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diff --git a/old/50320-8.txt b/old/50320-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9f42264..0000000 --- a/old/50320-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4981 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Secret Mission to Alaska, by Roger Barlow - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Secret Mission to Alaska - Sandy Steele Adventures #5 - -Author: Roger Barlow - -Release Date: October 26, 2015 [EBook #50320] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SECRET MISSION TO ALASKA *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - SANDY STEELE ADVENTURES - - Black Treasure - Danger at Mormon Crossing - Stormy Voyage - Fire at Red Lake - Secret Mission to Alaska - Troubled Waters - - - - - Sandy Steele Adventures - _SECRET MISSION - TO - ALASKA_ - - - BY ROGER BARLOW - - - SIMON AND SCHUSTER - _New York, 1959_ - - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - INCLUDING THE RIGHT OF REPRODUCTION - IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN ANY FORM - COPYRIGHT © 1959 BY SIMON AND SCHUSTER, INC. - PUBLISHED BY SIMON AND SCHUSTER, INC. - ROCKEFELLER CENTER, 630 FIFTH AVENUE - NEW YORK 20, N. Y. - - FIRST PRINTING - - LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 59-13882 - MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BY H. WOLFF BOOK MFG. CO., INC., NEW YORK - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - 1 Off to Alaska 9 - 2 A Hint of Trouble 14 - 3 A Mysterious Intruder 26 - 4 Charley Works Out the Huskies 37 - 5 Christmas in the Wilderness 49 - 6 Attack from the Air 59 - 7 The Big Race 66 - 8 Lost in a Blizzard 80 - 9 Trapped in an Icy Tomb 98 - 10 Down the Chilkoot Chute to Victory 109 - 11 Off to Hunt Kodiak Bears 121 - 12 Treed by a Wounded Bear 135 - 13 The Ghost Mine 156 - 14 The Plot Revealed 167 - 15 Final Victory 185 - - - - - CHAPTER ONE - Off to Alaska - - -Sandy Steele twisted his lanky six-foot frame in the cramped airplane -seat, stretching his long legs out in the aisle. Yawning, he glanced out -of the small, round window beside him. Although it was daylight now, the -ground was completely hidden by a layer of dense clouds that stretched -away to the horizon on all sides like fluffy marshmallow topping. The -sound of the motors was a dull, monotonous throbbing in his ears. - -Sandy leaned forward and ruffled the black crew cut that was just -visible over the top of the seat ahead of him. "Hey, Jerry, you awake?" - -"Yeah," a voice mumbled sleepily, "I'm awake. Are we going to land yet?" - -"I don't know." Sandy looked across the aisle at his father, who was -just lighting his pipe. "How about it, Dad?" - -Dr. John Steele studied his watch thoughtfully. "Oh, I'd say about -another half hour." - -The steward, an army corporal, walked back from the forward compartment -with a tray of paper cups. "Coffee, anyone?" - -The steaming-hot black liquid cleared the cobwebs out of Sandy's head, -and he began to look forward with excited anticipation to their arrival -in Canada. - -"Will Professor Crowell meet us at the airport?" he asked his father. - -Dr. Steele nodded. "Yes. Then we'll drive back to his place and pick up -his dog team." - -Jerry James's granite-jawed face appeared over the back of the seat as -he knelt, facing Sandy. "What's this about dogs?" - -"Berkley Crowell breeds sled dogs as a hobby," Dr. Steele explained. -"Eskimo huskies. He's taking his prize team up to Alaska to compete in -the annual race from Whitehorse to Skagway." - -"Hey, that sounds like fun," Jerry said. - -"As a matter of fact," the doctor went on, "that will be one of your -major jobs on this expedition. You boys will drive the truck with the -dogs and help the professor with their care and feeding." - -Dr. Steele turned his attention back to his book as Sandy and Jerry got -into a conversation with the young corporal who had served the coffee. - -"Both you fellows from California?" the corporal asked. "Whereabouts?" - -"Valley View," Sandy told him. "That's near San Diego, but more inland." - -"I have a cousin in the Navy," the corporal said. "He was stationed at -San Diego. Nice country." He grinned. "You guys are going to find the -climate of Alaska a lot different than California." - -Jerry shivered. "You're telling us!" - -"You go to school in Valley View?" the corporal asked. - -"High school," Sandy told him. "We're both juniors." - -"How long are you going to be in Alaska?" - -"About three weeks, I guess. It's the Christmas vacation, and my dad got -our principal to let us take an extra week on account of the educational -value of this expedition we're going on." - -The corporal looked interested. "What kind of an expedition is it?" - -"My dad is a United States government geologist," Sandy explained. "This -expedition is part of a long-range Canadian-American project to chart -glacial movements during the Ice Age. We'll be collecting soil, rock and -ore samples on our way through western Canada and Alaska." - -"Sounds like fun," the corporal said. "You'll get a kick out of Alaska. -It's a great place. I've flown up there a couple of times." - -"What's our forty-ninth state like, anyway?" Jerry asked curiously. "We -bought it from the Indians for twenty-four dollars, didn't we?" - -Sandy and the corporal laughed. "That was Manhattan Island, you dope!" -Sandy said. "We bought Alaska from the Russians for about $7,000,000." - -"It's twice as big as Texas," the corporal told them, "but the -population is only a little over 200,000. And most of these people have -only been there since the end of World War Two." - -"I guess we never would have realized just how valuable Alaska is if the -Japanese hadn't tried to attack us across the Aleutian Islands," Sandy -said. - -At that moment, a buzzer sounded and the green light at the front of the -cabin began to flash. "Oh-oh," the corporal said. "Looks like we're -getting ready to land. Fasten your seat belts, folks." He turned and -hurried forward. - -Dr. Steele stood up and removed his mackinaw from the overhead rack. As -he did so, a big, black, ominous-looking .45 Colt automatic slipped out -of one of the pockets and crashed to the floor. - -The boys' eyes widened and Sandy blurted out in shocked surprise, "Where -did you get that, Dad?" - -Dr. Steele retrieved the gun hastily and stuck it back into his pocket. -"Oh--er--something a friend advised me to bring with me. In case we get -a chance to do any hunting," he added. - -Sandy frowned. "Hunting with an _automatic_! That's crazy, Dad. Wouldn't -a rifle have been more practical?" - -A thin smile spread the doctor's lips. "I suppose you're right. I should -have consulted you before I got it." - -"Just where _did_ you get it, Dad?" Sandy asked suspiciously. "The Colt -.45 automatic is an official U.S. Army sidearm." - -There was just the faintest trace of irritation in Dr. Steele's voice -when he answered. "All these questions! You're beginning to sound like -your Aunt Vivian.... Look, we had better fasten our safety belts. We're -going to land." - -"Sure, Dad, sure," Sandy said. There was something uncommonly mysterious -about his father's behavior, and it worried him. - - - - - CHAPTER TWO - A Hint of Trouble - - -The big U.S. army transport touched down at the R.C.A.F. military -airstrip at Fort St. John, British Columbia, shortly after dawn on -December 23. Dr. Steele and his party were groggy after spending a -restless night of fitful slumber on the hard, uncomfortable canvas seats -that were slung along the walls of the plane's huge, drafty cabin. But -the first bite of the dry-ice bitter air of the Canadian winter snapped -them wide-awake and alert. - -"Wow!" Jerry exclaimed, bundled up like a bear in his hooded parka. "It -must be at least one thousand degrees below zero." - -Dr. Steele smiled. "You think this is cold? Just wait until we get -farther up north." - -Lou Mayer, Dr. Steele's assistant, groaned. "When does the next plane -leave for California?" He broke into a fit of uncontrollable shudders. A -dark, mild-mannered young man in his late twenties, Lou had been born in -Texas and spent half of his life in Southern California. He consequently -had little tolerance for the cold. - -Sandy grinned superciliously. "You guys should have been smart like me. -I wore my long red flannels." - -"That's a good point," Dr. Steele said. "In this country, proper -clothing is essential to survival. It's as vital as sufficient food and -drink. You must start conditioning yourselves to think about it." - -Abruptly, they all became aware that Jerry was staring with hypnotic -fixity toward the edge of the landing field. - -"Hey!" Sandy asked. "What gives with you? What are you looking at?" - -Jerry's eyes were glazed. Dumbly he raised one arm and pointed at the -mountains of snow banked at the sides of the field. Finally he managed -to mumble, "Snow. That's snow?" - -"Of course it is. You act as if you never saw it before." - -Jerry nodded, wide-eyed. "I never did." - -Sandy and the two men broke out laughing. "Well, this is an occasion," -Dr. Steele said. "I promise you you will have your fill of it before -we're through with this trip." - -Jerry was flabbergasted. "I've seen pictures of it, but I just never -realized there could be so much of it in one place. Man! That one drift -must be twenty feet high. Can you imagine waking up some morning in -Valley View and finding that in your front yard, Sandy?" - -"Well, I haven't seen too much of it," Sandy admitted. "But I've been up -to the Northwest with Dad a few times." - -At that moment a jeep screeched to a stop nearby, its exhaust spewing -out smoke like a chimney. The corporal at the wheel leaned out and -yelled to them. "Dr. Steele here?" After the geologist identified -himself, the corporal told them to pile into the jeep. "There's a gent -waiting for you at headquarters. A detail will be right out to unload -your baggage." - -"How do you keep these runways free of ice?" Dr. Steele shouted to the -driver above the loud, rowdy roar of the little jeep motor. - -"Sweep 'em with giant vacuum cleaners regularly," the corporal replied. -"When it gets really rough we melt the ice with flame throwers." - - -Professor Berkley Crowell was waiting for them close by the glowing -steel-drum coal stove that reinforced the electric heaters in the big -quonset-hut headquarters. "You can't beat the old-fashioned way," he -said with a smile, toasting his fingers in the shimmering heat waves -that radiated from the top of the steel drum. - -The professor was a slight, stooped, very British-looking man in his -middle fifties. He had a thin weatherbeaten face, a sharp nose and a -close-cropped mustache. His deep-set blue eyes were warm and full of -good humor. - -"Well," he said, upon being introduced to Sandy and Jerry, "I understand -that you boys will be helping me with my dog team." - -"We'll do the best we can, sir," Sandy told him. - -"They won't give you too much trouble," the professor said. -"Titan--that's my lead dog--he practically runs the whole show himself. -Possesses human intelligence, that animal." - -"When do we get to see them?" Jerry asked. - -"As soon as we get back to my ranch. I'm situated about ten miles down -the Alaska Highway, toward Dawson Creek. That's the southern terminus of -the highway." - -When they had finished the steaming mugs of hot coffee served up by the -flying officers' mess, Professor Crowell and his party climbed aboard -the big station wagon parked in the drive and drove away from the air -base. - -The Alaska Highway was a broad, smooth, gravel-topped road hewed through -some of the thickest forests and most rugged terrain on the North -American continent. Now the gravel was topped by a thick crust of snow. - -"A miracle of our century," Professor Crowell explained as they drove. -"Built in just eight months by your amazing U.S. Army engineers in 1943, -when the Japanese forces were threatening the Aleutian Island chain. It -was a lifesaving artery to Alaska and a vital chain to our western air -bases. Sixteen hundred and seventy-one miles. Just imagine!" - -An auto filled with shouting children whizzed past them, traveling in -the opposite direction. It was weighted down with valises and bundles -strapped to the roof and fenders. - -"Where are they going?" Jerry inquired. - -"Pioneer settlers for your glorious forty-ninth state," Professor -Crowell answered. "There's a steady stream of them. Did you know that -the population of Alaska has tripled since World War Two?" - -"It sort of gives you goose pimples," Sandy said. "It's almost as if you -turned back the clock a hundred years." - -"The last frontier of the United States," Dr. Steele remarked. "On this -planet, at least." - -"When will we be leaving, Professor Crowell?" Lou Mayer asked. - -The professor glanced down at his wrist watch. "It's eight o'clock now. -I estimate we'll be on our way shortly after noon. I want you fellows to -get a hot meal into you first. Then we'll load the truck and station -wagon." He looked around at Dr. Steele. "We'll pick up your equipment at -Fort St. John on the way back." - -Jerry was fascinated by the high banks of snow on the shoulders of the -road. "Boy, I wonder how they keep this thing open. Back in the States -we're always reading about whole towns being cut off by a measly two -feet of snow." - -"Even big cities like New York," Sandy chimed in. - -The professor smiled. "That's because cities like New York aren't -prepared for heavy snowfalls. Up here, we expect it. Why, I bet a little -village like Dawson Creek has more snow equipment than most big cities -on the eastern seaboard of the United States. Along the Alaska Highway, -for instance, there are one hundred and twenty-five weather stations -alone, and almost as many maintenance stations. No, you stand a better -chance of getting marooned on the Pennsylvania Turnpike than you do on -this road." - -Professor Crowell's ranch house was located on a cutoff about a quarter -of a mile from the main highway. It was a sprawling frame building with -a large barn at the back of the property and completely surrounded by a -thick spruce forest. - -The professor, a widower, had twin daughters, Judy and Jill, who kept -house for him. Their domestic efficiency made them seem older than their -seventeen years. The girls were blond and blue-eyed and very pretty, and -Jerry couldn't look at them without stammering and blushing. It was -obvious he was smitten with the twins. - -The Crowell household also included a middle-aged French couple, the -Duprés; Henri took care of the livestock and his wife, Marie, did the -cooking. Then there was Tagish Charley, who took care of the kennels. - -Tagish Charley was a full-blooded Indian. He stood 6' 4" tall, weighed -230 pounds and was as lithe as a panther. His hair was the flat black -color of charcoal, and his skin was the texture of ancient parchment. -Charley could have been any age, from 40 to 400. He spoke English well -enough, when he spoke, which was very seldom; and he said what he had to -say in as few words as possible. - -"Charley is economical with his money and his speech," Professor Crowell -said when he introduced him to his guests. "He's as stoic as a -cigar-store Indian." - -Sandy and Jerry hit it off with Charley from the start. While the -geologists went over the last-minute details of their trip in the -professor's study, Charley took the boys out to the kennel at one side -of the barn. A dozen husky dogs were frolicking in the snow inside a -wire enclosure. As soon as they saw Charley they all rushed over to the -gate and piled up in a seething mass of yelping, snarling, twisting fur, -leaping up against the chain link fence and falling back on top of each -other. It was a wild melee. - -"Wow!" Jerry exclaimed. "They look as if they'd eat you alive." - -The Indian grunted. "No hurt. They want to play." - -Jerry looked dubious. "I bet they play rough." - -The Eskimo dogs were handsome animals. In reality they weren't -particularly large; probably they weighed about 75 to 80 pounds and -stood 18 inches high at the shoulder; but with their broad chests, thick -necks and massive heads they looked enormous. Their great thick coats -varied in color from black-and-white to slate-gray, solidly and in -combinations of all three. They had powerful wolflike muzzles, sharp -ears and slanting eyes. - -Tagish Charley opened the gate and motioned the boys to follow him into -the pen. The dogs barked and leaped around the Indian, nipping his -trousers and mittens playfully. They ignored the boys. There was one -exception. Standing off to one side was a big, solid-black husky with a -white mask across his eyes and upper muzzle. By far the largest dog of -the lot--Sandy estimated his weight to be at least 100 pounds--he seemed -to regard the antics of his fellows with regal aloofness. Finally his -eyes turned solemnly on the boys and he started toward them. - -"Charley!" Jerry yelled, grabbing Sandy's arm nervously. "He's charging -us." - -Sandy laughed. "Go on, you sissy. His tail is wagging. That means he -wants to be friends." - -"You know that, and I know that," said Jerry, edging backward, "but does -_he_ know that?" - -"That Black Titan," Charley said. "Lead dog. Best husky in all the -North." - -As the big dog nuzzled against his leg, Sandy leaned down and stroked -his broad, glossy head. "Nice feller. Good boy.... Hey, where did you -get that lump on your skull, Titan?" - -"He save professor's life," Charley declared without emotion. "Bad man -hit him on head with club." - -"Bad man! When?" the boys exclaimed in a chorus. - -"Five, six nights back. Titan hear prowler. Jump over fence. Man open -window, climb into professor's room, choke professor. Titan jump through -window, save him." - -"What happened to the burglar? Did they catch him?" Sandy asked -excitedly. - -"No. He club Titan, dive through window into snow. Get away with dog -team." - -"Gee," Jerry said. "Even up here they got characters like that. Only -instead of a getaway car, they use dog sleds." - -"Did he get away with anything valuable?" Sandy asked. - -The Indian's brown face seemed to grow even darker. "He no come to rob -money." - -"What do you mean?" Sandy asked. - -Charley shrugged. "Many strange things happen here this year. Professor -sleep with gun under his pillow." - -Sandy and Jerry exchanged wondering looks. "Now who'd be out to get a -nice old geezer like the professor?" Jerry wanted to know. - -Sandy was thoughtful. "I don't know, Jerry. I don't know. But I have a -feeling we're going to find a lot more excitement on this trip than we -bargained for." - -"I agree with you," a terse female voice said from behind them. - -Surprised, Sandy whirled around to find Judy Crowell standing in the -open gateway. Bundled up in ski pants, mackinaw and high boots, she -might have been a boy, except for the mass of golden hair sticking out -in tufts from beneath her wool cap. - -"Charley's right," she said. "A lot of strange things have been -happening around here during the last few months. Ever since Dad spent a -week in Ottawa this fall, he's been a different man. He's lost weight. -He can't sleep or eat. And--" she shivered--"he always carries a pistol -with him. He's afraid of something--or someone. But when Jill and I ask -him, he just laughs and says we've been seeing too many American motion -pictures." - -Sandy felt cold prickles creep up his back. "It's funny. My dad brought -along a gun with him too." - -Jerry whistled. "What's it all mean, Sandy?" - -"I don't know, pal. But I don't like it." - -Still surrounded by his ring of canine admirers, Tagish Charley -addressed Judy Crowell. "You no worry about your papa, Miss Judy. -Charley take good care of him. Bad fellers come around, me break 'em up -like firewood." He made a twisting motion in the air with his two huge -fists. - -For some reason Sandy felt relieved. "I didn't know you were coming with -us, Charley." - -Charley's serious, expressionless face altered for a fleeting instant in -a suggestion of a smile. "I just decide now." - - - - - CHAPTER THREE - A Mysterious Intruder - - -The little caravan headed north on the Alaska Highway about 12:20 P.M. -Professor Crowell, Dr. Steele and Lou Mayer led the way in the big -station wagon, which was loaded down with scientific equipment and -supplies. Sandy, Jerry and Tagish Charley followed in a surplus U.S. -Army six-by-six truck. The boys and the Indian all rode in the roomy -cab, with Sandy at the wheel. The back of the truck, roofed with a heavy -canvas top, had been converted into a comfortable compartment for the -professor's seven prize huskies. Here, also, were the big dog sled, a -pyramidal tent, sleeping bags, cooking utensils and a Coleman stove. - -As Professor Crowell pointed out, there were tourist camps and aid -stations all along the highway, but sometimes it was more convenient to -set up one's own camp at the side of the road. Particularly in winter, -travelers had to be prepared for emergencies. - -Both vehicles were equipped with heavy-duty tire chains on all wheels, -plus oversized snow tires, and they rode smoothly and firmly across the -hard-packed snow surface of the highway. - -As the afternoon deepened into an early dusk, the temperature plummeted, -and the chill penetrated the cab of the truck, even though the heater -was going full blast. Sandy doubled up his hands into fists inside his -mittens and wriggled his feet inside his fur-lined boots to stimulate -his circulation. - -"I'm warm as toast except for my fingers and toes," he said. - -Jerry fingered his nose gingerly. "My old schnozzola is getting numb." - -Tagish Charley, who was taking his turn at the wheel, patted his -stomach. "Belly say soon time to stop and eat." - -Jerry yawned and looked at the dashboard clock. "Three-thirty," he -announced. "We've been on the road for about three hours. How far have -we come?" - -Sandy studied the speedometer. "A little over one hundred and ten -miles." - -"That's pretty good," Jerry said. "We're averaging almost forty per." - -A little while later they passed a river, and now Charley turned the -headlights on. Out of nowhere, it seemed, thousands of tiny snowflakes -swirled suddenly into the yellow cones of light. - -"It's snowing!" Jerry exclaimed. - -Sandy surveyed the wilderness on both sides anxiously. "I'd hate to -spend the night out here in a blizzard." - -"We stop soon," Charley assured him. - -The words were scarcely out of his mouth when they rounded a curve and -came upon a little settlement set back in a clearing in a pine grove. It -consisted of two large quonset huts and three small log cabins. The warm -glow of lights in the small windows of the buildings gave Sandy a -feeling of well-being. The station wagon slowed down, tooted twice with -its horn and swerved off the highway into the circular drive that had -been plowed up to the entrance of the main building. As the truck's -headlights swept across the front of the other larger quonset hut, they -could see that it had big sliding doors that allowed one entire wall to -open up like an airplane hangar. And as the lights probed the interior -of the hut, they could make out a neat two-engine plane mounted on skis. -The brief glimpse also revealed a big bulldozer plow and other -snow-fighting machinery. - -"Road crew," Charley told the boys. "They good fellers. We eat good, -drink good and sleep good." - - -"You were so right, Charley," Jerry said later, as he pushed himself -away from the big plank table after sharing a hearty meal of roast lamb, -fried potatoes, home-made rolls and apple pie with Superintendent -MacKensie and his maintenance gang. "I never ate so good." He polished -off a pint mug of milk that was half cream and sighed. "Or drank so good -either." - -Superintendent MacKensie, a big florid-faced man, tugged at one side of -his blond handlebar mustache. "Here now, you're not finished, are you?" -he asked. - -Jerry patted the round swell of his stomach. "If I ate another mouthful, -I'd burst, sir." - -"That's a shame," MacKensie said solemnly. "Now Cooky's feelings will be -hurt and he'll make you wash the dishes." - -A swarthy giant of a man at the far end of the table pounded the planks -with hamlike fists. "By gar, I weel!" he roared in mock anger. "You no -like Frenchy's cooking?" - -Everyone laughed as Jerry looked around uncertainly. - -Dr. Steele patted his mouth with a napkin. "As Jerry so aptly put it, -Frenchy, 'We never ate so good.'" - -"We're happy you enjoyed it, Doctor," Superintendent MacKensie said. -"Now if you'd like to go into the other room and toast your feet by the -hearth, I'll have one of the lads stir up that fire in your cabin." - -"An excellent suggestion," Professor Crowell agreed. - -With the exception of a half dozen men of the road crew who had some -tasks to attend to, they all retired to the large, comfortably furnished -recreation room where an enormous stone fireplace almost covered one -wall. Sandy, Jerry and Lou Mayer sat cross-legged directly in front of -the blazing logs, on a thick bearskin robe that was spread-eagled on the -floor. - -"Man!" Jerry whispered in an awed voice, lifting the huge head and -inspecting the gleaming fangs that were still frightening even in death. -"I think if I ever ran into one of these babies I'd just roll over and -die before he laid a paw on me." - -Lou Mayer poked one of the clawed forepaws with his toe. "Well, it's a -sure bet you'd die if he ever _did_ lay one of those paws on you. -They're as big as dinner plates." - -Superintendent MacKensie, slouched in an old-fashioned rocker, sucked -his pipe gravely. "I've seen them kill a horse with one swipe." - -"You've _seen_ them?" Sandy asked. - -MacKensie smiled reminiscently. "As a matter of fact _that_ fellow did -kill my horse. I was hunting with a party up on Kodiak Island. I -blundered around a rock right into the beggar. He rose up on his hind -legs, caught my horse with one blow in the choppers and that was it. I -managed to jump free. Then I pumped five shots into him. They might as -well have been darts. He would have got me for sure if the guide hadn't -dropped him with a brain shot." - -"Powerful beasts," Professor Crowell acknowledged. "The Roman Emperor -Nero used to pit bears against lions in the arena. And frequently they -killed the lions." - -"It's a lucky thing we did bring all those guns along--" Jerry began, -than caught himself as Sandy and Lou Mayer stiffened visibly. "Well, -it's a good idea with mankillers like this running loose," he finished -lamely. - -Superintendent MacKensie laughed. "So you expect to do some hunting -while you're up north, do you?" he said to Professor Crowell. He turned -to Dr. Steele. "Of course, the customs officials plugged up the barrels -of your weapons, didn't they?" - -"Yes, they did," Dr. Steele said emphatically. Speaking directly to -Sandy and Jerry, he explained. "You see, the Canadians don't want -visitors to shoot up their game preserves, and quite rightly so. When we -cross the border into Alaska, the officials will remove the seals from -the barrels. Do you _understand_?" - -"Yes, sir," Sandy mumbled, looking quickly away into the embers. He was -stunned. _Those automatics weren't plugged up._ He had never heard his -father deliberately tell a lie before. - -Unaware of the tension that had mushroomed up, MacKensie stretched. "I'd -better be getting back to the radio shack and see what's come in from -the weather stations on this storm. If she looks bad, I'll have to keep -a crew on alert. Any time you gentlemen feel like sacking in, go to it. -Your cabin should be warm now. It's small, but cozy. There are six bunk -beds, so it won't be too crowded." - -"Where's Charley?" Sandy asked, suddenly aware that the Indian was not -in the room. - -"Right after supper he went outside to get your dogs bedded down," one -of the crewmen told him. - -Professor Crowell smiled. "He treats them like children, and they love -it. Actually, though, all those huskies need for a bed is a soft -snowdrift." - -"They like to sleep in snow?" Jerry asked incredulously. "Don't they -freeze?" - -"No, once they tuck in their paws and stick their noses under their -tails, they're ready for anything. Have you noticed their coats? Double -thick. Underneath that heavy outside fur there's a short woolly -undercoat. The fact is they're probably more comfortable sleeping -outside than next to a roaring fire." - -Lou Mayer held his hands up to the flames. "We have nothing in common." - -After MacKensie left, the other maintenance men began to drift off to -bed. The snow was coming down very hard, and they faced the prospect of -a long, hard day battling the drifts. - -About nine o'clock, Sandy yawned and stretched. "What do you say we turn -in, pal?" he said to Jerry. - -"I'm with you," Jerry replied promptly. - -The boys looked inquiringly at the older men. "You two run along," Dr. -Steele told them. "We'll finish our pipes first." - -Sandy and Jerry dug their mackinaws and mittens out of a heap of -clothing on the long table in the vestibule and slipped on their boots. - -"It's only a hundred-yard walk," Sandy admitted, "but at thirty below -zero it's worth the trouble." - -"Amen," Jerry agreed, wrapping his wool muffler around his lantern jaw. - -The boys stepped out the back door of the big hut and followed the path -leading back to the cabins. Ten feet away from the building, the -wind-whipped grains of ice and snow closed in on them like a white -curtain, blotting out their vision. If it had not been for the clearly -defined path, they would have been helpless. - -"You could get lost in your own back yard in this stuff," Jerry gasped. -"Yipes!" he shouted as he blundered off the path into a snowdrift. -"Where's the St. Bernards?" - -Sandy took his arm and guided him back on the path. Finally, a dark -outline with a faint square of light in the center of it loomed up -before them. - -"Here we are," Sandy shouted above the wind. "Home at last." - -"If only the boys back at Valley View High could see us now," Jerry -yelled in his ear. "Wouldn't it be something to drop that Pepper March -out here some night? Boy! Or better yet, let's drop him into a den of -those Kodiak bears." - -Sandy laughed. "I don't know which of the two is more ornery. He might -scare them off." - -They reached the cabin door, and Sandy leaned against it and pushed it -open. They staggered inside and slammed it shut behind them. The -interior of the one-room shack was dark, except for the logs burning low -and evenly on the open hearth. - -Sandy blinked to accustom his eyes to the dimness. "I could have sworn -there was a light in the window as we came along the path." - -"Probably the reflection of the flames on the panes," Jerry suggested. - -"Yeah. Well, let's light a lamp." Sandy took several steps toward a -table silhouetted against the firelight, then stopped suddenly. "Hey!" -he said in a startled voice, nudging an object on the floor with his -boot. "What's this junk spread all over the floor? Looks like somebody -was breaking up house. I wonder--" He broke off as a dark shape -materialized from the shadows in the far corner of the cabin and seemed -to glide toward him. At the same time, he heard Jerry's excited shout in -his ear. - -"Sandy! There's somebody in here. Hey, look out!" - -Sandy Steele, without even a consciousness of what he was facing, -reacted with his athlete's instinct and reflexes. Crouching low, he -braced himself solidly, and as the figure loomed up before him, he threw -a hard body block at the middle of it. His shoulder hit a solid form and -he heard a soft grunt of pain and anger. As his arms grappled with the -intruder, he realized for the first time that it was a man. His fingers -brushed rough wool, and then he felt the steel fingers at his throat. - -"Get help, Jerry!" he bellowed, just before the wind was pinched off in -his throat. Then he took a hard, numbing blow at the back of his neck -and felt himself falling ... falling ... falling ... into blackness. - - - - - CHAPTER FOUR - Charley Works Out the Huskies - - -When Sandy regained consciousness he was lying flat on his back on a -cot, surrounded by a ring of anxious faces. He recognized his father, -Jerry, Professor Crowell, Lou Mayer, Superintendent MacKensie and -several other men from the maintenance gang. - -"What--what happened?" Sandy asked weakly. - -"It's all right, Son. You're fine. Just a nasty bump on the head," Dr. -Steele told him. - -"He really clobbered you, Sandy," Jerry said. "Then he straight-armed me -and sent me flying back over a chair. Before I could get up he was gone -in the blizzard." - -"There's no sense trying to follow him in this heavy snow," MacKensie -declared. "His tracks are probably covered already." - -"Did he get away with anything?" Sandy wanted to know. - -Dr. Steele and Professor Crowell exchanged significant glances. Then the -Canadian geologist said hurriedly, "No, he didn't steal a thing. -Probably some renegade trapper looking for guns and ammunition. They -prey on unwary travelers, these chaps. I'll bet he's wanted by the -Mounties as it is." - -Superintendent MacKensie looked puzzled. "He certainly was a queer one, -all right. He really messed things up. But, now, what do you suppose he -was after in that stuff?" He pointed to an open valise in the middle of -the room. - -Sandy propped himself up on one elbow and saw that Professor Crowell's -notebooks and papers were scattered all about the floor. - -"He must have thought you had money hidden between the pages," Lou Mayer -said quickly. - -Superintendent MacKensie scratched his head. "I dunno. It beats me. -We've never had anything like this happen before. There have been -hijackings on the highway, but no one's ever had the nerve to break in -here." - -"Well, no harm done," Dr. Steele said. "And Sandy will be as good as new -after a night's sleep. I suggest we clean this mess up and turn in." - -The others agreed, and while Sandy rested on the cot they began to -gather up their scattered belongings. - -"I wonder if he got at the rest of the stuff we left in the station -wagon," Professor Crowell said. - -"I doubt it," Superintendent MacKensie said. "Your wagon is in the shed -with our scout plane and the heavy machinery. We've had men working out -there all evening." - -After the cabin was in order, MacKensie and his men said good night and -went back to the main barracks. As they were undressing before the fire, -Dr. Steele questioned Sandy casually but with painstaking thoroughness -about his encounter with the intruder. - -"Was he a big man?" the doctor asked. "Did you get a look at his face?" - -Sandy shook his head. "It was too dark to see much of anything. All I -know is that he was big, taller than me, and husky." - -"That goes for me, too," Jerry agreed. "For all I know it could have -been Tagish Charley." - -Professor Crowell dropped the boot he was holding with a loud clatter. -"What did you say, boy?" he asked in a tense voice. - -Jerry laughed nervously at the professor's obvious dismay. "I mean he -was big like Charley. Of course it wasn't Charley. Heck, it could have -been that big French cook. All I know is that he was big and strong." - -"By the way," Dr. Steele said suddenly, "where _is_ Charley?" - -No one answered for a long moment. Then Sandy said, "I guess he's still -out with the dogs. Or maybe he's back swapping stories with the -old-timers in the barracks." - -Just as Lou Mayer was about to turn down the lamp, after the others were -all in bed, the cabin door swung in and Tagish Charley tramped into the -room. His hood and parka were encrusted with snow and ice, as were his -boots and trousers. He looked as if he had been out in the storm for a -long time. In the crook of his left arm he held a rifle. - -"Good lord, Charley!" the professor exclaimed, sitting upright on his -cot. "Where have you been, man?" - -The Indian walked over to the fireplace and shook himself like a great -dog. Carefully he leaned the rifle against the wall and shrugged out of -his parka. "I drink coffee in kitchen with Frenchy when man run in and -say someone break into this cabin. I take rifle and follow him." - -"In this storm!" Sandy said. "You could have gotten lost and frozen to -death." - -Charley grunted and tapped a finger to his temple. "Indian have thing up -here like pigeon. Always find way home. Bad man have sled and dogs -waiting in trees. No use follow him. If snow stop in morning, maybe I -look around some more." He kicked off his boots, stepped out of his wet -trousers and spread them out over the back of a chair near the fire. -Then, like a big animal, he padded across the floor to an empty bunk. -Seconds after his head hit the pillow, the rafters shook from his -mooselike snores. - -Jerry leaned over the side of his top-deck wall bunk and grinned at -Sandy in the bunk underneath. "Now I know those guys up in Tibet are all -wet. There isn't any Abominable Snowman. They bumped into Tagish Charley -when he was out for one of his evening strolls." - -Sandy grinned back, but it was a weak grin. He was bothered alternately -by twinges of suspicion and pangs of guilt. It _couldn't_ be Charley; he -_knew_ it! Yet, anything was possible. - -The snow stopped during the night and a high-pressure area moved into -the vicinity. Morning brought clear blue skies and bright sun. But the -air was still dry and frosty. - -"Actually, only about seven inches fell," Superintendent MacKensie told -them at breakfast. "By the time you folks are on your way, the highway -will be slick as a whistle. Our patrol plane's scouting back in the -direction of Dawson Creek to see if any motorcars are in trouble. If -anyone was on the road when that snow started coming down real hard, -they would have had to sit it out overnight." - -"I hope we're still here when the plane gets back," Jerry said. "I'd -like to see how they land those babies on skis." - -"Actually, it's smoother than landing on wheels," Professor Crowell told -him. "I know I prefer them." - -"Do you have your own plane, Professor?" Sandy asked. - -"Oh, yes. In wild, big country like this, planes are more common than -family cars, and far more practical. In the summertime almost every lake -you pass on your way north looks something like a supermarket parking -field. Private planes, all sizes and shapes and makes." - -Jerry whistled. "Boy, that's the life. Can you imagine how that would be -back in Valley View? I can just hear myself saying to my father, 'Hey, -Pop, I got a heavy date tonight. Can I have the keys to the plane?'" - -The men laughed and Professor Crowell said, "That's not as much of a -joke as you think. My daughters are always flying up to Edmonton to shop -for their new spring outfits and Easter bonnets." - -Jerry looked wistful. "Gee, it must be more fun being a kid up here than -it is in the city." - -Dr. Steele smiled. "It certainly must be more exciting in some ways. -Then again, I suspect that youngsters like you and Sandy would miss your -malt shops, drive-ins and television." - -"They have television here," Sandy said. - -"Yes," Superintendent MacKensie admitted, "but it's pretty limited -compared to what you Americans can see." - -The boys were intrigued by the heavy, thick flapjacks that Frenchy the -cook served with thick slabs of bacon. - -"They taste different than what my maw makes," Jerry commented. "Sort of -sour." Then, with an apologetic glance at the big, bushy-headed cook, -"But I love 'em." - -Superintendent MacKensie's eyes twinkled. "You may not believe it," he -said, "but the fermented yeast dough that went into these flapjacks is -over sixty years old." - -Jerry choked in the middle of a bite and swallowed hard. "Sixty years -old! You're kidding, sir?" - -"Not in the least. It was handed down to Frenchy by his father, who was -a gold prospector up in the Yukon in the eighteen-nineties." - -"Wow!" Jerry laid down his fork. "Talk about hoarders." - -Dr. Steele laughed. "Sourdough, of course. Those old prospectors got -their nickname from it. You boys have heard of sourdoughs, haven't you?" - -"Sure," Jerry admitted. "I just never knew where the name came from." - -"Sourdough was the prospector's staff of life on the trail," -Superintendent MacKensie explained. "Once he got the mixture just right, -he'd keep it in a tightly closed container and add to it as he used it. -But the culture always remained the same." - -"Yeast is like a fungus," Professor Crowell elaborated for the boys' -benefit. "It's composed of living, growing cells." - -"Yes," the superintendent went on. "This particular strain in the -flapjacks we're eating has been kept alive for sixty years by Frenchy's -family." - -"_Oui_," the cook spoke from the end of the table. "My _papa_ give some -of this sourdough to all his sons and daughters when they leave home. I -give to my son some day." - -"Amazing," said Lou Mayer. - -Frenchy stood up and swung a big, empty platter up on one hand. "I go -make some more, no?" He looked down at Jerry. "You eat five or six more, -hey, boy? They very small." - -Jerry attacked the last flapjack on his plate with renewed relish. "A -couple more anyway, Frenchy. And maybe another slab of that bacon." He -winked as Sandy began to groan. "Who knows, we may get stranded for days -in a blizzard without food. I'm storing up energy." - -After breakfast, Sandy and Jerry went outside and watched Tagish Charley -work out the huskies on the landing strip off to one side of the road -station. The dog sled was about ten feet long with a welded aluminum -frame and polished steel runners. Extending halfway down both sides, -were guard rails to which baggage could be strapped. There was a small -footrest at the rear, where the sled driver could ride standing erect, -and a rubber-coated handrail for him to grip. - -The dogs milled about excitedly as Charley harnessed them to the sled. -They were hitched up in staggered formation, one dog's head abreast of -the haunches of the dog in front of him. Black Titan led the pack, and -the driving reins were attached only to his harness. - -"Lead dog, he have to be very smart," Charley told them, ruffling up the -thick fur collar around Titan's throat. "He boss of team. Not driver. -Other dogs do bad job, he scold them. Sometimes he have to fight a bad -dog who make trouble." - -"Do you think Professor Crowell's team has a chance to win the race from -Whitehorse to Skagway?" Sandy asked him. - -"We win," Charley said matter-of-factly. "Best team, best lead dog." He -patted Titan's head. "Black Titan pull sled all alone if he have to." - -"Is the professor going to drive himself, Charley?" Jerry inquired -curiously. - -The Indian shrugged his shoulders. "Better he not drive in race. -Professor fine dog driver, but safer if he not drive this race. On trail -easy for bad men to get him. Better for Charley to drive team." - -"Charley," Sandy asked worriedly, "do you have any idea why the bad men -are after Professor Crowell? Why would anyone want to harm a nice man -like him?" - -Anger tightened Charley's features. "Professor got something they want -very bad. They kill him if they have to." - -"But _what_ do they want? What is it the professor has that's so -valuable to them? Money? Jewels?" - -Charley shook his head. "Professor no have money or jewels. Maybe -something he have in here." He tapped his finger against his forehead -wisely. - -Sandy looked at Jerry. "You know, he could have something there. I think -I'm going to have a man-to-man talk with my dad first chance I get." - -The two boys rode on the sled as ballast while Charley put the powerful -team through its paces, whizzing back and forth on the hard-packed -surface of the landing strip and churning through high drifts in the -virgin snow around the fringes. - -"Great!" Jerry yelled in Sandy's ear, clutching the guard rail with one -hand and, with his other hand, protecting his face from the spray of -snow flung back by the dogs' flying feet. "This is better than the -roller coaster at Disneyland." - -Sandy nodded vigorously. "That Titan is fantastic, isn't he? He acts -almost human." - -Seemingly aware of his admiring audience, Black Titan put on an -impressive display. Setting a pace for his teammates that kept their -tongues lolling from their black-roofed mouths, he guided them smoothly -into sharp turns and sudden twists and broke trail through muzzle-high -snow with his broad chest as if it were light as dust--all the time -responsive to the slightest tug at the reins. - -"He's a marvel, all right," Sandy told Charley later when the dogs were -resting after their work-out. - -"Boy, would I ever like to get into that big race. You don't need any -passengers, do you, Charley?" Jerry asked. - -"Okay for you boys to come along. Need five hundred pounds on sled -anyway." - -Sandy was overjoyed. "You mean it, Charley? Really? Jerry and I can ride -ballast on the sled?" - -"Sure. You ask professor." - -At that minute, Dr. Steele came walking across the landing strip toward -them. "You fellows about ready to leave? It's nine-thirty. -Superintendent MacKensie has had our vehicles warming up for almost half -an hour now." - -Sandy spoke to Jerry in a low voice. "You help Charley get the dogs in -the truck. I want to talk to my dad--in private." - - - - - CHAPTER FIVE - Christmas in the Wilderness - - -"Dad," Sandy began haltingly as they walked slowly back to the barracks, -"Professor Crowell is in some kind of trouble, isn't he?" - -Dr. Steele was evasive. "You mean because of that man who broke into our -cabin? What makes you think that had anything to do with the professor?" - -Sandy looked earnestly into his father's eyes. "That was no ordinary -thief, Dad. He was after something in Professor Crowell's notes and -papers." His face became even graver. "Maybe they're after you, too." - -Dr. Steele tried to laugh it off, but his mirth was hollow. "Aren't you -becoming a little melodramatic, Son?" - -"You don't fool me for a minute, Dad. I know that whatever's going on is -probably top-secret government business and you can't tell me what it's -all about. But I do think it's only fair to tell me whether or not you -or the professor or Lou Mayer are in any danger." - -Dr. Steele appeared to think it over very carefully. Finally, he sighed. -"Yes, I guess you're right. I brought you boys along, so I don't suppose -I have any right to keep you completely in the dark. The fact is we -_are_ in danger--all of us. I had no right to expose you -boys--especially Jerry--to this kind of thing, but I thought at first we -could deceive _them_ into believing that this was just a routine -geological survey. I was wrong. They're far too clever." His mouth -tightened. "Maybe the best thing to do would be to send you and Jerry -back home." - -"Dad!" Sandy looked hurt. "Not on your life. If you're in any kind of -trouble, I'm sticking with you until you're out of it." - -Dr. Steele frowned. "I wish I could tell you more about this, Sandy, but -I'm bound by an oath of secrecy. You'll just have to trust me." - -"I trust you, Dad." - -"As for Jerry James, I think it's only fair for you to tell him what -I've told you and let him decide whether he wants to continue on with -us." - -"I'll ask him," Sandy agreed. "But I know what he's going to say right -now." - -They were almost at the front door of the barracks now. "One more thing, -Dad," Sandy said. "Tagish Charley. I like him an awful lot. You don't -think that he--" - -"That he's the one who ransacked our cabin last night?" the doctor -finished for him. "The same thought flashed through my mind, too. I just -can't believe it, though. Charley's been with the professor for years; -he's like one of the family. Still--" his face went grim--"we don't -really know--and we can't afford to take chances." - -Superintendent MacKensie greeted them as they entered the building. -"Your wagons are all set to roll," he announced. - -Sandy took his friend aside just before they left the station and -repeated what his father had said, offering Jerry the choice of going -back to Valley View. - -"I ought to slug you," the husky, dark-haired boy roared, his black eyes -flashing, his square jaw jutting out defiantly, "for even thinking I'd -back out on you when you were in trouble! What kind of a guy do you -think I am?" - -"Take it easy, Buster." Sandy threw his arm around his friend's -shoulders. "I told Dad that's exactly what you would say." - - -They made good time all that morning, and a little after one o'clock -they reached Fort Nelson. Here they ate lunch with the Game -Commissioner, an old friend of Professor Crowell's. Later, while the -station wagon and truck were being refueled, the boys accompanied Tagish -Charley down to the Indian village on the banks of the frozen Nelson -River. Charley went straight to the house of the headman in the village, -and they talked earnestly and excitedly in an Indian dialect for some -time. - -On the way back to the truck, he told the boys: "That man know -everything go on in province. He say many strangers pass this way. They -say they French trappers, but they speak strange tongue and never sell -any furs." - -"Did he say how many?" Sandy asked. - -"Maybe six." - -Jerry clapped his mittened hands together. "And there are five of us. -Those aren't bad odds." - -"In a fair fight," Sandy corrected him. "But from what I've heard and -seen of these guys, they probably have no idea of fighting fair." - -The sun went down early, but this night was clear and the sky was full -of stars, so they drove on for quite a while after dark. At five-thirty -they came to a weather station near Lake Muncho. It was a small place, -manned by three technicians, and although the five guests really crowded -their quarters, the weathermen were very hospitable. - -"You chaps are lucky," the man in charge told them. "This high-pressure -area should be with us for the rest of the week. You'll have fine -weather all the way to Alaska." - -"Gosh," said Jerry, when he saw the small pine tree trimmed with tinsel -and colored balls and lights that stood in one corner of the shack's -main room. "I almost forgot--this is Christmas Eve." - -"It doesn't seem like it, somehow," Sandy said, feeling a slight twinge -of homesickness. "Not without Mom's turkey dinner and presents and -Christmas carols." - -"Christmas isn't turkey and presents and chimes," Professor Crowell -observed. "It's what you feel in the heart." - -"You're right, sir," Sandy admitted. Then he grinned. "I guess Jerry and -I are still kids at heart." - -"That's as it should be," the professor said. "It's one of the things I -admire most about you Americans--your boyish exuberance. You're always -looking for an excuse to give a party. I think it's one of the reasons -why you have so many national holidays." - -"Nothing shy about us Canadians when it comes to a party either," one of -the weathermen put in. He turned to his two partners. "Let's show these -Yanks a real Christmas party. What do you say?" - -There was a chorus of "ayes." - -After a hearty meal of tinned ham, fried potatoes and frozen candied -yams, topped off by a flaming plum pudding, they gathered in a tight -circle about the little fireplace and sipped hot cider and nibbled -marshmallows toasted in the winking embers. About nine o'clock the -weathermen picked up a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation program of -Christmas carols on their shortwave radio and piped it through a big -hi-fi speaker over the fireplace. - -"This is more like it," Jerry sighed contentedly, stuffing himself with -marshmallows and roasted nuts, staring at the lights twinkling on the -Christmas tree and listening to the strains of "Silent Night." - -Dr. Steele grinned mysteriously. "And who knows, maybe Santa will find -you boys even up here. Better pin up your stockings before you go to -bed." - -There were only two extra cots at the weather station, so the boys, Lou -Mayer and Tagish Charley bedded down in their sleeping bags around the -fireplace. Just before he turned in, Charley fed the dogs and let them -run for a while on the deserted highway. Then he penned them in on the -big front porch of the weather station. - -Sandy fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow, and the next -thing he knew, sunlight was streaming into his eyes. Yawning, he sat up -and looked around. Tagish Charley and Lou Mayer were already up and off -somewhere. Only Jerry was still asleep, curled up in his sleeping bag -like a hibernating bear. - -Sandy's eyes widened as they came to rest on the little Christmas tree -in the corner. Beneath it were piled assorted boxes wrapped in gaily -colored tissue and tied with tinseled ribbon. He leaned over and shook -his friend. - -"Hey, Jerry, wake up!" - -Jerry snorted and opened his eyes, heavy-lidded with sleep. "Whazza -matter?" he mumbled. - -Sandy grinned. "Looks like Santa was here while we were asleep. C'mon, -get up." - -Sandy rolled out of his sleeping bag, put on his trousers, shirt and -boots and went over to the tree. Kneeling down, he read the tags on the -packages: "'_To Sandy from Dad_,' '_To Jerry...._' Hey! There's -something here for everybody." - -He looked up and saw his father, Professor Crowell and Lou Mayer -standing in the doorway that led into the tiny kitchen. They were all -smiling broadly. - -"Well, don't just sit there," Dr. Steele said. "Pass them around." - -As Sandy had observed, there was something for everyone. An intricate -chronometer wrist watch that told the days of the month and even the -phases of the moon for Sandy; a candid camera for Jerry; a gold fountain -pen for Lou Mayer; and a fine steel hunting knife with a silver inlaid -handle for Tagish Charley. Professor Crowell, with genuine Yuletide -spirit, gave a set of ivory chessmen he had bought from an Indian at -Fort Nelson to the three weathermen. They, in turn, presented the -professor and Dr. Steele each with a pair of fine snowshoes. - -After they had burned the wrappings in the fire, Sandy remarked rather -sadly, "Gee, Dad, now I wish I hadn't left your present back home. But -Mom said we'd save all the gifts till we got back." - -Dr. Steele put his arm around his son's shoulders. "Sandy, the best -present you could ever give me is just being here." He reached for Jerry -with his other arm. "That goes for you too, Jerry." - - -Right after breakfast, they said goodbye to their new friends and headed -north again. They drove into Watson Lake, just across the border in -Yukon territory, about two o'clock. Watson Lake was one of the largest -towns along the Alaska Highway. In addition to a Mountie station and an -R.C.A.F. base, there was an airstrip for commercial airlines and -accommodations for putting up passengers overnight. They drove straight -out to the air force base, where the sentry ushered them through the -gate with a snappy salute as soon as Professor Crowell identified -himself. - -"The old prof really rates in these parts, doesn't he?" Jerry mused, as -they drove through the precisely laid-out checkerboard streets past neat -log-cabin barracks to the HQ building. - -They were even more impressed by the reception the professor received -from the Base Commander, an old friend he had worked with in World War -II. - -"You're just in time for Christmas dinner," the Commander told them -happily. "Roast turkey with all the trimmings." - -Jerry rubbed his stomach gleefully. "This stands to be the best holiday -season of our lives, Sandy. Wherever we go people give us Christmas -dinners." - -The geologists decided to stop over at Watson Lake and get an early -start the next morning for the long, grueling uphill drive over the -divide. - -"What is the divide?" Jerry asked. - -"A high shelf on the continent that determines the direction of water -drainage," Dr. Steele explained. "In the case of North America, it's the -Rocky Mountains. All the rivers and streams on one side of the Rockies -run in a generally easterly direction; on the other side they flow to -the west." - -"Will we have any trouble driving up those mountains with all this snow -and ice?" Sandy inquired of the R.C.A.F. Commander. - -"Well, it's a pretty tortuous route," the officer admitted. "But the -ascent is fairly gradual. With chains you shouldn't have too much -trouble. Of course, if it should snow again, that would be another -matter." - -"We'll get an early start," Professor Crowell told them. "About six -A.M." - - - - - CHAPTER SIX - Attack from the Air - - -It was gray and cold when they left Watson Lake on the last leg of their -journey on the Alaska Highway. - -"At Whitehorse, we'll give the car and truck a rest and take to the -air," Dr. Steele explained. "The Canadian government has put a plane at -the professor's disposal for as long as we're up here." - -But the big attraction at Whitehorse as far as the boys and Tagish -Charley were concerned was the big dog-sled race to Skagway. - -"The professor says it's okay with him if Jerry and I ride ballast," -Sandy informed the Indian. "That's if it's all right with you?" - -"Okay by me," Charley said. He glanced sideways at Jerry. "But this boy -keep eating so much he get too fat to sit on sled." - -Sandy let out a guffaw and Jerry pretended to sulk. "You guys have a -nerve," he said. "You both lick your plates cleaner than Black Titan -does." - -"If Tubby, here, is too much of a load for the huskies," Sandy -suggested, "we can always let him run behind the sled." - -Suddenly, Charley hunched down and squinted through the windshield. -"Plane," he announced curtly. - -The boys followed his gaze but could see nothing. "Where?" Sandy asked. - -Charley pointed toward a line of snow-capped mountain peaks in the -distance surrounded by blue haze. Sandy saw a speck that moved out of -sight behind one of the peaks. He couldn't make out what it was. - -"Are you sure it wasn't a bird?" he said uncertainly. - -"It plane," Charley said firmly. - -"Maybe it's from one of the road stations," Jerry suggested. - -"I guess so," Sandy said and pushed down a little harder on the -accelerator to close the gap between them and the station wagon, which -had drawn about a quarter of a mile ahead. - -Gradually the road climbed, winding and twisting through canyons and -hugging mountainsides in hazardous stretches. At one such spot Jerry -peered down into the chasm that dropped off steeply on one side and -clapped his hands over his eyes. - -"I think I'll get out and walk the rest of the way," he groaned. - -Sandy's face was grim as he nursed the big truck around the curves, -never letting the speedometer needle climb above the 30 on the dial. - -Then, without warning, a great throbbing roar bore down on them from the -rear. Instinctively, they ducked their heads as it seemed to shatter the -roof of the cab. An instant later a plane appeared through the -windshield zooming down the road toward the station wagon. - -"Yipes!" Jerry exclaimed. "What does he think he's doing?" - -"The crazy fool!" Sandy said angrily. "He could have scared us off the -highway. Look at him! He can't be more than fifty feet off the ground." - -The little ship skimmed over the station wagon and started to climb in a -wide arc. - -"You think it's a scout plane from one of the road stations?" Jerry said -anxiously. - -"I don't know," Sandy replied, trying to keep one eye on the road and -the other on the circling plane. "It looks as if he's coming back -again." Gratefully, he noted that they were approaching a less -treacherous section of highway. - -Once more they heard the little plane gunning its motor at top speed as -it flew up behind them. As it passed over them, a small round hole -appeared, as if by magic, at the top of their windshield. - -For a moment they were too stunned to react, then Jerry yelled, "They're -shooting at us!" - -With an unintelligible oath, Tagish Charley whirled in the seat and -reached back through the curtain partition into the rear of the truck. -"Stop!" he told Sandy as he pulled out his hunting rifle. - -As Sandy brought the lumbering vehicle to a skidding halt at the side of -the road, he saw that the station wagon had pulled up also, and the -three geologists were piling out frantically. - -Tagish Charley motioned to a patch of timber about a hundred yards away. -"Go--fast." The three of them floundered through knee-deep drifts as the -engine roar of the plane built up in their ears. - -"Down!" Charley bellowed. "Flat!" As the boys flattened out, the Indian -turned, dropped to one knee and threw the rifle to his shoulder. He -squeezed off two shots, leading the plane as if it were a wild duck. In -return, a fusillade of shots from the plane kicked up the snow all -around them. - -"Those guys really mean business!" Jerry yelled as they scrambled to -their feet and ran for the woods again. - -"This is like one of those nightmares where you're being chased by a -wild animal and your legs move in slow motion," Sandy gasped, churning -through the snow. - -They reached the trees just before the plane swooped over them again. -Crouching behind a tree bole, Charley emptied his rifle at the -retreating ship. A slug splattered the bark just above his head. - -This time as the plane climbed, a thin spiral of smoke trailed back from -the engine, and the rhythm of the motor was uneven. - -Sandy let out a cheer. "You got him, Charley! Good shooting." - -Immediately the plane broke off its attack and headed north. Sandy led -the way down the road to where the three geologists were standing by the -station wagon, watching the ship dwindle to a speck in the distance. - -"Are you okay, Dad?" he yelled anxiously. "Anybody hurt?" - -"No, just badly frightened," Dr. Steele replied. "How about you -fellows?" - -"No casualties," Sandy reported breathlessly. "Just a bullet hole in the -windshield." - -"It seems as if Charley saved the day," Professor Crowell said. He took -one of the Indian's big hands in both of his. "I'm glad you decided to -come along, my friend." - -Charley gave him one of his rare, quick smiles. "Bad men try hurt you--" -He paused and drew a finger across his throat. - -"Like I said before," Jerry declared, "I'm glad he's on our side." - -The Indian cocked his head toward the truck, where the dogs were setting -up a raucous clamor. "I go see if huskies okay." - -Lou Mayer shivered and hugged his arms tightly around his body. "And to -think I could have been a teacher in a nice cozy classroom in some -peaceful college in the balmy South instead of shooting it out with -enemy agents in the Yukon--" He stopped short and looked guiltily at Dr. -Steele. "I'm sorry, sir. That just slipped out." - -"That's all right, Lou," Dr. Steele said. "I think by now the boys have -a pretty good idea of what we're up against." Sensing the question that -was forming in Sandy's mind, he added hastily, "But for the present, at -least, that's all we can tell you." As Lou and the professor were -getting back into the station wagon, he whispered to his son, "At least -this little incident answers our question about Charley, once and for -all." - -"It sure does," Sandy agreed. "We'll see you later, Dad." He and Jerry -turned and trudged back to the truck. - -Jerry's voice was small and numb. "Wow! Enemy agents! Wow! Wait till the -guys hear about this!" - - - - - CHAPTER SEVEN - The Big Race - - -They rolled into Whitehorse late that night. The boys were surprised to -find a fairly modern city with paved streets, rows of stores and shops -and street lamps. As they drove down the main street, festively -decorated with wreaths, colored lights and holly, Jerry shook his head. - -"Why, it looks pretty much like Valley View." - -"They even have bowling alleys," Sandy pointed out. "And neon signs." - -Later, as they ate supper in the hotel dining room, Dr. Steele told them -about the origin of the city: "Whitehorse was born in the gold rush, -when thousands of sourdoughs trekked over the mountains from Alaska and -the Pacific ports to seek their fortunes. Whitehorse was sort of a -jumping-off place. They ran the rapids to Lake Laberge in anything that -would float--barges, rafts, scows--and on down the Yukon River to -Dawson. A few of them struck bonanzas, but most of them found only -poverty and disillusionment. There's just no way to get rich quick." - -"I know you're right, Dr. Steele," Jerry remarked. "Though I was kind of -hoping that Sandy and I could strike out north with Professor Crowell's -dog team and stake ourselves a claim. That French cook back at the road -station even gave me a jar of that sourdough of his to get us started." - -Professor Crowell laughed. "Before you boys do anything like that, you -had better see how you stand up to the rigors of the trail during the -big race to Skagway." - -"When do we start?" Jerry asked. - -"The day after tomorrow." - -Charley gulped down a small roll with one bite. "Tomorrow we give -huskies plenty exercise. Not much to eat." - -Sandy frowned. "You're going to starve them before the race? Won't it -weaken them?" - -Charley grunted. "No starve. Huskies can go week without food. They -little hungry, they run faster and fight harder." - -"What are you, Lou and Professor Crowell going to be doing the rest of -this week?" Sandy asked his father as they left the table. - -His father thought about it a minute before answering. "Well, tomorrow -we thought we'd fly up to Fairbanks and visit the University of Alaska. -The president's an old friend of mine. We hope to inspect some of the -fossils they've dug up lately. I understand they have some fine -specimens on display." - -"Gee, I wish we could come with you," Sandy said. "That sounds like -interesting stuff." - -"Yeah," Jerry agreed. "We kids in the States never get to see things -like that." - -"Why, that's not so, Jerry," Professor Crowell objected. "Your American -museums and universities contain some of the most fascinating specimens -of prehistoric beasts that I've ever seen. The last time I visited the -American Museum of Natural History in New York I saw the leg of a baby -mammoth that was completely intact. It had been preserved for centuries -in a glacier, and the museum kept it in a deep freeze." - -"The professor's right, Jerry," Sandy admitted. "The trouble with so -many of the kids we know is that they're too lazy to use their eyes and -their ears--and their legs." - -Dr. Steele interrupted. "As a matter of fact, did either of you boys -know that Black Bart, the notorious stagecoach bandit, is reputed to -have buried a strongbox with $40,000 in gold in the hills back of -Stockton?" - -"Gosh, no!" Jerry exclaimed. "What do you say, Sandy? Let's go on a -treasure hunt next summer. That's practically in our back yard." - -Professor Crowell smiled. "That beats digging for gold in the Yukon, I'd -say." - -"How long will you be in Fairbanks?" Sandy wanted to know. - -"Oh, no more than a day," Dr. Steele said. "We want to get back to -Skagway to see you fellows come across the finish line in the big race." - -"In first place, of course," Jerry added smugly. - -"That would be a treat," Professor Crowell said. - -"Now I think we should all go up to our rooms and get a good night's -sleep," Dr. Steele suggested. "We've had a long, trying day." - -"That sounds good to me," Lou Mayer seconded. "It will be a real -pleasure to rest my weary bones on an honest-to-goodness bed with a soft -mattress." - -"You chaps go ahead," said Professor Crowell. "I'm going down the street -to the police barracks and report that incident with the plane today." - -"Do you really think that's wise?" Dr. Steele asked gravely. - -"The chief constable is a reliable man," the professor told him. "He can -be depended upon to be discreet. He may have received a report from one -of these local airstrips about a small plane making an emergency -landing. I don't think those fellows could have traveled too far with -their engine smoking like that. If they did land near here, we can put -our people on their track." - -Dr. Steele nodded. "Good idea. Do you want me to come with you?" - -"That won't be necessary," the older man assured him. "I'll take Charley -along." - -Upstairs, when the boys had bathed and changed into their pajamas, they -lay in the dark in the small hotel room they shared and discussed the -events of the day. - -"What do you think it's all about, anyway?" Jerry wondered. "We know -enemy agents are after the professor. But why? It's not like he was an -atomic scientist or something. What could they want with a plain old -geology professor?" - -"I don't know," Sandy said worriedly. "But it must have something to do -with our reason for coming up to Alaska. You can bet my dad and the -professor didn't make the trip _just_ to look at fossils and take soil -samples. Well, we'll just have to wait and see." - -"Br-r-r," Jerry said, "it's like walking through a haunted house on -Halloween Eve. You don't know what to expect. But whatever it is, you -know it won't be good." He threw back the covers and got out of bed. - -"Hey, where are you going?" Sandy demanded. - -Jerry padded across the room barefoot. "I just want to make sure that -door is locked." - - -The day of the big race was bitter cold and the sky was leaden with snow -clouds scudding across the mountain peaks around Whitehorse. A huge -crowd had gathered at the starting line on the outskirts of the city, -and the air rang with merry voices and the yelping of dogs. Sandy and -Jerry huddled close to a big bonfire outside the officials' tent while -Tagish Charley made a last-minute check of the sled and the dogs' -harnesses. - -One of the judges came up and spoke to Sandy. "I understand you boys are -from the States. What do you think of our big country?" - -"It's very exciting, sir," Sandy said. - -"And very cold," Jerry added. - -The judge laughed. "Wait until you're out on the trail a few hours. Then -you'll know how cold it is. You're riding with Professor Crowell's team, -right?" - -"Yes, sir. And we're really looking forward to it. This is some big -event, isn't it?" - -The air was charged with a holiday atmosphere. Men and women were -laughing and singing as they sipped from steaming mugs of coffee and -tea; and a few were drinking from mugs that Sandy suspected contained -even stronger brew. - -"The race from Whitehorse is a time-honored ritual," the judge told -them. "Back in the old days, the course was even longer. From Dawson to -Skagway, almost six hundred miles." - -"Good night!" Jerry said. "Those poor dogs must have worn their legs -down to the shoulder." - -"As a matter of fact," the judge went on, "Klondike Mike Mahoney used to -operate a mail and freight route from Skagway to Dawson." - -"Who was Klondike Mike Mahoney?" Sandy asked. - -"A rather fantastic young man who came to the Yukon during the gold rush -and became a living legend." He smiled. "You might say he was our -counterpart of your Davy Crockett." - -"Hey! What are they doing?" Jerry pointed to a group of Eskimos who were -laughing and whooping as they catapulted an Eskimo girl high into the -air from a large animal hide stretched taut like a fireman's net. - -"That's one of their favorite games," the judge said. "You've probably -played something like it at the beach--tossing a boy up in a blanket." - -"Yeah," Jerry said. "But not like _that_. She's better than some -acrobats I've seen on the stage." - -Time after time, the slender Eskimo girl shot into the air, as high as -twenty-five feet, like an arrow, never losing her balance. While they -were watching her, Tagish Charley joined them by the fire. In his one -hand he held a sheet of oiled paper on which were spread a half-dozen -cubes that looked like the slabs of chocolate and vanilla ice cream -served in ice-cream parlors. - -"Eat," Charley said, offering them to the boys. - -Sandy took one gingerly. "Looks good. But what is it?" - -"_Muk-tuk_," the Indian grunted. - -"A Northern delicacy," the judge said with a straight face. - -Jerry stuffed one of the cubes into his mouth with gusto. "Say, that's -good. Tastes like coconut." - -Sandy nibbled at his with more reserve. "It does a little. Maybe a -little oilier. What's it made of?" - -"Whale skin and blubber," the judge informed him. "The white part is -blubber, and the dark is hide." - -Jerry gagged momentarily, swallowed his last mouthful, then smiled -manfully. "I wish you hadn't said that, sir," he declared. "But it still -tastes good." - -"You ready now?" Charley asked the boys. "Time for race soon." - -They shook hands with the official and followed Charley over to the -starting line, where the teams were lining up. - -There were eight entries altogether. The dogs were prancing about -restlessly in their harnesses like proud race horses, their curved tails -waving over their backs. They were charged with excitement and seemed -eager to get started. The huskies on opposing teams eyed each other -sullenly, baring their long fangs and growling deep in their throats. -Occasionally, one would dart out of line and snap at another dog, but -there were no fights. Black Titan, like the good lead dog he was, -watched his team closely, and whenever one of them became too frisky and -pugnacious, he would bark a sharp command. Immediately, the offender -would drop his ears and quiet down. - -"They act almost human," Sandy said. - -"I'll say," Jerry agreed. "That Titan reminds me of Mr. Hall, my math -teacher. No horseplay when he's around." - -Charley helped the boys arrange themselves in the sled, Sandy in back, -with Jerry in front of him, sitting between his legs. "Just like on a -toboggan," Sandy observed. They tucked the big robe that covered them -around their sides as Charley took his place behind the sled and gripped -the handles. - -The sharp crack of the starter's pistol split the crisp air and -Charley's bellowing "Mush! Yea, huskies, mush!" almost split Sandy's -eardrums. The figures lined up on both sides of them blurred rapidly as -the sled picked up speed, and wind and snow whipped into their faces. -Gripping the handles tightly, Charley matched the pace of the team -effortlessly with his long strides. - -"He's not going to run all the way, is he?" Jerry yelled to Sandy. - -"I guess he wants to give the team the best of it this early in the -race. He'll hop on when he gets winded." - -But a half hour went by and still the driver's boots pounded behind them -in unbroken rhythm. At first the seven teams were bunched pretty close -together on the hard-packed trail, then gradually the distance between -them widened. Sandy kept glancing back as Charley urged their sled into -the lead and finally lost sight of the nearest team as they rounded a -hummock and entered a stretch of forest. - -"If we keep this pace up, we'll be in Skagway in time for lunch," Jerry -said. - -The big Indian reined in the dogs when they reached a spot where three -separate narrower paths forked off the main trail. - -"Which way do we go?" Sandy called to him. - -Still breathing as easily as if he had taken a short walk around the -block, Charley answered, "All go to Skagway. We take middle trail. More -snow, but less up and down." Having made up his mind, Charley shouted to -the dogs: "Mush! Mush! Mush, huskies!" And they were off again. - -A short time later they left the trail and went skimming down a -windswept slope that stretched away into a barren icy plain. Now Charley -hopped onto the back of the sled and rode like a Roman charioteer, -shouting encouragement to the dogs in Indian. Although there was no -broken trail, the sled rode solidly on the surface of the old snow -crusted over thickly by the 50-below-zero cold. - -"This is really living!" Jerry exulted, his voice trailing off eerily in -the slipstream behind the sled. At noon they stopped to rest the dogs in -the lee of a rock overhang. Sandy broke out a thermos of steaming coffee -and sandwiches, and Charley threw the huskies some chunks of lean dry -meat. - -"How far do you think we've come so far?" Jerry asked. - -Charley shrugged. "Twenty, maybe twenty-five mile." - -"Say, that's pretty good." He looked back in the direction they had come -from. "Where do you suppose those other guys are?" - -Charley finished his sandwich, rumpled up the wax-paper wrapping and set -a match to it, warming his hands over the brief torch it created. He -motioned to the west. "Some follow other trail. Maybe a few stay just in -back of us. Let us break new trail for them. Then when our dogs tired, -they fresh and catch us." He cupped one hand to his ear. "Listen!" - -The boys held their breaths for a minute, straining to hear. They could -just make out the sound of barking dogs floating on the wind in the -distance. - -"He's right," Jerry said indignantly. "That's a sneaky thing to do." - -"No, it's not," Sandy disagreed. "No more than a track man letting -another runner set the pace." - -"No worry," Charley assured them. "We win anyway." - -"What a man you are, Charley." Jerry regarded the big Indian with -admiration. "We could use you in the fullback spot on the Valley View -football team." He grinned at Sandy. "I bet he could walk down the field -with both teams on his back." - -Charley squinted up at the sky abruptly. The ceiling seemed even lower -and grayer than before. "It snow soon. We better go." - -Sandy looked up too. "How can you tell?" - -"I know," Charley said somberly. "Bad storm on the way." - -"Oh, great!" Jerry said. "What happens if we get caught out in this deep -freeze in a blizzard?" - -"There are check points every twenty-five miles," Sandy recalled what -the professor had told him. "We must be pretty close to one now, -Charley. Think we should stop and get a weather report?" - -Charley nodded toward the east. "Two, three miles over that way. On main -trail. We go there, we lose race. We stop at next post, at halfway mark. -Three hours away maybe." - -"I guess that's the only thing to do," Sandy agreed. "Well, let's get -moving." - -Ten minutes later, the snow began to come down, fine granular pellets -that stung like sand as the rising wind blasted it into their faces. -Visibility was reduced to no more than fifty feet. Even the dogs were -slowed down. The snow, mixed with the loose surface fluff of previous -falls, piled up quickly in drifts. As it dragged at his boots more and -more, Charley began to mutter angrily to himself in Indian. - -"I don't like it, Sandy," Jerry said uneasily. "We're never going to -make that check point before dark." - -"At this rate we'll never make it at all," Sandy retorted. "Listen, -Jerry, what do you say we get out and trot along with Charley? It's bad -enough pulling the sled by itself without our weight too." - -"Good idea," Jerry admitted. "Let's give the dogs a break." - -Sandy signaled Charley to stop and told him of their plan. - -"All right," Charley agreed. "I go up front and break trail." - - - - - CHAPTER EIGHT - Lost in a Blizzard - - -For the next half hour the boys were able to keep up with the sled. But -in the ever-deepening snow, their legs grew heavier and heavier. At -last, they lost sight of the sled in the swirling flakes. When Jerry -slipped and fell, Sandy cupped his hands to his mouth like a megaphone -and yelled: "Charley! Char-r-ley! Wait for us." - -Gasping for breath, Jerry struggled up to his hands and knees. "I've had -it, Sandy," he gasped. "I can't go any farther." - -Sandy helped his friend to get up and supported him with one arm. -"C'mon, boy, we can make it. As soon as we catch up with the team you -can rest awhile in the sled." - -Clutching each other tightly, they staggered forward, trying to follow -the tracks of the sled runners. But before they had covered twenty-five -feet, the blowing snow had obliterated the trail. Sandy continued on -doggedly in the direction he thought the team had taken, dragging Jerry -with him. Every few steps he would stop and call: "Char-ley! Char-ley!" -But there was no answer--only the moaning of the wind and the hiss of -the snow beating against the fabric of their parkas. - -Once more Jerry sagged to his knees. "We're lost, pal," he muttered. -"Look, I'm exhausted. I can't go a step farther. You go ahead and look -for Charley. When you find him, you can come back for me." - -"Don't be crazy, Jerry. Our best chance is to stick together. If we keep -walking, we're bound to catch up to the team. Once Charley finds we're -gone, he'll stop and wait for us." - -Jerry's voice cracked. "I can't see my hand in front of my face. We -don't even know if we're going in the right direction." - -While he was speaking, a low, mournful howl drifted to them on the wind -from somewhere on their left. Sandy clutched Jerry's arm. "You hear -that?" he said tensely. - -Jerry's voice brightened. "That must be the team. C'mon." With renewed -vigor, he veered off in the direction of the howling. - -Sandy grabbed him with both hands. "No, wait! It could be a wolf." - -Jerry stopped dead. "Oh my gosh!" he murmured. "What are we going to -do?" - -Sandy dusted the snow that had crusted on his eyebrows with the back of -one mitten. "I don't know. I still think we're heading in the right -direction. Let's go a little farther. If we don't find Charley and the -team soon, we can always head over that way." - -The snow was coming down so hard now that every breath was an effort. -Sandy felt as if he were being smothered in a sea of white cotton. He -stopped as the howling broke out again, in a chorus this time. - -"Maybe you're right," he said to Jerry. "That sure sounds like a bunch -of dogs." - -"Yeah, let's give it a try, anyhow," Jerry pressed. - -They were just about to veer off in the direction of the howling when -they heard a familiar harsh rumbling directly in front of them. It was -the unmistakable growl of a husky. - -"Charley!" Sandy called out. "Titan! Black Titan!" - -A succession of sharp yelps knifed through the storm. "That's the team -all right!" Jerry cried. - -Miraculously, their legs seemed to find new strength, and they -practically ran the rest of the way through the knee-deep snow. Directly -ahead of them, the sled loomed out of the darkness. The dogs, in -harness, were seated on their haunches or huddled low in drifts to -escape the force of the wind. But Charley was nowhere to be seen. - -Jerry sagged against the back of the sled. "Oh my gosh! What happened to -him?" - -"He must have doubled back to look for us and we didn't see him in the -storm." Night had deepened the blinding downfall even more. - -There was a tremor in Jerry's voice. "You don't think the wolves got -him, Sandy?" - -"No, they rarely attack a man. Especially with the dogs here. Besides, -Charley had a rifle." He rummaged through the packs on the front of the -sled. "It's not here, so he must have taken it with him." - -"What do we do now?" Jerry wanted to know. "Go back and try to find -Charley?" - -"That's the worst thing we could do," Sandy said emphatically. "We'd get -lost but good. No, the best thing to do is to wait here until Charley -gets back." - -Jerry was skeptical. "I'm not sure even an old woodsman like Charley can -find his way back in this soup." - -"Maybe if we shout to him he'll hear us," Sandy suggested. - -For the next ten minutes the boys pitted their voices against the -intensity of the raging storm. But even in their own ears their shouts -sounded pitifully weak. At last they gave it up. - -"It's no use," Sandy said hoarsely. "We'll just have to wait." He -crouched down in the lee of the sled. - -What seemed like hours passed and still there was no sign of Charley. -The boys could feel the cold seeping through their heavy clothing and -stiffening their limbs. They were both badly frightened now. - -"Sandy," Jerry pleaded, "we just can't sit here and do nothing. We'll -freeze to death. My nose and cheeks are numb now." - -Sandy fought back the panic that was rising in him too. "If we don't -lose our heads, we'll be okay, Jerry. The way it looks now, we're going -to have to spend the night here. Tomorrow, they'll have search parties -out looking for us. I bet the rest of the contestants are in the same -boat we are." - -"We'll be stiff as washboards by then," Jerry prophesied. "Frozen wolf -food." - -"Don't be a nut," Sandy snapped. "Now get up and help me rig up a -lean-to." - -"A lean-to?" Jerry said wonderingly. "What kind of a lean-to?" - -"The kind Charley says the Eskimos build on the trail. They fasten a big -hide to the side of the sled that's out of the wind and peg the other -side down to the ice, or weight it down. The snow piles up against the -far side of the sled, forming a solid windbreak, and you have yourself a -cozy little tent." - -"We don't have any hides," Jerry said. - -"We have that big rug in the sled. C'mon, let's get to work." - -While Sandy fastened the robe to the top of the sled's guard rail, Jerry -weighted the far side down with a pair of snowshoes he found in the sled -and heaped up snow on top of the shoes until they weighted down the robe -securely. When they were finished, Sandy scooped the excess snow out -from beneath the robe and they had a small lean-to with just enough room -in it to shelter two people. - -"Well, that's that," Sandy said with satisfaction, brushing off his -mittens. "Now I'll unhitch the dogs while you get our supper ready." - -The erection of the lean-to had renewed Jerry's confidence. "What'll you -have?" he inquired flippantly. "Roast turkey with chestnut stuffing or a -thick steak smothered with onions and a side of French fries?" - -Sandy played the game with him. "No, I'm getting sick of that goppy -stuff. How about a couple of frozen sandwiches and a thermos of cold -coffee?" - -"Just what I had in mind," Jerry called to him as he rummaged through -the packs on the sled. "Are we going to feed the huskies?" - -"Sure, get out some of that meat Charley keeps in that big tin can up -front." - -The dogs seemed overjoyed to see Sandy. They leaped about him, wagging -their tails furiously and barking and whining. - -"I bet you guys are hungry," Sandy spoke to them. "Keep calm. Your -dinner's coming right up." - -When he knelt beside Black Titan to remove his harness, the big lead dog -jockeyed obediently into the proper position. As soon as he was free, he -nuzzled affectionately against the boy's cheek. "Hey!" Sandy laughed. -"That is the coldest nose I ever felt in my life." He ruffled up the -thick fur around the husky's throat with his fingers, and was surprised -to feel the soothing warmth deep down in the animal's undercoat. "Boy, I -wish I had your fur, Titan. No wonder you can sleep in a snow foxhole." -He pressed both hands against Titan's body gratefully. "That feels good, -old boy." - -Jerry came up behind him with the can of dog meat. "And look what else I -found." He held out a bulky .45 Colt automatic. "It's fully loaded, -too." - -The sight of the lethal-looking pistol was reassuring. "Dad must have -given it to Charley before we left," Sandy reasoned. "He asked me if I -wanted to take a gun along, but I knew Charley had his rifle, so I -didn't bother. It's a good thing we have it. Now maybe we can signal to -Charley. Fire a few shots in the air to let him know where we are." - -"Good idea," Jerry agreed. "And I've got an even better one." - -"What's that?" - -"Let's send old Titan out to find his buddy. Bet you he can do it." - -Sandy was pessimistic. "I don't know if he could pick up Charley's trail -in a storm like this, but we can give it a try." - -While the dogs were gulping down their food, the boys rummaged through -Charley's gear until they found a heavy wool shirt that the Indian had -recently worn. When Black Titan had finished eating, Sandy held the -shirt under his nose. - -"Charley, Charley," he kept repeating. "Go find Charley, Titan." He -slapped the husky on the rump. "Go on, Titan!" - -Titan began to whine as he sniffed at the shirt. Then he trotted off -into the blizzard with his head down. When he had disappeared from -sight, Jerry turned to Sandy. "Well, what do we do now?" - -"Eat supper and climb into our sleeping bags, I guess. But first I want -to fire a couple of shots to see if we can signal Charley." - -He took out the heavy automatic and levered a shell into the firing -chamber. Pointing it up in the air, he pulled the trigger. The muzzle -flash lit up the night briefly like lightning, but the shot was muffled -by the wind and thick curtain of snow. The dogs milled around nervously -and began to bark. Sandy fired one more shot, then shoved the gun back -in the pocket of his parka. - -"I bet those shots didn't carry over five hundred feet. I feel as though -we're inside a vacuum. I don't want to waste any more shells until this -gale lets up a little. C'mon, let's sack in for the night." - -They gathered up the sandwiches, coffee thermos, Coleman stove and -sleeping bags and crawled into the lean-to. The blowing snow had sealed -up all the cracks and even the openings at either end of the makeshift -shelter. Sandy burrowed through a drift at the rear of the sled to form -an entranceway. - -"This back end gets less wind," he explained to Jerry. - -The interior of the lean-to was cramped, but seated with their backs -resting against the sides of the sled and their legs crossed in front of -them, they were not too uncomfortable. Sandy pumped up the pressure in -the one-burner gasoline stove and lit it. He turned the wick up -abnormally high until the pale-blue flame became streaked with yellow -and began to smoke slightly. Although this was a waste of fuel and -reduced the cooking efficiency of the stove, it provided more light and -warmth. - -"Say, this is all right," Jerry said, grinning. "It reminds me of the -time we went on a Boy Scout camping trip and slept in pup tents." - -Sandy grinned. "The only difference was we were only a ten-minute walk -away from home and there was a hot-dog stand across the road from the -bivouac area." He took a half-frozen sandwich out of the knapsack and -passed it to Jerry. "Be careful you don't break your teeth when you bite -into it." - -"Thanks, pal." Jerry filled two aluminum canteen cups from the coffee -thermos and sipped from one. "It's lukewarm, anyway," he commented. - -"I've got an idea," Sandy said. "We can heat the cups on the stove and -sit the sandwiches on top of the cup. That way the steam will thaw out -the bread." - -"Brilliant. If it wasn't so cold, I'd take my hat off to you." - -Ten minutes later, they were munching hungrily on a relatively decent -meal. Jerry inhaled the steam that was rising from his canteen cup and -sighed contentedly. "I know it must be my imagination, but right now I'd -say this is the best-tasting chow I ever ate." - -Sandy laughed and nodded. "We used to say the same thing about the -mickeys we roasted in the corner lot when we were kids. All black with -ashes and dirt, but boy, they sure did taste good." He lowered the wick -a little on the stove. "It's probably the hot coffee, but I'm beginning -to get warm in here." - -"What's wrong with being warm?" Jerry protested. "Turn it up as high as -it will go." - -Sandy frowned. "When you live in frigid temperatures it's safer to feel -a little cold than it is to be overheated, because when you cool off, -the perspiration will turn to ice on your skin." - -"Perspiration!" Jerry gawked incredulously. "Are you kidding?" - -"Well, we're not going to take any chances. As soon as we're finished -eating, I'm going to turn off the stove altogether." - -"Not until I'm snug in my bedroll," Jerry begged. - -Sandy looked worried. "Poor Charley. He's not going to be very snug -tonight. No bedroll, no food. Gee, I wish I knew what happened to him." - -"What makes it worse," Jerry said gloomily, "is that it's our fault. If -we hadn't dragged so far behind, he wouldn't have had to go looking for -us." - -The boys finished their sandwiches and coffee in subdued silence, -staring out into the stormy night through the diminishing black hole of -the entranceway. - -"You know," Sandy said suddenly, "in another hour we'll be snowed in -tight inside this lean-to." - -Jerry surveyed the drifting snow anxiously. "You're right. Like a tomb. -We'll be able to get out, though, won't we?" - -Sandy reached over and enlarged the opening with one hand. "Oh, yes. -It's as light as powder." - -After they had finished eating and wrapped up the garbage, they prepared -to bed down for the night. "We'd better do this one at a time," Sandy -suggested. "We'd only be in each other's way moving around in here -together. I'll go outside until you're all settled. You lie with your -head up at the front of the sled. I'll lie the opposite way. That way -we'll have more room." - -Crawling on hands and knees, Sandy pushed through the drift that was -blocking up the opening. A furious blast of bitter cold wind took his -breath away as he got to his feet and sent him reeling back from the -sled. It was even warmer inside the lean-to than he had realized. He -recalled that Tagish Charley had a powerful flashlight in his gear and -walked through knee-high snow to the front of the sled to look for it. -It would be wise to keep it handy in the lean-to, he decided. He found -the light easily and turned it on to see how the dogs were making out. -They were all huddled together behind the windbreak of the sled, -growling and shifting around restlessly. As the flash beam swept over -them, a few cringed and bared their fangs. Their behavior distressed -Sandy, who had expected that by now they would all be cozily balled up -in holes and snoring peacefully. He skirted around them and walked back -to consult with Jerry. Beaming the light on the lean-to, he saw that the -snow was mounding it over like an igloo. Once more he had to dig the -snow away from the entrance before he could get in. - -When he crawled inside, he saw that Jerry was stretched out in his -sleeping bag, the hooded cover zipped up tightly around his head. Only -his eyes, nose and mouth were showing. - -"How's the weather outside?" he asked Sandy. - -Sandy shook the snow off his hood. "Same as before. Terrible. The dogs -are acting up, too. I'm worried." - -"Maybe they're cold." - -"I don't think so. They act frightened." - -"Me too. We're snowbound in the Yukon. Charley's missing, probably -frozen to death in a snowdrift. Our food is about gone. What a mess! I'm -scared plenty." - -At that moment a long, mournful animal howl rose clearly above the -intensity of the wind. Before it trailed off, another howl and still -another joined it, forming an eerie chorus. - -Jerry snapped upright like a jack-in-the-box, his face drained of blood. -"Wolves!" - -"And close by," Sandy said grimly. - -Outside, the dogs were really setting up an uproar now, snarling and -barking frantically. - -Despite the seriousness of the situation, Sandy had to smile as he -watched his friend struggling to get out of the sleeping bag. In his -excitement, Jerry couldn't work the zipper. "Get me out of this strait -jacket!" he yelled. - -"Take it easy," Sandy said. "In that bag you look like a big fat hot dog -with a face." - -"Not so loud," Jerry cautioned him. "The wolves might hear you. Just -hurry and get me out of here." - -Between them they finally got the sleeping bag unzipped, and Jerry -rolled out. Sandy took the Army .45 out of his pocket and checked the -clip. There were still four shells in it. - -"Do we have any more ammunition for that cannon?" Jerry asked anxiously. - -"Probably up front in Charley's gear. I'm going up to get it." - -"I'm going with you," Jerry said promptly. "One of those wolves might -poke his snout in here while you're gone." - -They scrambled out into the blizzard and stood up. Sandy switched on the -flashlight and swept it in a wide circle about them. The powerful beam -seemed to run into a solid wall of white no more than fifty feet away. -He turned it on the dogs, who were setting up such a loud racket that it -drowned out the howling of the wolves. The huskies were all on their -feet now, standing stiff-legged with their tails curled tightly beneath -their bellies. Their lips were drawn back over their teeth, and the -thick fur around their necks bristled like porcupine quills. Sandy swung -the light in the direction of their gaze, and felt his heart flip and -miss a beat. Glowing greenishly through the falling flakes was a circle -of eyes. They were there for just an instant and then faded back out of -range of the beam. - -Jerry gripped Sandy's arm tightly. "There must be a whole pack of 'em. -They're just waiting for us to fall asleep and then they'll jump us." - -One of the huskies began to slink forward toward the wolves, his belly -flattened close to the ground. - -"Come back here, boy!" Sandy shouted. "They'll tear him to pieces," he -muttered to Jerry. He cocked the automatic and aimed in the direction of -the glowing eyes. "I hate to waste ammo like this, but maybe we can -scare them off." - -He fired three shots. The last shot was answered by a sharp yelp of -pain. - -"You got one!" Jerry yelled excitedly. - -"Shh! Listen!" Sandy said. Above the wailing of the storm they could -hear wild snarling and yelping. - -"Sounds like they're fighting among themselves," Jerry said. - -The commotion ended as abruptly as it had begun, and although Sandy kept -searching the darkness with the light for a long time, there was no -further sign of the wolves. At last, when the dogs quieted down and -curled up in burrows, the boys relaxed. - -"I guess the shots did scare them off at that," Sandy decided. "Now -let's find that box of ammo in Charley's pack, and then we can go back -inside and see if we can get some rest." - -"Sleep?" Jerry said. "Are you kidding? Suppose they come back again?" - -"The dogs will warn us if they do." - -Jerry shivered. "Okay. But I'll take the bed next to the wall, just in -case." - -The snow had completely blocked the entrance, and they had to shovel -energetically to clear it. "Man, it's really warm in here," Jerry said -as he crawled into the lean-to. - -The snow wall that had built up at the other end of the lean-to and on -the sled side was smooth and glistening. "Just like an igloo," Sandy -said. As soon as they were inside their sleeping bags, he turned off the -Coleman stove. - -Jerry sighed as the little hut was plunged into pitch-darkness. "If I -didn't know better, I'd think I was back in my little trundle bed in -Valley View." - -"Go to sleep," Sandy grunted. He was facing the entrance and the -automatic was within easy reach in his side pocket. In an emergency, he -knew he could fire right through the sleeping bag. - -Gradually, his eyes became accustomed to the darkness and he could make -out the faint outline of the round doorway. His eyelids grew heavier and -the hole grew smaller and smaller. Then he dropped off to sleep. - - - - - CHAPTER NINE - Trapped in an Icy Tomb - - -When Sandy awoke, it was still pitch-dark inside the lean-to. He was -about to roll over and go back to sleep, but he decided to see what time -it was first. He pulled down the zipper of his sleeping bag, fumbled for -the flashlight and flicked the switch. - -The sudden burst of light woke up Jerry. "Whazza matter?" he mumbled. - -"Go back to sleep," Sandy told him. "It's still the middle of the -night." He turned the spot on his wrist watch. "What the--" he -exclaimed, and sat up, startled. He squinted at the dial again, but -there was no mistake. It said 7:30. "That's impossible! It must have -stopped!" But he held it up to his ear and heard the steady, rhythmic -ticking. - -"What's the matter with you?" Jerry, fully awake now, propped himself up -on one elbow. - -Suddenly, Sandy began to laugh. "Oh, I get it. We're snowed in." He -explained to Jerry. "My watch said it was half past seven, but I -couldn't believe it because it was so dark in here. It's the snow; it's -blocking out the daylight." - -"It's really morning?" Jerry said doubtfully. "Well, let's go out and -find out." He unzippered his sleeping bag. - -Propping the torch up in the snow, Sandy tried to push his head and -shoulders through the drift that blocked the entrance. It was like -running into a stone wall. "Ouch!" he cried. He dug at the snow with his -fingers, but his mittens slid futilely off a surface that was as smooth -as a skating rink. - -"Well, come on," Jerry said impatiently. "Let's go." - -"Door's frozen up," Sandy told him. He sat down and tried to kick -through the ice with his feet, but couldn't dent it. He turned to Jerry. -"Try your end. This one is plugged up solid." - -"So is this end," Jerry reported, after pounding away with his hands and -feet for several minutes. "So, we'll go out the side." He grabbed one -corner of the robe and tugged it loose from where it was anchored under -the snow, while Sandy worked on the other corner. Then they pulled it -aside, exposing a smooth, glittering expanse of ice behind it. - -Sandy tested it with his fist and whistled. "Like iron." - -There was a tremor in Jerry's voice. "What goes on around here? Maybe I -wasn't kidding last night when I called this thing a tomb." - -"Take it easy," Sandy soothed. "It's only snow." - -"Yeah, ice," Jerry repeated. "You ever see them drive trucks across the -ice on frozen lakes? I've seen it in newsreels. That ice is pretty -rugged stuff." - -"You got a knife?" Sandy asked. "I left mine in the sled." - -"So did I. Say, let's try to move the sled," Jerry suggested. - -They both shoved and pulled at the sled for a long time, but it seemed -welded to the spot. At last, Jerry sank down exhausted. "I don't get it. -What happened?" - -Sandy played the light over the walls of the lean-to. "I can guess. -Remember how cozy and warm it got in here last night? Between that stove -and the heat from our bodies, I bet the temperature in here was a good -fifty degrees higher than it was outside. The heat radiates through the -snow, causing it to melt partially. Then it freezes up. That's how the -Eskimos harden the walls of their snow houses. They build big bonfires -in them." - -"Only they don't forget to make doors in 'em," Jerry said grimly. -"Another thousand years from now, I can see a couple of geologists like -your dad and the professor digging us out. Preserved in a block of ice -like that baby mammoth." - -"It's no joking matter," Sandy said. "We've got to think of a way to -break out of here. One thing, though: they're bound to send out search -parties and sooner or later they'll find the sled." - -"What makes you think so?" Jerry demanded. "The sled is probably covered -with snow by now and this must look like any other part of the -landscape. And you don't think those dogs are going to hang around here -forever, do you? They've probably run off looking for food already." - -Sandy felt his heart begin to race madly. "I never thought of that," he -admitted. "Well, it's up to us then. What have we got that we can use as -a chipping tool?" - -"Only thing I can think of that's metal is the Coleman stove." - -"That's no good. No sharp edges." - -They were silent for a moment, then Sandy snapped his fingers. "I've got -it! The gun!" He took the bulky .45 out of his pocket and held it up in -the light. "We'll blast our way out." - -Jerry looked worried. "You know what they say about shooting fish in a -rain barrel? Well, if one of those slugs ever ricochets inside here, -we'll be dead fish." - -"It's our only chance," Sandy said. He loaded the gun, cocked the hammer -and nudged off the safety with his thumb. Holding the gun at arm's -length away from him, he pointed the muzzle at the end where the -entrance had been. "Better make sure your hood is pulled tight over your -ears," he advised Jerry. - -"I'm all set. Let 'er go." - -Sandy shut his eyes and tightened his finger on the trigger. The -explosion reverberated like a bomb in the small lean-to. Sandy felt the -shock wave slam into his face, and the recoil almost tore the gun out of -his hand. He sat there stunned for a while. - -Jerry's voice screaming in his ear brought him out of it. "Sandy, it -worked!" - -He opened his eyes to the most wonderful sight he had ever seen. A beam -of sunlight was pouring through an opening in the ice wall. The potent, -snub-nosed .45 slug had blasted a hole almost four inches in diameter. -In the light of the flashlight, he also observed that the ice around the -hole was shattered and veined from the shock wave. - -Dropping the gun back into his pocket, Sandy got on his knees and began -to work on the opening with his hands. Snow and ice crumbled easily, and -before long he had enlarged the hole so that he was able to squirm -through. Jerry was right behind him. Painfully, they stood up. - -"Oh," Jerry groaned. "I feel like a dog on its hind legs." Looking up at -the clear blue sky, he threw kisses into the air with both hands. "Mr. -Sun, I never figured we'd ever see you again." - -It was a perfect, cloudless day without even a breeze. Looking around -him, Sandy realized that the high winds of the night before had -exaggerated the intensity of the blizzard. Except where it had drifted -around the sled and lean-to, no more than twelve inches of new snow had -fallen. He discovered, too, that they had been traveling along the ridge -of a low hill and had stopped on the most exposed spot in all the -surrounding terrain. On either side, the ground sloped away gently into -protected valleys thick with fir trees. - -After spending hours shut up in the gloom of the lean-to, the boys found -the sunlight on the snow blinding. They dug their smoked glasses out of -their packs and put them on. The dogs crowded around them, yelping and -wagging their tails. - -"I guess they're hungry," Sandy said. "Is there any meat left?" - -"A little," Jerry said. He went to get the can of food from the front of -the sled. As he threw the last chunks of raw horse meat to the huskies, -he eyed it forlornly. "I'm so hungry I could eat it myself." - -Sandy grinned. "Even some of that _muk-tuk_ would look good to me now." - -"Are the sandwiches all gone?" - -"We finished them last night." - -They had just finished feeding the dogs when a faint "Ha-lo-oo-oo..." -floated through the still air. On a distant ridge the figure of a man -and a dog were silhouetted against the sky. - -"It's Charley and Titan!" the boys yelled in unison. They began to leap -up and down, waving their arms and screaming, "Charley! Over here!" - -Less than a quarter of an hour later, the Indian came plowing up the -hill with Black Titan floundering behind him. They hugged him joyfully -and pounded his back, and even Charley was grinning from ear to ear. He -listened solemnly while they related their harrowing experiences with -the wolves and how they had been trapped in the lean-to. - -Charley had had a pretty bad time of it himself. He admitted that, for -the first time in his life, he had lost his way when he went back to -look for the boys, and had somehow mistaken east for west. Confused and -blinded by the shifting gale winds and whipping snow, he had wandered -off to an adjacent ridge. After walking around for hours, he had become -exhausted--he had been tired out by running twenty-five miles behind the -sled to start with--and erected a lean-to in a clump of thick pine trees -in the sheltered valley. He had built a big fire and had fallen asleep -beside it almost immediately. The next thing he knew, Black Titan was -licking his face and the first streaks of dawn were filtering through -the pine branches overhead. He had been searching for the boys when he -heard the gunshot. - -Using the snowshoes as shovels, the three of them dug the sled out of -the snow bank. The intense heat of the sun softened the hard upper crust -and melted the ice that had formed around the runners. Then Charley -hitched up the dogs and headed for the nearest check point, which was -only a few miles away. - -Their arrival created quite a bit of excitement. "Only one other sled -has come through here," a worried official told them. "The Mounties have -planes and search parties out looking for the others." - -"We saw one of the planes," Sandy said. "He dipped his wings and we -waved to him. So he knew we were all right." - -"Actually, though," the official went on, "the storm looked worse last -night than it was. Those winds were gale force. I don't imagine anyone -was really in serious trouble. They're all experienced woodsmen, -accustomed to roughing it on the trail." - -Jerry hooked his thumbs inside his belt and puffed out his chest. "Sure, -it was a breeze." - -Tagish Charley was more interested in the sled that had passed through -the check point that morning. The official said the other driver had -about one hour's start on them. - -"We catch 'im," Charley said. "Let's go." - -"Hey!" Jerry complained. "What about breakfast? I'm so ravenous, I'm -liable to take a bite out of one of the dogs." - -"No time to eat," the Indian said. "We have to win race." - -"We'll give you some sandwiches and hot coffee to take along," the -official promised. "You can eat on the run." - -Jerry stared wistfully at the platters of flapjacks, juicy Canadian -bacon and hot biscuits on the stove. "If we come out of this alive, I'll -never look at a cold sandwich again," he vowed. - -A short time later, they were racing down the trail. It was a good day, -and by nightfall they had covered another forty-five miles and overtaken -the sled ahead of them. Its driver turned out to be a young uranium -prospector. For five years he and his brother had been competing in the -big race. Two years before, they had come in first and they were hoping -to repeat this year. They were pleasant young men and spent the night -with Charley and the boys at the last check point on the route. - -That night, after a hearty supper, they sat around the fire talking to -Sandy and Jerry. Tagish Charley went to bed as soon as he had the team -fed and settled in the barn. About nine o'clock, another sled arrived at -the check point, and the driver reported that still another team was -camped at the side of the trail about an hour's ride away. - -"This is really going to be a photo finish," one of the brothers said. -He got to his feet and knocked the ash out of his pipe into the -fireplace. "We better sack in, men. There's going to be a mad scramble -to get away first in the morning." - -Sandy and Jerry followed them to the big dormitory bedroom, where a -dozen army cots were set up around a potbellied stove that glowed a dull -cherry-red in the darkness. Charley was already snoring loudly as they -slipped into their bedrolls. - -"Now how are we supposed to get to sleep with that big lug sawing wood?" -Jerry grumbled. "We may as well sit and ... and ... talk ... around ... -the ... fire...." His voice trailed off into a pretty good imitation of -a buzz saw of its own. - - - - - CHAPTER TEN - Down the Chilkoot Chute to Victory - - -It seemed to Sandy that he had just closed his eyes when he felt rough -hands on his shoulders, shaking him. "Time to go," Charley's voice -whispered. - -"What time is it?" he mumbled, raising himself on his elbows. - -"Four o'clock," Charley said. "Other fellers hitching up already." - -Sandy struggled out of his sleeping bag and sat on the edge of the cot, -stretching. It was still dark, but when Charley opened the stove door to -throw on another log, he could see that the cots that the two brothers -had slept on were empty. Yawning, he raised his left foot and kicked the -cot where Jerry was still sleeping soundly. - -"Rise and shine!" he called to his friend. - -They ate a hurried breakfast of hot cereal and scalding coffee, and by -four-thirty they were on the trail again. The cold wind in their faces -and the stinging spray kicked up by the dogs' feet brought them fully -awake before they had gone far. - -When it began to get light, the boys got out of the sled and trotted -along with Charley. They kept it up for a mile or so before Jerry -developed a bad case of rubber legs and went down on his knees. - -"I feel like a dope," he said, as Sandy helped him back into the sled. -"Here we are, a couple of kids, puffing like steam engines, and an old -guy like Charley isn't breathing any harder than if he had run up a -flight of stairs." - -"And we're in pretty good condition from being in school athletics. Can -you imagine how some of the other guys in school would make out?" Sandy -asked. "The guys who hop in the family car to go down to the corner -newsstand and sneak smokes between every class?" - -"Yeah," Jerry agreed ruefully. "The kids in the States are getting soft, -there's no doubt about it." - -"My Uncle Russ always says you should take at least as much pride in -your body as you do in your home. Most people wouldn't live in sloppy, -rundown houses, but a lot of them don't care if they spend their lives -in sloppy, rundown bodies." - -Jerry slapped his middle irritably. "Let me tell you, I'm going to work -on this flab when I get home. Old Charley here has taught me a lesson. -You miss a lot of the fun of life if you're out of shape." - -Sandy kept up with Charley for another mile, then he got back into the -sled. He noticed that the Indian held to a pattern: he would run along -for a half hour or so and then hitch a ride on the sled for ten minutes. -It seemed as if he could go on like that endlessly and tirelessly. - -They stopped at mid-morning to give the dogs a rest and brew some strong -Indian tea. Charley wouldn't drink the coffee in the thermos. "Coffee no -good. You ever see huskies drink coffee?" The boys had to admit that -they never had. "Indian tea like medicine. Make you strong and healthy. -Dogs know." To demonstrate, he poured a little into a tin plate for -Titan, and the big lead dog lapped it up promptly. - -"It sure doesn't look as if we're ever going to catch those guys ahead -of us, Charley," Sandy commented, dropping a handful of snow into his -cup to cool it. - -Charley looked down the trail behind them. "They behind us now. Last -hill we pass, we go around the long way, maybe mile longer. They go -through valley." - -Jerry blinked. "If we came the long way, how come we're ahead of them?" - -The Indian shrugged. "That valley like pocket after big snow. Drifts -three, four feet deep. They have plenty trouble getting through." - -Sandy grinned. "What a sly old fox you are, Charley." - -They were traveling high in the coastal mountains of British Columbia -now, moving through the Chilkoot Pass. Just before noon, they arrived at -a customs check point. - -"You're the first team through," the mounted policeman who waved them -past shouted. - -Abruptly, the trail appeared to end at the edge of a cliff. Charley -reined the team in and motioned for the boys to step to the rim of the -drop-off. Here they saw that, in reality, the trail continued on down a -steep incline that resembled the big drop on a roller coaster. For -almost 1,200 feet it fell away at a 45-degree angle into the coastal -valley below. It was a magnificent spectacle. - -Jerry gulped hard. "We're not going down _that_ in a sled, are we?" - -Tagish Charley nodded curtly. "Chilkoot Chute. We take dogs off first. -They follow us down." He walked back and began to remove Black Titan's -harness. - -Sandy grinned at Jerry. "You ever been on a bobsled?" Jerry shook his -head mutely. "Well, after this it'll be a cinch." - -When the dogs were unhitched, the boys climbed aboard the sled, and -Charley pushed it to the edge of the chute. It teetered briefly, then -nosed down the incline. - -"Alaska next stop!" Sandy yelled as they picked up speed. A rush of air -choked the words off in his mouth, and his stomach rose up in his rib -cage with a sickening sensation that was ten times worse than he had -ever experienced in an elevator. - -Faster and faster the sled shot down the slope, swaying from side to -side, as Charley, riding the tail, shifted his weight skillfully to -steer it. Behind it the dogs skidded and scrambled down the chute, -barking and yelping excitedly. The sled reached the bottom and glided -down the trail almost half a mile before it came to a halt. - -"What a ride!" Jerry exclaimed. - -"We must have skidded halfway to Skagway," Sandy said. He got out of the -sled and looked back at the Chilkoot Chute. "Gee, it doesn't look so bad -from here, but when you're on it, you'd swear it was a perpendicular -wall." - -The dogs finally caught up and Charley hitched them to the sled again. -"We win now easy," he said matter-of-factly. - -As they approached Skagway, they passed cabins, farms and other signs of -civilization. A group of children playing in one yard gave them a lusty -cheer and chased after the sled. Farther along, other children tagged on -to the caravan along with three dogs. - -Then, up ahead on the outskirts of the city, they saw a big crowd of -people. "Finish line," Charley informed them. - -When the sled came into view, a tremendous roar went up and continued -unabated as they shot past a man waving a flag. The next thing Sandy -knew, they were engulfed by a sea of well-wishers, and men were pounding -him on the back so enthusiastically that it took his breath away. At -last he spied his father and Professor Crowell fighting their way -through the throng. - -"Dad!" he called out happily. "We made it." - -Dr. Steele reached the boys and threw an arm around each of them. -"Congratulations! This was quite a race, I hear." - -"Charley is the guy who rates the congratulations," Sandy answered. - -Professor Crowell pounded Tagish Charley on the back ecstatically. "I'm -the proudest and happiest man in the world. I haven't felt like this -since my twin girls were born. Thank you, Charley." - -Charley knelt down and put his arms around Black Titan, who was -accepting praise and pats from all quarters with the dignified reserve -of a true champion. "Dogs win the race. Charley just come along for -ride." - -Later, back at the hotel, after a warm bath and a good supper, the boys -recounted the adventures they had had during the race. - -"Bless my soul," Professor Crowell said to Jerry, "now you really have -an idea of the rigorous life that the sourdoughs led. Does it still -sound appealing to you?" - -Jerry forked the last piece of homemade apple pie from his plate. "I've -come to the conclusion that I'm just a city boy at heart, sir," he -declared emphatically. - -"How was your visit to Fairbanks?" Sandy asked his father. - -"We had a fine time," Dr. Steele said. "I gathered some priceless -material for the pamphlet I'm preparing on the Pleistocene Era." He -smiled. "But promise you won't tell Quiz Taylor, Sandy." - -Sandy laughed. "I know what you mean, Dad. My solemn word, I won't -mention it." - -"What's on the agenda now, Dr. Steele?" Jerry inquired. "Are we going -home?" - -"Not for another few days, Jerry," Dr. Steele said. "The professor and I -want to fly up to Valdez and look over some old mining sites." - -"Where's Valdez?" Jerry asked. - -"The most northerly ice-free port in Alaska. It used to be the shipping -point for copper ore until the Kennecott mines closed down in 1938. We -had planned an exciting outing for you fellows--" he hesitated and -looked wryly at Jerry--"but inasmuch as Jerry says he's a city boy at -heart, well, maybe we'd better forget it." - -"What kind of an outing, Dad?" Sandy asked. - -Dr. Steele lit his pipe and blew a cloud of smoke at the ceiling. "We -won't be using the plane for several days, and we thought you might like -to visit Kodiak Island. One of the instructors from the university will -be spending a week there, hunting bear, and he said you boys would be -welcome to join him." He winked at Sandy. "But I'm not sure your city -friend here would be up to it." - -"That's all right," Sandy said. "Jerry can stay here at the hotel until -we come back." - -"Not on your life!" Jerry snorted. "I want to take one of those -bearskins back to my mom." - -Tagish Charley looked up from his plate solemnly. "Kodiak bear plenty -bad killer. Maybe he take your skin back to his mamma." - -Everyone except Charley laughed. - - -The next morning they boarded the big Norseman plane and headed -northwest up the coast for Valdez. As they flew over the glacier-ribbed -mountains, the boys were awed by the wild beauty of the country beneath -them. - -"It's so primitive," Sandy remarked. "I don't think man will ever tame -it." - -"Yes, he will," Dr. Steele said. "As surely as he tamed the American -West. We just didn't pay much attention to it until after World War -Two." - -"A land of untold riches," Lou Mayer mused. "Gold, copper, silver, coal, -lead, tin, mercury, platinum--Lord knows what else." He looked over -meaningfully at Dr. Steele. - -"Things are certainly moving fast," Dr. Steele went on, a little too -quickly, Sandy thought. "Oh, yes, Son, in another fifty years Alaska -will be as civilized as California." - -"But not nearly so warm," Lou Mayer added. - -Professor Crowell smiled. "I don't know, I like our northern winters. -They make for greater intimacy among families and friends. When the -temperature is fifty below zero and the snow is piled up to your window -sills, there is literally no place like home. You discover that being -together in front of a warm fireplace can be just as enjoyable as -running off to the theater, bridge clubs, night clubs, bowling alleys -and all your so-called civilized diversions. The trouble with so many -young people these days is that they try too hard to have fun." - -Jerry scratched his head thoughtfully. "Professor, you know, you're -right. I can't think of any time in my life when I've had more fun than -I did the Christmas Eve we spent at that little weather station." - -Dr. Steele took out a small wallet calendar and consulted it. "Which -reminds me that tonight is New Year's Eve." - -"Isn't it funny how you keep forgetting about the holidays up here?" -Sandy said. "I guess they see the old year out pretty quietly. Not like -the States." - -Professor Crowell's eyes twinkled through his glasses. "Don't bet on it, -son. Some of the New Year's parties I've been to in the North make your -Stateside celebrations seem like pink teas. In the old days, I remember -some shindigs that went on continuously from Christmas right through New -Year's." He smiled nostalgically. "I wouldn't be surprised if a few of -them were still going on." - -"But we'll be spending our New Year's on Kodiak," Jerry reminded them. -"I was looking at it on the map. It's just a dinky little island." - -"Not so dinky," Dr. Steele said. "It's about a hundred miles long, you -know. And I think you'll find that its citizens have just as much -holiday spirit as the people in the States." - -"Do many people live on Kodiak?" Sandy asked. - -"It's not too heavily populated," Dr. Steele admitted. "Once it was the -center of the Alaskan fur trade. The Russians settled in the town of -Kodiak in 1784, and it wasn't until much later that they moved their -headquarters to the mainland. - -"Nowadays it's hard to make a living on Kodiak. I think the only major -occupation is salmon fishing. There's rich farming land at the south end -of the island, but the natives have always had difficulty raising sheep -and cattle. Too many hungry bears around." - -Jerry squinted down the barrel of an imaginary rifle. "Well, there'll be -a few less after we get there, eh, Sandy boy?" - -Tagish Charley, who had been staring moodily out of the window, turned -his quizzical black eyes on Jerry. "You shoot big as you talk, -everything be fine." - -"I think you better go along and take care of these fellows, Charley," -the professor suggested. - -"That would be great," Sandy said. "How about it?" - -Charley appeared to consider the proposition for a moment, then looked -gravely at Sandy from beneath his black eyebrows. "Charley like to go to -Kodiak. But better not. I stay and look out for professor." - - - - - CHAPTER ELEVEN - Off to Hunt Kodiak Bears - - -At quarter after twelve the Norseman put down on the outskirts of -Cordova, and the three geologists disembarked along with Tagish Charley. - -"You'll be in Kodiak before dark," Dr. Steele told the boys before he -left them. "The pilot will radio ahead so Professor Stern can be on hand -to meet you when you land. Be sure and bring us back a bearskin." - -"We will," Sandy promised. "And we'll see you back here on the third of -January." - -"Goodbye, Doctor," Jerry said. "And Happy New Year." - -"Thank you, Jerry, and the same to you." Dr. Steele winked. "Don't eat -too much _muk-tuk_." - -As soon as the plane was refueled, they took off again. When Jerry began -to nod drowsily, Sandy went up front and sat down in the copilot's seat. - -Russell Parker, the pilot, was a chunky, gray-haired man in his late -forties, a veteran of the World War II Air Corps. "I was stationed in -the Aleutians for four years," he told Sandy. "The place sort of grew on -me. There was this girl in Anchorage, too. Well, as soon as the war was -over we were married, and I decided to settle here permanently. I had no -family ties back in the States, so the transition was easy." He smiled. -"You might say I found a home here." - -"And you've been a bush pilot ever since?" Sandy said. "Boy, that must -be an exciting life." - -"Well, I wouldn't call it exciting exactly. A little romantic -maybe--everything about _Alashka_ is romantic." - -"_Alashka?_" Sandy looked puzzled. "I notice you always say it that -way." - -"It's an ancient Aleutian term. Means the 'big land.'" - -"It's big all right," Sandy said, glancing out of the cockpit window. -Below the plane, twin mountain peaks reached up through the wispy -clouds. Cupped in the valley between them lay a gigantic glacier whose -front was a solid wall of ice ten miles across and as high as a -fifteen-story building. - -"That's why there are plenty of jobs for bush pilots," Parker explained. -"We're like taxi drivers back in the States. To get around in the big -land you have to take giant steps. A quick trip to the city may mean a -hop of a hundred miles or more. You should see Lake Hood on a Saturday -morning in the summer--that's in Anchorage, my home town. Hundreds of -little planes." - -"It looks like a supermarket parking lot," Sandy finished the thought -for him. "Professor Crowell told us." - -"It's worse. More like Times Square in New York." - -"But since so many people up here have their own planes, doesn't it cut -down on your jobs?" Sandy wanted to know. - -"Not really. Most of the amateurs are pretty cautious, as they should -be. They'll only fly in perfect weather, and stick to the safe air -routes. When there's a tough job to be done in a hurry, they call on a -bush pilot. I've carried everything from heavy machinery to medical -supplies. I've been a flying ambulance, too; I don't know how many lives -I've helped to save in the back country." - -"Do you often get assignments like this one?" Sandy asked. - -"I've flown my share of VIPs, but mostly it's a job for military -pilots." - -"You consider my dad and Professor Crowell VIPs?" - -"I got that impression," Parker said guardedly. He was about to add -something else when a burst of static from the radio diverted his -attention. "Tower at Anchorage calling us," he told Sandy, adjusting his -earphones. He listened, then flipped the switch over to transmit. "N-140 -to Anchorage ... Read you clear ... Climbing to 12,000 feet ... Over and -out." He flipped the switch and reported to Sandy. "We're climbing -another 4,000 feet. We're heading into a snow squall off Kodiak, moving -northeast." - -Jerry awoke from his nap and came up front to join them. "You guys -hungry? I'm going to break out the sandwiches." - -Sandy laughed. "Is eating all you ever think about?" - -Jerry flicked Sandy's cowlick with one finger. "Especially when I ride -in airplanes. I have to keep my stomach weighted down so it won't do -flip-flops." - -"Okay, I'll join you," Sandy agreed. "How about you, Mr. Parker?" - -"I'll wait awhile," the pilot declined. "Soon as we level off at 12,000, -I'll set her on automatic pilot." - -The boys walked back to their seats and opened the lunchbox the hotel -had prepared for them that morning. - -"I was just thinking," Jerry said, chewing on a chicken leg, "we haven't -seen anything of those characters who took pot shots at us for a few -days now. Think they've given up?" - -Sandy's brow furrowed in anxiety. "I don't know, Jerry. From what we -know of them, they don't seem to be the kind who give up so easily. -They've been after the professor for months now. Maybe we should have -stayed with them back at Cordova." - -"Aw, what could happen to them in Cordova? Those birds wouldn't try -anything in the middle of a big town like that." - -Sandy nibbled at his sandwich without relish. "I suppose not. But Dad -and the professor are going to be out poking around some old abandoned -mine sites." - -The discussion ended when Parker called back, "I'm ready for that -sandwich now. And a cup of coffee if you don't mind. Black, no sugar." - -"I'll take it up to him," Jerry said. - -It was still bright daylight in the air when they sighted Kodiak, but -the island and the sea around it were shrouded in purple dusk. Lights -began to twinkle on below as they circled the city of Kodiak, losing -altitude. Towering prominently over the other low buildings were a pair -of onion-shaped domes. - -"What's that?" Sandy asked Parker. "They look almost Turkish." - -"The Russian Orthodox church," the pilot said. "Remember, the Russians -founded Kodiak." - -"How did those Russians ever get way over here?" Jerry wanted to know. - -"Boy, are you dumb!" Sandy said. "On the west side only a thin strip of -water separates Alaska from Russia. The Bering Strait is only about -forty miles wide." - -Parker nodded. "In the winter you can cross it on a sled." - -That thought seemed to sober Jerry. - -Parker touched the Norseman down gently on its skis and reversed the -propeller to brake their slide. As they climbed out of the plane, the -figure of a man emerged out of the glare of the landing lights. Clad in -fur trousers, fur hood and fur parka, he looked like an Eskimo. But as -he approached, Sandy could make out a small clipped mustache and rimless -eyeglasses. - -"Welcome to Kodiak," he greeted them. "You must be Dr. Steele's son." He -held out his hand. - -"Yes, sir." Sandy smiled. "I'm Sandy." - -"I'm Kenneth Stern." - -Sandy performed introductions all around. It turned out that Parker and -the young university teacher were friends. "My wife took some courses -with Professor Stern," the pilot explained. - -Stern clapped his fur mittens together. "I have my jeep parked over at -the edge of the field. Let's get back to the lodge. Dora--that's my -wife--has a big bear roast in the oven. I imagine you fellows are pretty -hungry." - -"You go ahead," Parker said. "I want to make sure they put my baby -safely to bed. I'll hitch a ride to your camp." - -"All right, Russ," Stern said. "We'll hold supper for you." - -"What's he got to do?" Jerry inquired as they walked through the crunchy -snow to the jeep, which was almost hidden by the great cloud of smoke -that was pouring out of the exhaust. - -"He wants to make sure the crankcase gets drained," Stern said. "You -really do have to treat machinery as if it were a baby in cold like -this. That's why I left the jeep running. It could freeze up in a few -minutes." - -As they drove through the town of Kodiak, the boys were fascinated by -the atmosphere. The cultures of three centuries and varied races were -blended startlingly but not offensively. - -"It's like being on a Hollywood sound stage where the sets are all mixed -up," Sandy said breathlessly. - -"Mostly, it reminds me of the Old West," Jerry said. "Dodge City. I -almost expect to see Wyatt Earp come striding down the middle of the -street with his hands on his six-guns." - -Professor Stern laughed. "That's an apt description, Jerry. This is the -twentieth-century American frontier in a sense. It's only fitting that -the characteristics of the frontier should predominate." - -The hunting lodge was a sprawling two-story log building about a mile -outside of Kodiak, with a wide porch running around it on three sides. -Lights blazed warmly from its windows as they pulled in the drive and -bumped along to a big barn at the back of the house. - -"Four other teachers and myself own it jointly," Stern explained. "We -bought it about ten years ago as a summer place. The fact is, we've been -using it just as much in the winter as a hunting lodge." - -"Did I understand you to say we were having bear roast for supper, -Professor?" Jerry inquired politely. - -"Yes. You're not squeamish about eating it, are you?" - -"Uh, no!" Jerry assured him. "After some of the things I've been eating -since I came to Alaska, bear sounds like steak to me." - -"It's better," Stern told him. "You wait and see." - -"Did you shoot the bear, sir?" Sandy asked. - -"No, we haven't been out yet. This is a piece of meat we've had in the -freezer since last year." - -Jerry laughed. "You're kidding. What do you need a freezer for up here?" - -"That's where you're wrong, young fellow. It so happens that the old -joke about selling ice-boxes to Eskimos isn't such a joke any more. -During the war, the Army discovered it was a lot more practical to keep -food in freezers than it was to stow it in a shed outside. You see, the -temperature drops to sixty and seventy below zero some nights in this -country. That's about forty to fifty degrees lower than the coldest deep -freeze. At that temperature food takes hours to thaw out. In the -freezer, it keeps just right." - -Jerry shook his head. "Can you beat that! Next thing you know, the Arabs -on the Sahara desert will be turning to steam heat." - -They followed Stern along a path to the back door of the lodge. Mrs. -Stern, a young woman in ski pants and sweater, was in the kitchen -basting the roast when they came in. "Supper will be another hour yet," -she apologized. "I hope you boys can hold out." - -"That's good," Stern said. "Russ Parker will be along later." He turned -to the boys. "Come on inside and meet Chris Hanson and his wife. They'll -be spending a few days with us too." - -"Chris Hanson?" Sandy repeated it thoughtfully. "There used to be an -All-American tackle by that name." - -Stern grinned. "That's our boy. He's an athletic coach at the -university." - -"Say, that's great!" Jerry exclaimed. "Chris was the best." -Self-importantly, he added, "As a matter of fact we have a lot in -common. I expect to make All-American tackle myself some day." - -Sandy smirked and dug his fist playfully into Jerry's midsection. "You -get any fatter, you won't be able to bend down to flip the ball." - -Chris Hanson was a brawny man who made even a six-footer like Sandy -Steele feel like a little boy. He reminded Sandy of the paintings of -fierce Vikings he had seen in grade-school history books, though his -blond hair was a bit thin on top. His wife was a small, thin woman who -sat as close to the fire as possible, despite the fact that she was -bundled up in sweaters. The Hansons were just finishing a game of -Scrabble when the boys arrived. - -"I'm a Georgia girl, you know," Mrs. Hanson said in a marked Southern -accent. "And I don't believe I'll ever get used to this climate." - -"We have a friend who would sympathize with you," Sandy told her. "Lou -Mayer, my father's assistant." - -Chris grinned devilishly. "Oh sure, we met Lou when your dad came up to -Fairbanks. Took him skiing once. I don't think he likes me very much." - -While they waited for supper to be served, the boys coaxed Chris to -reminisce about some of his big gridiron games. Hungry as they were, it -was an unwelcome interruption when Mrs. Stern announced: "Chow's on the -table." - -There were seven people at the table--including Russ Parker, who arrived -just as they were sitting down--and among them they picked an -eight-pound sirloin bear steak clean. - -Jerry swabbed his plate clean with a crust of bread. "That was -delicious, Mrs. Stern." - -"That's an understatement," Sandy said, "considering that you had three -portions." - -"I know I made a hog of myself," Jerry admitted. "But when I bag one of -those big Kodiaks tomorrow, you can fill up your freezer with steaks." - -Mrs. Stern smiled. "That's very thoughtful of you, Jerry." - -Chris Hanson looked amused. "You ever done any hunting before, Jerry?" - -"No, but I'm on the high-school rifle team back home." - -Sandy winked at Chris. "He's the guy they're talking about when they -say, 'He couldn't hit the side of a barn.'" - -Jerry reddened as everyone laughed, and glared at Sandy. "I suppose you -think you're Davy Crockett?" - -"Seriously, though," Professor Stern interjected, "a bear hunt can be -very dangerous. Some of these brutes on Kodiak are virtually -indestructible. And when they're wounded--well, just watch out. There's -an old saying among hunters that you've got to kill a Kodiak with your -first shot, or you never will kill him. I've heard men who have stalked -lions, tigers--all kinds of big game--concede that a Kodiak is the most -fearsome of all beasts." - -"On second thought," Jerry said gravely, "maybe I'll just stay back here -and play Scrabble with the ladies." - -After supper the boys cornered Chris Hanson again and discussed football -and other sports. At ten o'clock, Professor Stern drove Russ Parker into -town. - -"Some of the boys invited me to a party at the airport," Russ explained. -"I hate to run away like this, but my brother-in-law is going to be -there. I haven't seen him in a while. He's in the service, stationed in -the Aleutians." - -"That's perfectly all right," Mrs. Stern said. - -"You don't fool us, Russ," Chris Hanson kidded him. "You just want to -sneak out of that bear hunt tomorrow." - -Parker snorted. "You aren't going to drag me off after any bears. Not -unless I can hunt them from the air." - -"When are we going back to Cordova, Mr. Parker?" Sandy asked him. - -"I figure you can have a couple of days of hunting. The professor -expects us back on the third of January." - -Professor Stern asked the boys whether they wanted to ride into town -with him and see how the Kodiakans celebrated the New Year, but they -declined. - -"We heard they had some pretty wild times up here," Jerry said. "But the -way I feel, the only thing that would look good to me is a soft, warm -bed." - -And by twelve o'clock they were in bed. "I wonder what the gang is doing -back in Valley View," Jerry sighed as they lay in the dark listening to -the sound of foghorns in St. Paul's harbor blending with church bells -and firecrackers in distant Kodiak. - -"You can bet they're not planning to go bear hunting at six in the -morning," Sandy answered sleepily. - - - - - CHAPTER TWELVE - Treed by a Wounded Bear - - -Professor Stern roused the boys at eight o'clock on New Year's morning. -"Put on two suits of long woolen underwear and two pairs of socks," he -instructed them. "We'll probably be out until dark." - -They dressed quickly and went downstairs to the big kitchen, where Chris -Hanson was cooking breakfast. "How'll you have your eggs, fellows?" he -asked. - -"Sunny side up," Sandy answered. "Can we help?" - -"Sure. You can start the toast." - -Sandy took a handful of sliced bread out of the bread box and began -searching through the cupboards. "Where's the toaster?" he asked -finally. - -Chris smiled and pointed to the stove. "Right here. Just butter the -bread lightly and spread the slices out between the lids." - -For the first time, Sandy became aware that the cooking stove was the -old-fashioned, cast iron, wood-burning type; the kind you saw only in -Western movies in the United States. A long tongue of flame and a shower -of sparks shot up into the air as Chris lifted one of the front lids and -set the teakettle over the opening. - -"When we first bought the place," Chris said, "we planned to install one -of those newfangled electric stoves in a year or two. But we got -attached to this old girl. We've never regretted it either. I don't know -how many times the electric power has conked out for days at a time. -Anyway, this cooks better than any gas or electric stove I've ever -seen." - -After they had eaten, they stacked the dishes in the sink and went out -to the garage. Chris Hanson and Professor Stern were armed with .30-.30 -Winchester rifles. Stern said their neighbor down the road had promised -to provide weapons for the boys. They piled into the jeep, which had -been warming up for a half hour, and drove about two miles into the -foothills to the ranch of Vladimir Thorsen, the son of a Russian-Swedish -sourdough who had struck it rich in the gold rush. Thorsen was a short, -rugged-looking man of fifty, with jet-black hair and a Vandyke beard. -His English was precise, with just a trace of an accent. He welcomed the -boys heartily and insisted that the men join him in a last cup of strong -black coffee mixed with brandy. - -"I don't think we will have to look far for our bear," he announced -grimly. "Two nights ago, a big brute came right into the barnyard and -carried off one of my lambs." - -Chris Hanson whistled shrilly between his teeth. "He had his nerve, -didn't he?" - -"A cunning old monster," Thorsen said. "From the size of his footprints, -I would estimate he weighs about 1,400 pounds. He has toes missing on -his two forefeet." - -"He's evidently been in some battles," Stern said. "And won them." - -When the men had finished their coffee, Thorsen escorted them into his -den. The walls were covered with pistols and rifles and the mounted -heads of every kind of big game imaginable. The rancher took down two -big, unwieldy, ancient-looking rifles and handed them to the boys. "Here -are your weapons." - -Sandy and Jerry couldn't help but show their disappointment. "They're -very nice guns, sir." Sandy made an effort to sound appreciative. -"But--what are they?" - -"They look as if they were left over from the Revolutionary War," -Professor Stern said tartly. "What are you trying to pull on these kids, -Thorsen?" - -Thorsen stroked his pointed beard and cast a reproving eye on the -instructor. "You are an American teacher and you don't recognize this -magnificent rifle! It is a Sharpe's buffalo gun, the same kind that your -Buffalo Bill killed 1,800 buffalo with. I'm ashamed of you, Kenneth." - -"It's only single-shot, too," Jerry observed critically. - -"With a gun like that you only need one shot," Thorsen said. "You could -drop an elephant with one shot." He opened a drawer of his desk and took -out a handful of enormous cartridges. "See?" - -Chris Hanson picked one up and hefted it in his palm. "It's a small -artillery shell." He grinned at the boys. "You want to trade? I'd feel -plenty safe facing Mr. Bear with this cannon." - -"No," Jerry answered quickly. "If it was good enough for Buffalo Bill, -it's good enough for me." He picked up one of the long rifles and -balanced it on his shoulder. "Hup-two-three-four...." He staggered -around the room. "Hey, doesn't a weapons carrier come with this thing?" - -The rancher smiled, showing two rows of strong, white teeth. "You are a -very funny fellow," he said. "Maybe the bear will die laughing.... Come, -the horses are already saddled and waiting." - -Jerry's face clouded over. "Horses?" he said. - -"Yes, we may have to go ten or fifteen miles into the hills." He led -them out of the den, through the kitchen and out the back door. - -The boys fell behind as they approached the stables. "Have you ever -ridden a horse before?" Jerry whispered to Sandy. - -"Sure, I'm a fair rider." Realization suddenly dawned in his eyes. -"You've ridden before--haven't you?" - -"Only on the merry-go-round," Jerry said miserably. "But don't say -anything. I don't want to spoil the party." - -"Well ..." Sandy was uncertain. "I suppose we'll be walking the horses -mostly, so you can't get into too much trouble." - -"Sure, we can hang back and you can instruct me in the fine points of -horsemanship." - -An Indian groom brought the horses out of the stable. They were much -sturdier animals than the ones Sandy had rented at any riding -academy--more like cowboy ponies. They wore Western saddles, too. - -"They're all mares," Thorsen explained. "Not too high-spirited and very -manageable. Good mounts for tracking." - -Jerry's eyes were round as he and his horse confronted each other. "This -is the closest I've ever been to one," he confided to Sandy. "I never -realized they were so big." - -"You won't have any trouble," Sandy assured him. "She's a gentle girl." -He stroked the smooth flanks and the muscles rippled beneath the glossy -black coat. "Come on, I'll give you a lift." - -Jerry mounted without difficulty and settled himself comfortably in the -big saddle with his feet planted in the stirrups. "Nothing to it," he -said. - -Sandy grinned. "Nothing to a jet plane either, while it's sitting in the -hangar. Here." He handed Jerry's rifle up to him. - -"What do I do with it?" Jerry demanded. - -Sandy indicated a large leather sheath that was fastened to the right -side of the saddle. "Stick it in the saddle boot." - -They rode out single file, with Thorsen's horse breaking trail through -knee-deep snow across a broad meadow behind the ranch house. A long -split-rail fence ran along the back of the property. Thorsen pointed out -a break in the fence, where the heavy logs lay scattered around like -jackstraws and a six-inch post was snapped off at the base. - -"That's where he came through." - -From the break in the fence a wide path, which looked as if it had been -plowed by a small bulldozer, led up a slope into a grove of spruce -trees. - -"It won't be much of a problem tracking him, will it?" Chris Hanson -said. - -Thorsen shrugged. "It depends. We're protected from the wind in the -valley. Farther up in the mountains, the trail may be covered over by -now. It's been two days." - -Professor Stern swung down off his horse and knelt to examine the bear's -footprints, which had been almost obliterated by blowing snow. He -brushed away some of the fine, white powder with his mitten. Abruptly, -he looked up at the rancher. "Did any one of your hands take a shot at -this fellow?" - -Thorsen frowned. "Certainly not. Why?" - -Stern pointed to faint, rust-colored streaks in the snow between the -imprints of the bear's foot pads. "Looks like blood to me. Probably a -wound, high on the leg, and the blood trickled down between the toes." - -"Maybe he hurt himself when he broke through the fence," Sandy -suggested. - -"That's possible," Stern conceded. He walked back and inspected the -broken logs carefully. Finally, he shook his head. "No sign of blood -here. I'm afraid our bear has been the victim of a careless hunter." - -Thorsen scowled fiercely and muttered something in a guttural foreign -tongue. Then he exploded in English. "I would like to get my hands on -that filthy pig!" - -"I don't get it," Jerry said to Sandy. "What's he so excited about? -That's the whole idea, isn't it, to shoot the bear?" - -"Sure, but once you wound an animal, it's your obligation to finish him -off. That's the first commandment of hunting. First of all, it's cruel -to let an animal suffer. And when you're dealing with big game, it's -downright dangerous. A pain-crazed bear, for instance, can be a menace -to anything that comes anywhere near him." - -"That's right," Chris Hanson agreed. "We're going to have to stay on our -toes from here on." - -Professor Stern swung back into the saddle and they followed the bear's -trail into the woods. There were great, towering ancient pines, -clustered together so that their heavy foliage meshed to form a solid -roof above the forest floor. Only a fine dusting of snow had filtered -through their heavy branches onto the thick carpet of pine needles that -cushioned the earth. The horses' hoofbeats were barely audible as they -picked their way between the trees, which were bare for at least twenty -feet up. - -"It's like being in a cathedral," Sandy said reverently. The voices of -the men ahead sounded embarrassingly loud in the silence beneath the -pines. - -A pine cone skittered out from under the hoof of Jerry's horse and -rattled across the dry needles. Jerry started and almost slipped out of -the saddle. - -"Watch it, boy," Sandy cautioned him. "How is it going, anyway?" - -"I'll be okay, once old Dobbin and I get ourselves co-ordinated. Every -time he goes up, I'm coming down and vice versa." - -Sandy grinned. "You're too tense. Relax and try to imagine you're part -of the horse." - -"I know what part I feel like," Jerry said wryly. - -On the other side of the grove they picked up the bear's trail again. It -headed up a steep, rocky hillside, dotted with patches of scrubby trees -and huge boulders. The horses had slippery footing and they went very -slowly now. - -Thorsen took his rifle out of the saddle boot, levered a shell into the -chamber and rested it across the saddle in front of him. The other men -followed suit. - -Professor Stern turned and smiled reassuringly at the boys. "Don't be -alarmed. It just doesn't pay to take any chances. I've heard of these -wily old bears doubling back on their trail and setting up an ambush for -unwary hunters." - -Jerry swallowed hard and cast a nervous glance back over his shoulder. -"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring up the rear." His horse -skidded unexpectedly on a mound of loose stones and Jerry clutched it -frantically around the neck with both arms, burying his face in the -thick mane. When the horse had steadied itself again, he straightened up -and settled himself gingerly in the saddle. - -He touched one hand to the seat of his pants and moaned. "How can one -part of you feel so hot when the rest of you is so cold?" - -Sandy was sympathetic. "Yeah, I feel for you, pal. That old saddle gets -pretty hard after a while. And this is a rough way to get initiated to -horseback riding to begin with." - -They rode on for another half hour until they came to a shallow ravine -with a dense growth of white birch trees and underbrush. Thorsen studied -the steep rocky slopes of the ravine carefully. Except for a light -dusting of snow they were wind-blown clean, as was the rocky shelf on -the other side. - -"I can't see any sign of a trail. For all we know, he may be hiding down -there in those trees," he said. - -Professor Stern nodded in agreement. "It's possible. I'd hate to run -into a Kodiak in those close quarters. What do we do now?" - -"We play it completely safe," Thorsen replied. "Some of us can ride -around the ravine--it's no more than a quarter of a mile to the -north--and see if we can pick up his trail on the other side. If we do, -we can assume he's not waiting to pounce on us in the ravine. Those who -remain here can safely ride across directly." - -"Why don't we all ride around together?" Chris wanted to know. "What's -the point of leaving anyone here?" - -Thorsen stroked his silky beard. "Because if Mr. Bear _is_ hiding in the -ravine, we have him trapped. One group can flush him out into the guns -of the other group." - -"That seems sound," Stern acknowledged. "Which of us will stay here?" - -"Jerry and I will," Sandy volunteered. "Both of us are pretty tired, and -it'll give us a chance to rest." - -"All right," Stern said. "Better make sure your guns are ready for -action in case that bear surprises you." - -As the three men rode off along the edge of the ravine, the boys -dismounted and tethered their horses to a bare, crooked sapling. Sandy -sat down on a boulder with his buffalo gun across his knees, but Jerry -remained standing. - -"I may never sit down again," he told Sandy. - -Soon the three men passed out of sight where the ravine curved back -behind a ridge, and the boys turned their attention to the birch trees -below them. - -"Think our bear is down there?" Sandy asked. - -"Naw, I bet he's miles away from here by now." - -The words were scarcely out of Jerry's mouth when the sound of a rock -clattering down the far side of the ravine jerked their eyes upward. -Standing beside a big boulder on the rocky shelf facing them was the -biggest bear they had ever seen in their lives. His long, shaggy fur was -tipped with silver, and on his underside it almost brushed the ground. -The monster seemed oblivious of their presence. - -"I don't think he sees us," Sandy whispered to Jerry. "They have very -poor eyesight. And we're upwind of him so he can't smell us." - -But the horses caught the scent of the bear and began to whinny and -stamp their hoofs in terror. The big Kodiak's ears went up and he lifted -his head, probing the air with his sensitive snout. Slowly he reared up -on his hind legs. - -Jerry couldn't restrain a gasp of astonishment and wonder. "Wow! Will -you look at the size of him! He must be ten feet tall if he's an inch." - -When the bear stood erect, Sandy could see a red, matted spot on his -left shoulder. "Someone shot him all right," he said. He pressed his -lips firmly together and lifted the big rifle to his shoulder. "Well, -here goes." Then he added, "You take a bead on him too, Jerry, in case I -miss." - -"I'm so jittery, I don't think I _could_ hit the side of a barn," Jerry -answered breathlessly. Nevertheless, he brought up his rifle. - -"It's an easy shot," Sandy told him. "Only about forty yards. I'll try -for a head shot. You aim just below the left shoulder. And take off your -mittens, idiot." - -Sandy squinted down the long barrel, fixing the sight on a spot directly -between the bear's eyes. Very gently he squeezed the trigger. There was -a tremendous explosion and a numbing blow against his shoulder that sent -him somersaulting backward off the boulder. He lay there stunned for an -instant. Then Jerry grabbed the front of his parka and pulled him to his -feet. - -"What a recoil," Sandy mumbled. - -"Forget the recoil!" Jerry was hopping up and down in excitement. "You -got him! Look! One-shot Steele, that's you. Bet you could have made a -chump out of Buffalo Bill." - -Sandy focused his bleary eyes across the ravine. The Kodiak was just a -big mound of motionless fur sprawled out on the ground. - -"Come on!" Jerry pulled at Sandy's arm. "Let's hurry over there so we -can make like big-game hunters when those other guys show up." Using his -rifle as a staff, he started down the slope into the ravine. - -Sandy caught up to him at the bottom and grabbed the rifle away from -him. "Don't ever do anything like that again!" he snapped. "You dope! -You might have blown your head off--or at least your hand. This is a -loaded gun. You've got to have respect for it. Never point it at -yourself or anyone else." - -Jerry flushed and dropped his eyes. "Yeah, you're right. It was a dopey -thing to do. I'm so crazy excited I forgot." - -"Okay." Sandy handed the rifle back to him and they crashed through the -brush and brambles that grew among the trunks of the birches. Scrambling -up the far slope, Sandy was aware of a heavy weight banging against his -right hip. He slipped his hand into his pocket on that side and touched -the cold metal grip of the Colt automatic. He had forgotten about it -when he packed the heavy parka away after the sled race. - -He had just withdrawn his hand from his pocket when Jerry, who was in -the lead, reached the top of the ravine. As his eyes cleared the rim, he -stopped short and let out a wild yell. Then the bear lumbered into full -view, looming over Jerry like a cat over a very small mouse. The -monster's red-rimmed eyes blazed with hatred and Sandy could see pink -foam gleaming on the long, bared fangs. It came to him as an incredible -shock that here they were face to face with the most dangerous living -thing in all the world--a wounded, pain-crazed Kodiak bear. - -"Jerry! The gun! Shoot!" Sandy spat the words out jerkily. - -Obeying mechanically, Jerry swung the long barrel up and fired in the -same motion. The slug plowed harmlessly between the bear's legs, kicking -up dirt and gravel. But it turned out to be a lifesaving shot. Caught -off balance, Jerry was kicked off his feet by the booming recoil and -went tumbling head over heels down the steep grade. At the same time -Sandy drew out the big .45 pistol and cocked it. Then, as the bear -dropped to all fours, with the obvious intention of attacking, Sandy -fired at its hairy throat. The Army Colt .45-caliber packs a tremendous -wallop. At such close range, it knocked the giant Kodiak back on its -haunches. - -Sandy pumped the last bullet into the bear's midsection, then turned and -ran down the slope. Jerry was just getting to his feet when he reached -the bottom of the ravine. "Find a tall tree and climb it," Sandy yelled. -"Come on!" - -Together they stumbled into the woods. Sandy remembered that on their -way over they had passed one gnarled birch with a trunk as big around as -a man's waist. In the manner of so many trees of this species, it had -branched out into three thick, sturdy limbs at a height of about four -feet. Without breaking his stride, Sandy leaped up, planted one foot in -the crotch and clawed and shinnied his way up through the branches. He -kept climbing until the limb began to bend beneath his weight. Then, -with his heart fluttering like a frightened bird, he looked down, half -expecting to see his friend in the embrace of the great bear. There was -no trace of either Jerry or the Kodiak. - -"Here I am," Jerry's voice rang out, so startlingly close that Sandy -almost lost his hold on the branch. The sight of Jerry swaying back and -forth on an adjacent limb at least five feet above him, arms and legs -wrapped tightly around it like a monkey, made him weak with relief. In -spite of their precarious position, he had to smile. - -Jerry was appalled. "He's hysterical. Stark, raving mad," he cried. -"Sandy! Snap out of it." - -"I'm fine," Sandy said. "It's just that I didn't expect to see you up -there." - -"Where did you think I'd be? Back there, Indian-wrestling with old -Smokey so you could escape?" - -"I don't know how you got up there so fast. I didn't even see you pass -me." - -"Brother," Jerry said huffily, "if you had been as close to that critter -as I was you'd be back in Valley View by now." - -As yet there was still no sign of the bear on the ground below them. -Sandy searched the rocky shelf where they had encountered him, but it -was empty. The clatter of horses' hoofs drew his attention back to the -side of the ravine they had come from. Professor Stern and the other two -men came galloping into view and reined in their horses. - -"Here, in the tree!" Sandy hailed them. "We're up in the tree." - -Stern's face reflected his relief--and not a little amazement. "What on -earth are you doing in a tree? And what were those shots we heard?" - -"We shot the bear. Then he came to life again and chased us up here." -Sensing the professor's understandable confusion, he grinned. "I guess -that sounds pretty wild, doesn't it?" - -"Indeed it does," Stern admitted. "But never mind that. Where is the -bear now?" - -"I don't know." - -Thorsen and Chris Hanson were already starting down into the ravine, -rifles ported for action. Stem dismounted and followed them. Cautiously -the men made their way through the trees. Before they reached the far -side of the ravine the boys lost sight of them. - -After several minutes of complete silence, Sandy began to get anxious. - -"Maybe that old bear was hiding behind a tree," Jerry suggested, "and -clobbered each one of them as they went by him, like the Indians used to -do." - -Finally they heard Stern's voice calling to them. "You guys can come -down now." - -Sandy was puzzled. "That's funny. I guess the bear got away after all." -He slid hurriedly to the ground. - -When they emerged from the birch grove, both boys stopped dead. Sandy -shut his eyes tight, opened them, shut them, and opened them again. He -couldn't believe what he saw. The three men were standing at the bottom -of the slope, all flashing broad grins. At their feet was the -mountainous carcass of the bear. - -"You--you sure he's dead?" Sandy stammered. - -"Yeah," Jerry said. "He's a tricky one." - -Thorsen jabbed his toe into the shaggy body. "Quite dead, I assure you, -my young friends." - -"We had just reached the end of the ravine when we heard the shots," -Professor Stern said. "Now tell us what happened." - -Both talking at once, the boys recited the story of their escapade with -the big Kodiak. - -"You remember that old movie _King Kong_, where the girl first sees this -giant gorilla?" Jerry asked. "Well, that's how I felt when this thing -came at me. Oh broth-er!" He shuddered. - -Sandy took out the black Colt pistol. "And this is what saved our -lives." - -Thorsen took it from him and examined it admiringly. "A true gem. Do you -know how this gun was developed? During the Philippine Insurrection, -American troops were being demoralized by fierce Moro tribesmen, savage -warriors who carried wicked bolo knives. The Moros would pop up out of -the jungle without warning and attack the soldiers at such close -quarters that it was impossible for them to use their rifles. And the -Moros were so physically powerful that the average pistol couldn't stop -them. Even with a half dozen bullets in them, they could decapitate an -enemy with their bolos before they died. The Army Colt .45 was designed -especially to stop them. And it did the job well--with one slug." - -"It certainly stopped this monster," said Chris Hanson. - -"But it was a very lucky shot," Professor Stern tempered his praise. -"The first shot you fired with the rifle creased his skull and stunned -him. He was probably still whoozy when you ran into him, or you might -not have had a chance to get in a second shot. Your last shot severed -the jugular vein. It was a very lucky shot," he emphasized. - -"You don't have to convince me, Professor," Sandy said soberly. "As of -now I am a retired bear hunter." - - - - - CHAPTER THIRTEEN - The Ghost Mine - - -Two days later the Sterns and the Hansons came down to the airstrip to -see the boys off. Professor Stern promised to send the bearskin to -Valley View as soon as it was cured. "It will make a nice trophy to -spread out in front of your fireplace," he told Sandy. - -"I think I'll donate it to our local boys' club," Sandy said. - -"And every time a new fellow joins up, he'll have an excuse to tell what -a big hero he is," Jerry joked. - -Sandy laughed. "I bet I looked like a big hero up in that tree all -right." - -Russ Parker appeared in the doorway of the plane. "All revved up and -ready to go. You fellows set?" - -The boys said their last goodbyes and climbed into the cabin. - -Mrs. Stern waved and yelled, "Thanks again for refilling my freezer." - -"We'll eat it up the next time we come," Jerry said. - -Parker slammed the door and bolted it, then went forward to the cockpit. -"Fasten your safety belts," he ordered. The little plane took off -smoothly and climbed over the bay. Through the window next to him, Sandy -caught a last glimpse of the twin domes of the Russian church and the -ancient sea wall with its great iron rings where the fur traders used to -tie up their ships. The sun sparkled on the blue water and glinted -briefly off the metal oil tanks of the U.S. naval base far across the -bay. Parker leveled off at 10,000 feet and set a northeast course. - -Sandy unbuckled his seat belt and went up front to the cockpit. "How -long will it take to fly to Cordova?" he inquired. - -"With this tail wind no more than two hours," Parker said. "We should be -landing a little after ten. Your dad and the professor want to fly back -to Juneau this afternoon." - -Sandy nodded. "From there we're taking a commercial airline back to -Seattle." - -Parker put the ship on automatic pilot and turned sideways in the seat. -"Not driving back down the highway?" - -"No. Professor Crowell decided the trip was too rugged in the winter. -He's leaving his dogs up here until spring. Anyway, Jerry and I have to -get back to school, so we were planning to fly back in any case." - -Listening to the conversation with one ear, Jerry looked up from the -book he was reading. "Hey, Sandy, back in Valley View the guys are just -steeling themselves for a session with Miss Remson in English Four. -Isn't that great? And here we are three thousand miles away and two -miles in the air. Think we're safe from her?" - -"Sure," Sandy said. "And Miss Remson would probably be just as glad if -you stayed that far away from her." - -Parker pointed out a range of mountains just visible on the northwest -horizon. "Too bad you don't have time to visit the Valley of Ten -Thousand Smokes." - -"That's an interesting name. What is it?" - -"Before Mount Katmai erupted in 1912 it was a fertile farm region. Then -the whole top of the mountain blew off--two cubic miles of rock -vaporized into thin air. One hundred miles away in Kodiak they had to -shovel the dust and ashes off the roof tops." - -Sandy whistled. "That's as bad as having an H-bomb drop in your back -yard." - -"Maybe worse," Parker said grimly. "Then the entire floor of the valley -erupted into little fumaroles, or volcanic potholes, that spewed out -molten sand. Thousands of them. That's where they got the name Ten -Thousand Smokes. Today there are only seven of them that are still -active, but the valley is a desert wasteland." - -Sandy squinted through the windshield, imagining he could see a thin -ribbon of smoke rising from one of the peaks. "What happened to old -Mount Katmai? Is it still active?" - -"Well, the experts think it's still boiling way down inside. There's a -big lake in the crater now, but it never freezes. I've heard it's warm -enough to swim in." - -Jerry, who had come forward to listen to the story, was wonderstruck. -"Why, I bet you could land a plane on the lake and find out," he said. - -"It's a thought," Parker agreed, not too enthusiastically. "Maybe some -day I'll try it." - -For the remainder of the trip, he captivated the boys with other tales -about the big land, and almost before they knew it they were approaching -Cordova. The traffic was light and the tower gave them immediate -clearance to land. - -A quarter of an hour after the plane touched down, they were on their -way to town in the auto of a radio technician who was going off duty. -Russ Parker remained at the field to give the Norseman a thorough -inspection before the afternoon flight to Juneau. "We'll take off about -one, I guess," he told them as they were leaving. - -The considerate radio man dropped them off in front of the old-fashioned -hotel where Dr. Steele had said they would be staying. The clerk at the -desk informed them that the geologists were still registered, but that -he had not seen them since the previous morning. - -"Are you certain they didn't come back when you were off duty?" Sandy -asked him. - -"Positive," the clerk declared. "The chambermaid said their beds haven't -been slept in." - -Sandy looked at Jerry helplessly. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait -for them." - -The clerk gave them a passkey to one of the two adjoining rooms occupied -by Dr. Steele and his party. When they entered the room, the boys were -surprised to see that the geologists hadn't even started to pack. -Clothing, books and toilet articles were scattered everywhere. - -Jerry looked at his wrist watch. "We're never going to take off for -Juneau at one o'clock at this rate. It's after eleven now. Are you sure -you didn't get the days mixed up, Sandy? Maybe your father wasn't -expecting us until tomorrow." - -A little seed of fear began to grow inside of Sandy. "No, he said the -third. Professor Crowell told Russ he wanted to fly to Juneau today, -too. I can't understand it, Jerry. If Dad didn't expect to be here when -we got back from Kodiak, he would have left word for us. Anyway, they -couldn't have been planning to make any overnight trips. They didn't -take razors, toothbrushes or anything; my dad shaves every morning even -when he's on a fishing trip miles from civilization. I don't like it, -Jerry." - -Jerry's face turned pale under its perpetual tan. "Sandy, you don't -think those enemy agents...?" He left the sentence unfinished. - -Before Sandy could reply, the telephone on the stand between the twin -beds jangled harshly. The boys looked at each other hopefully. - -"Maybe that's Dad calling." Sandy threw himself across one of the beds -and picked up the receiver eagerly. But it was Russ Parker phoning from -the airfield. - -"I don't think it's anything to worry about," Parker said, "but I just -found out that your dad and his friends chartered a plane yesterday -morning to fly out to McCarthy. That's an old ghost town near the -abandoned Kennecott copper mine. When they didn't show back last night, -the authorities figured they had been forced down somewhere with engine -trouble. Search planes have been combing the area all morning, but -there's no sign of the plane, crashed or otherwise." - -"What do you think we should do, Russ?" Sandy asked in a tight voice. - -"I dunno. I sort of thought we might fly out that way ourselves and have -a look." - -"That's a good idea, Russ. Jerry and I will be out as soon as we can -hitch a ride. Thanks for calling." He slammed down the receiver and -related the latest development to Jerry. Minutes later they were on -their way. - - -As they swooped low across the small ghost town of McCarthy, Parker -banked the plane sharply and indicated the unblemished expanses of white -around the town. "No one has set down here since before the last snow," -he said. - -"Is there anywhere else they might have landed?" Sandy asked. - -"Maybe up at the mine proper. We'll fly up that way and have a look." - -"Imagine having a ghost town up here," Jerry marveled. "I thought they -were exclusive to the old American West. It's kind of spooky, everyone -packing up and leaving a place. Almost as if it was haunted." - -"Ghost towns are haunted in a sense," Sandy said. "By poverty and -hunger. They're towns that build up around mines and have no other -livelihood. If the mines close down they're doomed." - -"Any community that puts all its eggs in one basket runs the risk of -becoming a ghost town," Parker put in. - -"Why did the Kennecott mine shut down?" Sandy asked curiously. - -"The ore just ran out," Parker said. "Here we are now." - -Below them Sandy saw a sprawling shedlike structure that seemed to be -hanging on the side of a hill. "That's the main building," Parker said. -"See those long wires that look like trolley cables? They used to send -the ore down from the shafts by cable car. Then it was loaded on trains -and shipped to Cordova to be put on ships." - -On a level plateau below the Kennecott mine, they spotted the long twin -ski marks of a plane. There were two sets, one set almost parallel to -the other. - -"No doubt about it," Parker said. "A plane landed here recently. And it -took off again." He brought the Norseman's nose up and began climbing. - -"But if they took off again, where _did_ they go?" Sandy was sick with -fear. The idea of his father lying badly injured--or worse--in the -wreckage of a crashed plane terrified him. "If--if they had cracked up, -the search planes would have found them by now, wouldn't they?" - -Parker chewed thoughtfully on his underlip. "I would think so. Unless -they wandered outlandishly far off course. But there isn't any reason -why they should have. The last two days and nights have been perfect for -flying." Ominously, he added, "But we can't discount that possibility -altogether. There's so much territory to cover even with an air search -that a small plane might be missed. In Canada they insist that private -planes follow well-traveled routes like the Alaska Highway instead of -flying the beam, for that very reason. If you have to make a forced -landing, there's a better chance you'll be found promptly." - -"Listen," Sandy implored the pilot, "let's land here and look around. -Maybe we'll find a clue or something to show where they went." - -Parker shrugged. "Sure, if it'll make you feel any better. But if they -were here, they definitely took off again." - -Parker landed the Norseman smoothly, cutting across the ski tracks of -the other plane. He taxied to the far end of the clearing, turning her -about in position for a take-off, then cut the engines. The plane -settled heavily in the snow. - -"Looks pretty deep out there," Parker estimated. "We better dig out -snowshoes from the baggage compartment." - -They had landed about a quarter of a mile away from the main building of -the mine, and because of the boys' inexperience on snowshoes it was a -slow walk. - -"I feel just like a duck," Jerry grumbled as he brought up the rear, -flopping along in the clumsy, webbed footgear. "Overgrown tennis -rackets, that's all they are." - -"You're not supposed to try and walk the way you do in shoes," Sandy -instructed him. "You just shuffle along." - -At last they stood beneath the big ramshackle structure. It _was_ -spooky, Sandy had to admit to himself, just as Jerry said. Once this -building had been the nerve center of a booming industry, buzzing with -activity and life. Now it stood on the hillside, gaunt, decaying and -silent. Before many more years it would become a rickety skeleton. - -He shuddered as Parker led them up on the moldy loading platform and -into the tomblike dampness of the shed. "We can go on up to the main -building through here. There are stairs right inside." They passed -through a doorway into a room illuminated only by the slivers of -daylight that penetrated the cracked boards. - -Suddenly, Russ Parker did an about-face and began talking. "Well, here -we are." Only he seemed to be talking to someone in back of them. - -Sandy whirled quickly and saw that the doorway was blocked by a huge man -wearing a stocking cap and a plaid mackinaw. His face was hidden in -shadow. But the big Lüger pistol in his right hand was very plain to -see. - - - - - CHAPTER FOURTEEN - The Plot Revealed - - -In his other hand the stranger carried a square electric lantern. He -turned the powerful beam on Sandy and Jerry. "Did you have any trouble -with them, Parker?" - -"Not a bit," Parker said. "The Steele boy suggested himself that we land -here. And of course there was no trouble at all persuading him to fly -out here with me." - -The boys looked from Parker to the other man in bewilderment. "Russ," -Sandy pleaded, "tell us what's going on. Who is this guy?" He turned on -the stranger belligerently. "Do you know where my father is?" - -"My name is Kruger," the man snapped. "And, yes, I do know where your -father is. Now, turn around and march up those stairs." He waved the -pistol at them threateningly. - -As the boys started up the stairs, the men fell behind and lowered their -voices. "How do you like that!" Jerry declared. "Russ Parker is in with -these characters." - -"I can hardly believe it," Sandy said miserably. "Anyhow, at least I -know Dad is okay--so far," he amended. - -"No conversation, please," Kruger ordered sharply. - -"Parker, you sneak," Sandy said bitterly, "you won't get away with this. -The authorities know my dad and his friends are missing. And when we -don't show back at the airfield there'll be even more search planes -combing this area." - -The pilot began to laugh. "No one knows your father and the others are -missing. No one at all. By now the hotel has received a telegram from -Skagway saying that Professor Crowell and his party returned there on -urgent business and that someone will pick up their luggage and pay -their hotel bill." - -Sandy was confused. "But--but what about the people at the airport? You -said there were search planes out looking for the missing plane." - -"There is no missing plane. Yesterday morning four men rented a plane. -Last evening the plane returned--with four men. There was another crew -on duty at the airport. They couldn't suspect that the passengers were -four _different_ men." - -Kruger seemed to enjoy the boys' discomfort. "By the time the American -authorities discover that any of you are missing you will be well out of -reach in Siberia." - -"Across that narrow stretch of water we were talking about," Parker -taunted them. "The Bering Strait." - -The man with the gun took them through a series of tunnels that slanted -up steeply through the mountainside. The ascent was severe, and every -ten minutes or so they would stop to rest. When they emerged into the -open again, Sandy saw that they were at the site of the main diggings. -The terrain was pockmarked with shafts and tunnels. Rusty train tracks -disappeared into the gloomy mine tunnels, and abandoned dump cars tilted -up through the snow drifts about the entrances. Far below, the main -building of the Kennecott mine squatted at the foot of the mountain; -from this perspective it reminded Sandy of a miniature cardboard house -sitting on a floor of cotton beneath a Christmas tree. They followed a -path around a bend to the mouth of a huge tunnel. To one side of it a -flaking, rusted cable car rocked gently from a metal cable that was -equally rusted. It scraped and screeched monotonously at the slightest -gust of wind. - -"In here," Kruger ordered. "This was one of the main shafts of the -mine." - -They walked along the rail ties back about one hundred yards, where a -rectangle of yellow light splashed into the corridor from a doorway in -one wall of the tunnel. Kruger motioned them through the doorway into a -big chamber that evidently had served as a locker room for the miners. -Rotting wooden benches and tin lockers cluttered up the room, many of -them overturned, all of them sagging. A large gasoline lantern burned on -a long wooden table in the middle of the room. On either side of the -table sat a strange man with a rifle across his knees. Across the table, -seated all in a row on a bench, their hands and feet tied, were Dr. -Steele, Professor Crowell, Lou Mayer and Tagish Charley. - -"Dad!" Sandy burst out. "Am I glad to see you! Are you okay?" - -Dr. Steele managed a strained smile. "I'm all right, Son. We all are. -But I can't say I'm glad to see you boys." He turned to one of the men -with the rifles. "Did you have to drag them into it, Strak? They're only -boys. They don't even know what this is all about." - -The man he addressed, a short, intense fellow who moved with the quick, -nervous motions of a squirrel, stood up and walked toward the new -arrivals. He stopped in front of Sandy and stroked his prominent -clean-shaven chin. - -"So this is your son, Dr. Steele? A fine-looking lad." He spoke careful, -formal English. "I, too, regret that he and the other youth had to -become involved. But we couldn't take any chances. They would have -notified the police that you were missing and...." - -"Don't be a fool!" Professor Crowell snapped. "The police will discover -our absence soon enough." - -Strak smiled patiently. "I disagree. Secrecy has been the keynote of -your project. Only a few people in both your governments--high -officials--know your real purpose in coming to Alaska. By the time they -discover you are missing, we will all be safely out of the country." - -"Of course, Dr. Steele, you could spare your son and his friend a lot of -unnecessary hardship by co-operating with us," Kruger said. "Just the -answer to one simple question...." - -"You're wasting your time," Dr. Steele said flatly. - -"Have it your own way." Strak sighed wearily. "You will tell us, you -know. That is certain. Today, tomorrow, next week or six months from -now. We can wait." - -Kruger pushed the boys toward the bench where the other hostages were -seated. "Parker, help me tie these two up." - -When the boys were securely bound, Strak motioned Parker to follow him. -"Come, Parker. Let us go outside. We have a few things to discuss in -private." - -"You want Malik and me to stay here and guard the prisoners?" Kruger -asked. - -Strak hesitated a moment, then shook his head. "No, come along. You -should all hear this." He glanced at the prisoners. "I don't think -they'll get loose." He smiled. "And even if they did, where would they -go? We'll be up at the entrance--the only entrance." - -The four men left the room and their footsteps echoed off down the -tunnel. In the dim light of the lantern Dr. Steele's face was drawn and -pale. - -"I'll never forgive myself, getting you boys mixed up in this," he said. -"Once I knew they were on to us, that we hadn't deceived them into -thinking this was an innocent geological expedition, I should have sent -you back to California on the first plane." - -"Don't blame yourself, Dad," Sandy said quietly. "I wouldn't have left -you, knowing that you were in some kind of serious trouble." - -"That goes for me too, sir," Jerry backed him up. - -"What I don't understand," Sandy said, "is how they caught you." - -"We walked right into their hands," Professor Crowell explained. "Parker -knew we were coming up to the Kennecott mine and tipped them off. They -flew up ahead of us, hid their plane in the trees and covered up the ski -tracks. When we arrived they were waiting for us." - -"A whole gang of them," Lou Mayer put in. "Seven of them, armed to the -teeth. Four of them took our plane back to Cordova so the people at the -airport wouldn't report us missing." - -"I know," Sandy said grimly. "They took care of the hotel too. By the -time the authorities get suspicious it will be too late. The one called -Kruger says we'll be in Russia by then." - -Dr. Steele and Professor Crowell looked at each other hopelessly. -"Unless we tell them what they want to know," Dr. Steele said. - -Sandy's eyes were puzzled. "Just what are they after? I guess you can -tell us now." - -Dr. Steele smiled wanly. "I guess we can." He paused before he went on. -"Although he's better known as a geologist, Professor Crowell is one of -Canada's leading physicists. During World War Two he was assigned to -rocket research work for the Canadian Army and continued to specialize -in this field after the war. - -"About six months ago an old Yukon prospector submitted an ore sample to -a government assay office at Whitehorse. He said he had been prospecting -on the Alaskan border and struck what he believed was a vein of gold. An -analysis of the sample revealed traces of copper, but no gold. But much -more important, it revealed strains of a rare element that the Canadian -government was testing as a catalytic agent in top-secret experiments -with a new solid rocket fuel. - -"For years now rocket experts have acknowledged that solid fuels are -more practical than liquid propellants--even more so for the big manned -rocket ships of the future. The trouble is, up until now the solid fuels -haven't been too dependable. Professor Crowell believes this new element -will solve the most serious drawbacks, but unhappily it's about as rare -as uranium. During the past few months there have been teams out -searching for it all over the Dominion, without much success. - -"Then, unexpectedly, this old prospector shows up with an ore sample -laced liberally with it. The assay office at Whitehorse dispatched it to -Ottawa immediately and Professor Crowell was consulted. It was his -opinion that they were on to something big. A special agent flew up to -Whitehorse to interview the prospector, but tragically--any way you look -at it--the poor old man had passed away from pneumonia only a few days -before the agent arrived. - -"Now the big problem was to find out where the dead man had picked up -the ore. All kinds of soil and rock analyses were made on it without any -specific results. It was the professor's guess that it came from -somewhere in the vicinity of the Kennecott copper mine. There was copper -in the sample, of course, and the old miner had mentioned vaguely at the -assay office that he had discovered it somewhere 'on the border.' A -layman couldn't be expected to know exactly where the border lies; -actually, he may have wandered well into Alaska. - -"In any case, the Canadian government conferred with Washington, and it -was decided to send a joint team up to Alaska composed of Professor -Crowell, Lou Mayer and myself." He glanced toward the doorway and added -sourly, "We didn't count on it ending up a three-nation team." - -"How did they find out?" Sandy wanted to know. - -Dr. Steele shrugged. "They have the most efficient espionage system in -the world. That we have to give them credit for." - -Sandy pursed his lips solemnly. "But they still don't know what the -element is?" - -"Or how it's employed in the manufacture of the rocket fuel," Professor -Crowell declared emphatically. "I'm the only one who can tell them that. -And I'll die first." - -"Watch it," Jerry cautioned. "I think I hear them coming back." - -The sound of approaching footsteps reverberated hollowly through the -mine. Strak appeared in the doorway alone. "Kruger and Malik have gone -down the mountain to help Parker clear a runway," he told them. "We'll -be taking off with a heavy load." - -Sandy made a quick mental count. "That plane will never get off the -ground with ten of us." - -Strak smiled. "I agree. But there are only seven of us who will be -making the trip." - -"What do you mean?" Dr. Steele demanded. - -"Just that you and your son and Professor Crowell are the only ones who -have any real value to us. The rest will remain here." - -Dr. Steele was shocked. "You can't intend to leave them tied up in this -mine? They'll starve to death or die of exposure." - -Strak shrugged. "That's a risk we will have to take. Perhaps in time -they may be able to get loose. Perhaps they will make it back to -civilization. Who can tell? The Indian seems to be a resourceful -woodsman." He walked over and stood in front of Tagish Charley. "Tell -me, Doctor, he _is_ alive, isn't he?" - -Tagish Charley's face betrayed no trace of emotion. He had not spoken a -word since the boys' arrival. All the while he had sat stiffly on the -bench, hands behind him, eyes staring fixedly at the rock wall in front -of him--as detached as any cigar-store Indian could be, or so it seemed -to Sandy. - -In sudden irritation Strak bent close to Charley, flashing his electric -torch into his face. "You insolent Indian dog! You can speak, can't -you?" - -Then, for the first time, Charley showed some sign of life. Slowly he -lifted his eyes to Strak's face and said solemnly, "Charley too busy to -talk--until _now_!" As he shouted the last word, his two powerful arms -whipped free from behind him and wrapped around his tormentor. - -Strak tried desperately to bring up his rifle, but he was helpless in -Charley's grizzly-bear hug. The air whistled out of his lungs like a -wheezing bellows, and there was the distinct snap of a rib cracking. He -moaned softly and fainted. Charley let him drop to the floor. - -"Atta boy, Charley!" Jerry said exultantly. - -They all winced as the Indian held up his hands in the light. His wrists -were raw and bleeding from rubbing at the rope. "Big spike in bench -where I sit. Slow work, but at end I saw rope through." He bent over -Strak and removed a hunting knife from the man's belt. Quickly he cut -through the ropes that bound his own ankles. Then he went along the -bench freeing the others. - -"Come on!" Dr. Steele said, grabbing up Strak's rifle from the ground. -"No time to lose. The others will be coming back soon." He led the way -out of the room and down the tunnel to the entrance. - -At the foot of the mountain beyond the abandoned mine building, they -could see the plane sitting like a toy in the snow. The three enemy -agents were bustling around it, mere specks at this distance. - -"They're still working on the runway," Sandy observed. - -"What do we do when they come back?" Jerry asked. - -Lou Mayer indicated the rifle the doctor was holding. "We have one gun. -We can make a fight of it at least." - -Dr. Steele was not enthusiastic. "All three of them are armed. I'm -afraid it wouldn't be much of a fight." His voice was grim. "Some of us -would be hurt--or killed." - -"Why couldn't we rush down the hill when we see them start up?" -Professor Crowell suggested. "They'd be inside, coming up through the -shafts. By the time they got up here, we'd have quite a head start on -them. If we get to that plane--" - -Dr. Steele shook his head. "We'd never stand a chance without snowshoes, -and they're all down at the mine shed. They'd have a field day picking -us off with their rifles while we flounder through those hip-deep drifts -on the mountain." - -"Then we've got no choice," Lou Mayer said gloomily. "We've got to make -a stand here." - -"Wait a minute!" Sandy cried out, the bud of a wild inspiration forming -in his mind. "Is there any chance _that_ thing still works?" The others -followed his gaze upward to the old cable car creaking and rocking to -the right of the entrance. - -The professor sighed. "I'm afraid not. These cable cars were operated by -power machinery down at the depot." - -"I know," Sandy said. "But we'd be coasting downhill." - -There was a gleam of interest in Dr. Steele's eyes. "That sounds -logical. What do you say we have a look at it, Son? But keep down. We -don't want Kruger and the others to spot us against the snow." - -They slunk out of the shadow of the mine entrance, darting quickly -behind the cover of the cable car. Dr. Steele climbed into the open cab -and squinted up at the rigging. "Looks to me as if the only thing that's -restraining it is that safety lock," he said. - -Sandy disagreed. "What about the pulley cable? That must be anchored in -the shed below. She won't roll unless that's free." - -Dr. Steele studied the arrangement of rollers and cables more closely. -"You're right," he admitted. He pointed to the steel hook-eye at the -back of the car where the pulley cable was attached. "The wire is pretty -frayed back here. Possibly we could hack through it. I saw an old ax -back in the cave." - -"It's sure worth a try," Sandy said. "How do you think that overhead -cable will hold up when we start rolling downhill?" - -"I'd say it's in pretty good condition. They put a good coating of -grease on all the machinery before they shut the mine down. They must -have hoped to use it again, or possibly to sell it." - -Professor Crowell's voice rang out urgently from the tunnel entrance. -"Hurry up! Kruger and the others are starting back." - -Dr. Steele pulled Sandy down out of sight in the car. "We'll stay here -until they enter the shed." He called over to Tagish Charley, "Charley, -duck back into the mine and get a couple of those picks that are lying -around." - -Peering over the rim of the cable car, Sandy watched the three men make -their way on snowshoes back to the mine. As soon as they had disappeared -into the shed, Dr. Steele shouted for the others. "Come on, we've got to -work fast. Charley, over here with those picks, quickly!" - -Lou Mayer, Professor Crowell and Jerry scrambled aboard the car while -Dr. Steele gave instructions to Tagish Charley. "You work on the -hook-eye and pulley, Charley. I'll knock out the safety lock. The rest -of you just pray." - -One solid blow tripped the safety lock, and the car moved forward about -a foot until the taut cable stopped it. The cable itself was more of a -problem. Sandy had the uncomfortable sensation that his leaping heart -was trying to squirm out of his throat and escape from his body. - -The tension was unbearable as Charley pounded away at the pulley with -strong rhythmic strokes of the ax. At first it seemed impervious to the -dull blade. Then, with relief, Sandy saw one strand snap with a musical -twang. Charley swung harder, encouraged by this success, and another -strand broke. Each strand that let go put additional stress on the -remaining strands, making Charley's task a little easier. The last two -snapped together with a loud report. - -The car shuddered and began to roll forward slowly. There was the -nerve-shattering screech of metal against metal as the overhead rollers -and the main cable protested violently at being used so rudely after -twenty-one years of inactivity. Snow, rust and metal shavings cascaded -down on the car's occupants as it picked up momentum. - -The boys let go with a tremendous cheer and Professor Crowell and Dr. -Steele shook hands solemnly. Sandy glanced behind them at the rapidly -diminishing tunnel entrance, but as yet there was no sign of Kruger and -the other two enemy agents. - -Fortunately the pitting of the cable and the rust and stiffness of the -rollers reduced their acceleration sufficiently so that they crashed -into the bumpers at the foot of the incline with only a moderate jolt. -The cable car split the rotting wood on the bumper's face, but the -springs behind it cushioned the jolt. - -Sandy extricated himself from the mass of scrambled limbs gingerly. -"Everybody okay? No broken bones?" - -There was a chorus of relieved okays. - -Dr. Steele climbed out into the snow. "All right. Into the shed and on -with those snowshoes." Apprehensively, he looked up the mountain, but -the enemy agents still had not appeared. - -As Sandy strapped on the great clumsy snowshoes, he made a suggestion. -"Let's take the other four pairs with us. That will slow them up even -more if they try to follow us." - -"Good idea," Tagish Charley grunted. "But I got better one." He picked -up the ax he had carried with him from the cable car and began to attack -the surplus snowshoes furiously. When he had demolished them, he -straightened up and, to everyone's amazement, grinned broadly. "They no -go very far now." - -They were halfway to the plane when a distant gunshot came to them -faintly through the thin, dry air. Turning, Sandy could make out three -ant-like specks on the mountainside near the tunnel where they had been -held prisoner. - -"They've discovered we're gone," he said. - -"And they're shooting at us," Jerry commented nervously. - -"We're not in much danger at this range," Professor Crowell assured -them. "Without telescopic sights, it would take a mighty lucky shot to -hit anyone." - -Nevertheless, they were all greatly relieved when they were seated -snugly in the cabin of the plane and Professor Crowell had the motors -gunning smoothly. "Those fellows did a mighty fine job on this runway," -the professor said charitably. He advanced the throttle and the ship -glided ahead smoothly. They cleared the trees at the far end of the -clearing with plenty of room to spare and climbed in a sweeping curve -that took them over the mountain. Far below on the snowy slope they -could see the frustrated agents hopping about and shaking their fists in -the air. - - - - - CHAPTER FIFTEEN - Final Victory - - -"They've caught the entire gang!" Dr. Steele reported excitedly as he -burst into the boys' hotel room at Cordova a little after eight the next -morning. - -Sandy sat up and massaged the sleep from his eyes. "No kidding, Dad. -When?" - -"Army Intelligence moved in on Strak, Parker and the other two at dawn. -They gave up without a fight. Seems they put in a pretty rough night. -Strak was in bad shape, thanks to Charley, but he'll live to stand trial -for espionage." - -"What about the rest of the gang?" - -"The local police arrested them as they were trying to board a freighter -at Valdez. It's a clean sweep." - -"Wow!" Jerry was awake now, his eyes as big and shiny as tin plates. -"That's what I call action." Grinning, he added, "We sure could have -used a little bit of that kind of action yesterday. Where were all the -cops and G-men then?" - -"In an operation like this one," Dr. Steele explained, "they had to stay -way out on the fringes until the last moment. That was a risk we knew -we'd have to take from the start if we hoped to spring a trap on this -gang of ruthless saboteurs. If we had an army of bodyguards dogging our -footsteps, they never would have been lured in." - -"Lured in?" Sandy was perplexed. "You mean we were sort of decoys for -the spies?" - -"In a way," Dr. Steele admitted. "I couldn't tell you that, even -yesterday. But now it's officially okay to let you in on it." - -"But what about the rocket fuel Professor Crowell was working on? I -thought we came up to look for some rare element." - -"That of course was our primary reason for coming to Alaska. And of -course we'll continue to search for Element X. But when the enemy agents -began to hound us so persistently, we saw an opportunity to make a -double killing." - -Jerry stretched. "Only we came awful close to being the ones who were -killed." - -"We had a narrow scrape," Dr. Steele agreed. "It was ingenious of them -to take back the plane to Cordova after they ambushed us at the mine. -Our people were holding back, of course, and it really threw them off -the trail. As far as they knew, we had checked back into the city and -then disappeared into thin air. With a bit more luck the gang might have -smuggled us out of the country." - -Jerry laughed. "Hey, Sandy, can you see us going to school in Siberia?" - -"Frankly, no," Sandy told him. "You have enough trouble with English." - -Dr. Steele broke in with "That reminds me. We have to think of getting -you boys back to Valley View. You don't want to miss too much more -school." - -"Speak for yourself, Doctor," Jerry crowed. "How can you expect us to go -back and associate with little school kids after battling Yukon -blizzards, Kodiak bears and spies? It's positively undignified." - -Dr. Steele smiled tolerantly. "Don't feel that way, Jerry. Remember, -adventure and excitement may be just around the corner, whether you're -in Alaska or California." - -"Yeah, that's right," Jerry said thoughtfully. Then he added, with a -gleam in his eye, "Besides, it'll be great to come up with our story -when Pepper March starts spouting about that cruise he was supposed to -take. Boy, will _his_ eyes pop! And you know what? We might even be able -to stump Quiz Taylor. Wouldn't that be something? Okay, Valley View, -here we come! How about it, Sandy?" - -Sandy stretched blissfully. "I'm ready. In fact, I'm way ahead of you. -How about next summer?" - - - SANDY STEELE ADVENTURES - - 1. BLACK TREASURE - -Sandy Steele and Quiz spend an action-filled summer in the oil fields of -the Southwest. In their search for oil and uranium, they unmask a -dangerous masquerader. - - 2. DANGER AT MORMON CROSSING - -On a hunting trip in the Lost River section of Idaho, Sandy and Mike -ride the rapids, bag a mountain lion, and stumble onto the answer to a -hundred-year-old mystery. - - 3. STORMY VOYAGE - -Sandy and Jerry James ship as deck hands on one of the "long boats" of -the Great Lakes. They are plunged into a series of adventures and find -themselves involved in a treacherous plot. - - 4. FIRE AT RED LAKE - -Sandy and his friends pitch in to fight a forest fire in Minnesota. Only -they and Sandy's uncle know that there is an unexploded A-bomb in the -area to add to the danger. - - 5. SECRET MISSION TO ALASKA - -A pleasant Christmas trip turns into a startling adventure. Sandy and -Jerry participate in a perilous dog-sled race, encounter a wounded bear, -and are taken as hostages by a ruthless enemy. - - 6. TROUBLED WATERS - -When Sandy and Jerry mistakenly sail off in a stranger's sloop instead -of their own, they land in a sea of trouble. Their attempts to -outmaneuver a desperate crew are intertwined with fascinating sailing -lore. - - PUBLISHED BY SIMON AND SCHUSTER - - - - - Transcriber's Notes - - ---Copyright notice provided as in the original--this e-text is public - domain in the country of publication. - ---Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and - dialect unchanged. - ---In the text versions, delimited italics text in _underscores_ (the - HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.) - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Secret Mission to Alaska, by Roger Barlow - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SECRET MISSION TO ALASKA *** - -***** This file should be named 50320-8.txt or 50320-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/3/2/50320/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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