pace.”
He steadied his voice. “The fire’s
dying down. We’ll have a warm,
charred shack at our backs. That
will be some protection.”
“Protection from what?” She hat
ed herself for the terrified catch in
her voice.
“From prowlers. You heard the
native pilot say that the volcano
smoke would drive animals to the
water. They will come down the
bed of this brook from the interior.”
Hours passed. Hours filled with
nerve-racking suspense, listening,
listening for the sound of a boat
which did not come, with the drip of
rain, the pelt of hail, flash of light
ning and detonations of thunder.
Janice dropped to the mossy log in
front of the shack which gave out
an acrid odor of smoldering wood.
Paxton carefully laid a heap ol
brush beside him as he dropped
wearily to the log. The fire had
died down to red coals.
He opened a gold cigarette case.
“One left.” He snapped it shut.
“Glad you don’t smoke. Otherwise
I would have to sacrifice that on the
altar of chivalry. Any crackers?”
She drew one grimy piece from her
pocket. “The last?” She nodded.
“Put it back. I have indulged in
too many calories already. I’ll lose
my boyish figure if I don’t watch
out.”
“What’s that?”
“What? Where?”
Janice gripped his sleeve. Point
ed. Two lambent green dots glowed
between low alders.
With a muttered imprecation,
Paxton threw on the pitifully inade
quate pile of brush beside him. The
fire flared. The sinister points of
light retreated. A howl tore through
the distance. From near at hand
the blood-curdling wail was an
swered.
Paxton rose swiftly.
“I’m going for more wood.”
“Where? You mustn’t. It isn’t
(TO BE CONTINUED)
O-* N O* O* O* O* O* O* 0-* O* O* O* O* O-* O- O'* O* 0-* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o*
A quiz with answers offering ?
l ANOTHER I information on various subjects ?
n* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* o* O* O* O* O* O* O* O* O* O* O* O- O* O* O'* o- o* o* o* o* cu
The Questions
1. Wliat color is the bottom
stripe of the American flag? And
the top?
2. According to the 1940 census,
what percentage of the U. S. popu
lation lives in urban centers?
3. A frugivorous man subsists
on what?
4. While France spent $250,000
on the construction of the Statue
of Liberty, how much did the
United States spend on its erec
tion?
5. A man who works per diem,
does so by what?
6. What is the singular of
“dice”?
7. What is meant by the astro
nomical term Penumbra?
8. In what year was the Domin
ion of Canada established?
The Answers
1. Red on top and bottom.
2. A total of 56.5 per cent.
3. Fruit.
More Raleigh Jingles
Raleigh Cigarettes are again
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paper. One hundred and thirty
three prizes will be awarded each
week.—Adv.
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I April, 11, 1942. Anyone may enter (except employees of 25 prizes of $5.00 . 125.00 cash I
J You may enter ns many last Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., their Iftn , . ■
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Prizes will be awarded on the Corporation. 133 PRIZES $500.00 |
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l RUfiGH mam i
TUNC IN RED SKELTwN AND OZ2IE NELSON EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT, NBC RED NETWORK |
4. The United States spent
$350,000 on the pedestal and erec
tion of the Statue of Liberty in
New York harbor.
5. By the day,
S. Die.
7. Partial shadow.
8. 1867.
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Per Cake: Vitamin A— 2ooo Units lint.) Vitamin 8,-150 Units tint.)
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All of these vitamins go right into your bread; they are not appreciably
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Do You Like Jingle Contests?,
Raleigh Cigarettes are now run
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best last line to a jingle. Over 100
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