Belt Valley times. [volume], April 29, 1926, Page Page Three, Image 3

About Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
—
The Valley of Voices
By GEORGE MARSH
Author of •• Toilers of the Trail.'
The Whelps of the Wolf'
(Cosy rieht by (h* Pub Publlthln» Os.)
fW. N. n. hnlM.)
CHAPTER XVI—Continued
At length, by a supreme effort, the
ander man reached the knife beneath
his back with the hand of a pinioned
arm. With a heave the band was free
and the blade turned into the body
above him. But in s flash the right
band of the Iroquois shifted from the
throat to the menacing wrist. There
was a wrench—a groan as the bone
snapped, and the knife slipped to the
snow.
Again, like the fangs of a wolf, the
long fingers of Michel clamped on the
throat of the man in whose bulging
eyes shone the fear of the death
which neared.
"Dis ees for her !" snarled the head
man, as he struck with his free hand
the purpled face. "Dees ees for me!"
and be struck again.
Slowly the bloodshot eyea of the
assassin, who had so confidently shot
from the ambush, filmed; for the last
time his mouth gaped wide for the
air denied him by the vise on his
throat—with a quiver he relaxed on
the snow.
Picking up his rifle and slipping his
hands into the rabbit-skin mittens
which hung from bis neck ky thongs.
Michel bent and closely scrutinized
the knotted feature of his enemy.
Satisfied with his work, he rasped f
"Bo'-Jo'! Tete-Boule! You are poor
shot I You mak' no more trouble een
dis valley!" and started for camp.
He found his friends at breakfast.
Silently he accepted the dipper of
steaming tee. and the heaped plate of
fried moose and beans, and began to
eat
"Well. What luck. Michel? Are they
still leaving?" asked Steele, when bis
eyes suddenly focused on the shoul
der of Michel's capote. "Where'd you
get that tear?"
The face of the Iroquois was wood
en. ' "I meet old frien' een de bush,
▲h-bah i"
Curious, Steele rose and examined
his friend's shoulder, "Why, there's
caked blood here! You have been shot
• at I" he cried. "Take off that coat 1"
"Wen I feenlsh de moose and bean,"
laughed Ihe stoic. "Hees gun shake
w'en he fire !"
To hla relief Steele found that the
bullet had grazed the shoulder blade
of his friend, barely breaking the
skin. When the scratch was dressed,
Michel gave him the story of the am
bush.
With the sting of the bullet veraaTiû
Ms shoulder, the cool-headed Indian
had sensed that be was not badly
hurt, and made the only move that
would check a swift second shot from
a concealed foe—dropped as If killed
or mortally hnrt Sprawled on his
fare, a knee drawn np to give pur
chase for a lunge, he had waited for
the man In ambush to approach within
reach. Had there been two. It would
hare been a knife fight, with the odds
heavily against the man compelled to
start from the soft snow.
"Good old Michel !" applauded Steele,
as the Iroquois finished. "They can't
beat you I He was scared when ho
fired. Hgd you ever seen this Indian
before?"
Michel's black eyes snapped tan
tallxtngly, aa be played on bis chiefs
curiosity.
'Wal, be look lak' man I see one
tain."
"Traded once at Walling Elver, yon
"Ab-bah! he come to de post"
"When?"
"He was dere dis summer. He got
leg lak' bow ov snowshoe. Hees eye
look lak' de mink. He—"
"You mean—good Lord! It wasn't
Tete Boule?" cried the surprised Amer
ican.
"Ah hah I" admitted the head-man,
blowing a cloud of smoke from bis
mouth. "Eet was Tete-Boule. I fink
Charlotte be happy squaw, now."
"'He found your trail leading to the
lake and took a chance yon would
backtrack—which you did." Delight
edly Steele shook the hand of the In
dian until the sore shoulder pro
tested.
"Tomorrow night we go to de pos'."
"Yes " agreed Steele, bis eyes re
jecting the Joy of victory, bard won.
"Send one of the boys for David at
once."
CHAPTER XVII
Behind the slab counter In the trade
room at Ogoke a man sat at a table.
On the table stood a glass and two
bottles—one empty. For boors the
man had not mured, except to fill and
drain the glass. Although It was
barely three o'clock, candle lanterns
dimly Ut the room, for the son bad
died In cloud banka and the light bad
failed early. In the air outside there
was snow and the night would
thick.
The yelping of dogs sroused the man
from his bitter thoughts. The door
of the room opened and a bulky figure
entered. The muscles of his hooded
face, disfigured by a long near,
twitched nervously. In bis eyea was
ten
Not a mark on him—his tonifie ont
and his t -yes bulging like a pike's you
squeeze in your band! Ambushed!"
"So they got him, too?" nodded La
flamme. chin on chest.
"It's no good, I tell yon," whined
Antoine, bis voice vibrant with panic.
"That makes nine—nine who have
gone out. It'll be our turn next To
night I leave for the Rouge."
The hard eyes of the trader, lined
by worry and red from drink, lit with
contempt "You've gone like the rest.
Why didn't you run away with Rose?
Want to desert sixty thousand dollars'
worth of fig. do you 7"
The heavy features of the other
filled with blood at the taunt He
leaned and struck the table with bis
fist, overturning the bottles.
"Soft, am I?" he snarled, "because
Î leave this hell before they close In
and take us—bang us from the rafters
here or cut our throats, you call me
soft ! I tell yon we're done ! They
caught Pierre and the whole valley's
after us. They're out there now, wait
ing." He pointed a shaking finger to
ward the forest "It may be tonight—
they come."
Ruined by the mystery—the menace
of the Inscrutable forest frojn which
no man returned, which for weeks had
ringed the post, sapping the nerve of
his people until they fled in the night,
Laflamroe sat numb with despair.
Slowly the whisky from the overturned
bottle dripped to the floor. Then he
said: "That tale Tete-Boule brought
from down-river was true. The men
we sent to the Jackfisb to stop him
lied."
Antoine nodded.
"Steele got through and came bacY
on the snow," continued the trader.
"The police are not In this. They'd
come straight here"
"This Steele caught Pierre himself,"
added the other. "When the Indians
learned how we had fooled them, they
took the trail. The whole valley was
ours—until he got the Wlndlgo." Sud
denly the speaker faced the door, lis
tening. "What's that?"
As the two watched the door ap
prehensively," It opened to admit a
half.breed with drink-sodden face.
"What you eat tonight, m'aleu?"
The dull eyes of the cook shifted un
easily from Antoine to his chief.
"You here still, Philippe?" sneered
Laflamme. "I thought you and Jean
would hit the Rouge river trail when
it got dark. All the rats have left."
"They'll hang on while the whisky
lasts," muttered Antoine.
"You find Tete-Boule?" The face
of the cook, mottled-gray In the half
light, turned to the man who had gone
out that morning on the trail over
which none bad returned.
"He found him—with his tongue
out"
Laflamme laughed bitterly.
"You'd make a pretty picture, Phil
ippe, hanging from that book, with
your throat cut You'd bleed straight
Scotch ; you've lived on It for months."
— The stark terror In the eyes of the
half-breed seemed to appease his chief,
who went on: "Well have bacon and
potatoes—if they give us time to eat
them. Bring that Jug."
The Jug was placed on the table be
tween the two men, and the- cook, mut
tering incoherently, shuffled to the
door.
"Two left, out of the lot; and they
stay for the whisky!" commented La
flamme, filling a glass and shoving the
Jug across the table. "My friend. I'll
give yon a toast,* be added, as the
nerve-shattered Antoine gulped down
bia drink. "May that d—d American
rot In h — ir
Laflamme's glass was at his lips
when a chorus of howls rose from the
clearing.
The startled eyes of the men met
across the table. "What's that?" de
manded the trader, slowly lowering bis
glass, untouched.
"The dogs—hear somethfng—out
there !" The hoarse voice of the other
quavered as be went to the door.
From the murk, the "whimpering of
the awed huskies reached the strain
ing ears of the two at the door, who
stood, nerves strung with suspense—
one thought In their brains.
Then from the Invisible forest be
yond rose a wall—demon-like, blood
freezing. the voice of no clawed crea
ture of the night—to die away. Into
silence.
"They have come!" warned Antoine,
seizing the arm of hla chief.
"Qnick I Harness the dogs while I
get the fur and the grab!" was the
low answer.
The nerve of Laflamme bad snapped.
Racing desperately against the clos
ing in of a ring of ruthless foes. An
>n >no caught and harnessed the dogs.
At the trade-house door, grub-bag,
robes, and the precious pack of black
fox were thrown on the sled. The
whip cracked at the bead of the lead
deg. "Marche, Pete !" rasped the
Frenchman, and the team plunged into
their collars at a gallop. Then the
voies st .ft dot-driver out on the lake
trail drifted back through the thick
Right.
"There go the last of the rats !" mut
tered Laflamme. "Now the ship can
sink." And they lashed the swift,
six-dog team out to the lake ice, and
Ihm t.b«
Bouge river trail.
CHAPTER XVIII
From the blackness of the clearing
at Ogoke rose a low whistle, which
was answered from the gloom behind
the trader's quarters, where the kitch
en windows shone, yellow patches In
the thick dark night
The whistle was repeated and. simul
taneously, swart faces appeared at tbs
windows of both buildings. Eyes, flit
tering with hate and the pent excite
ment of the stalk, searched the rooms
for signs of life. But they looked on
emptiness—on a table splashed with
spilled liquor, a Jug. an untouched
glass of whisky; on a stove from
which smoked a frying pan with Its
burning bacon.
"I knew you would stampede them.
Michel," said Steele, looking quizzical
ly at the happy Iroquois. "They got
out Just ahead of us. You did that
for David, you rascal I"
The hour of the man from Nepigon
had struck. Like a hound at leash he
yearned for the Rouge river trail—
and the man who traveled It.
Steele gripped the hard hand of his
friend in silence. There was nothing
to say—no turning the OJIbway from
his heart's desire. With a word to
Michel, David left them to get bis
dogs. ,
"What shall we do with last year's
hunt, if we find he hasn't shipped ItT"
queried Steele.
"Give eet to de Indian. Dey trade
eet at Walling Riviere.^
"Yes, he got most of It with his
whisky—by fraud. It ought to go back
to them."
To the surprise of the men as they
readied the fur-storing loft, thecandlaa
lighted row on row of otter and mink,
fisher
hanging from the rafters.
"Here's his whole last year's trade!"
cried Steele. "He's never shipped it I"
The yellow light 'of his candle lit
eyes snapping with delight, as Michel
looked at his chief. "Much fur here
for M'sleu St. Ongel He bo happy
man, now. De pos* not close."
"Yea, they will trade it at Walling
River, unless—'' The Indian waited,
wondering at the qualification—"unless
Lascelles refuses to sign s certain pa
per."
"Ah-hah I He not get her—now !"
The grave eyes of the Iroquois ques
tioned Steele's.
"Not If ! can help it 1"
Satisfied, the Indian turned to ex
amine the fur. Steele began counting
the rows of rich pelts, In an endeavor
to make a rough estimate of their
value. He bad reached the far end
of the loft when the dim light of the
candle fell on some bulky shapes on
the floor in a corner. Curious, he bent
over the lashed bundles. On the can
vas covering of the nearest there was
lettering. He lowered bis candle to
read it
"R—F," he said aloud ; then, with a
gasp, "Walling River I"
"Michel I" he called, "Revtllon Fré
tés, Walling River I Well, I'll be—
The fur-packs from the lost canoe!
Murdered—ambushed, they were, for
the fart"
Michel knelt beside Steele. "By gar!
our fur I" he said, peering at the wrap
pings. his voice hoarse with excite
ment. "Dey keel our men at de Devil's
mile I" The muscles of his lean face
knotted. "But Laflamme ees dead roan
now. Tonight Daveed take his trail."
They rolled out the fur-packs with
the eighteen thousand dollars In pelts,
which bad left the post in the spring
only to vanish on the lower Walling.
"M'slen St Onge be happy man dis
night eef he know die."
"He'll know it as soon as one of the
boys can reach him," replied Steele
Jubilantly. "We'll send him this pres
ent in the morning." After the gray
days the sun was Indeed breaking ;
through. She seemed nearer—more
possible of attainment, there in the
dark fur-loft at Ogoke, than she had
been for weeks, to the man who tolled
for her.
In the morning Steele gathered his
red henchmen together in the trade
room and talked to them, through
Michel.
y
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
I
To know the proper definition of
everyday «pbstances Is sometimes very
useful In argument The latest for
steel and cast iron are given us by a
Japanese chemist In the Imperial Uni
versity of Tohokn. Steel be defines
as "an Iron-carbon alloy with a con
tent of carbon lying between 0.035 and
L7 per cent." Cast iron fcr similarly
"an Iron-carbon alloy" but with a car
bon content of "between 1.7 and 6.7
per cent"
Cast Iron and Stmml
Sunlit Minds
Studies by physicians and scientists
in England reported at the congress
of the Royal Institute of Public
Health, held at Brighton. England, in
dicate that sunlight, "either nature] or
artificial, when properly administered,
have s definitely beneficial effect
on mental activity," It was found that
children handicapped In school work
by illness, when cured with the aid of
sunlight caught up with and eve*
a
OM/
distanced their classmates.
4
L
SUPPORT
HALL
TO
5fT
- ®
WATCX PPE
T
How to.Erect an Outdoor Aerial.
The outdoor aerial Is conceded to he
the most efficient In that it transmits
to the set a stronger signal than either
an indoor aerial or a loop under equal
conditions.
The ideal outdoor aerial for receiv
ing Is a single wire from 50 to 160
feet long, including lead-in. installed
10 to 20 feet higher than surrounding
buildings. The aerial should be erect
ed so that one end comes near a win
dow, to provide a short, direct lead-lu.
The aerial should not be near trees,
telephone wires or high-tension wires.
When necessary to pass a telephone
wire the aerial wire should cross as
near at right angles as possible. The
aerial wire should never cross either
above or beneath a power line. When
near a power line erect the aerial at
right angles to avoid Inductance
noises.
Supporting wires for the aerial
should extend several feet from the
supporta.
Large porcelain Insulators, prefer
ably of the corrugated type, should be
used. The lead-in should be as direct
as possible, but should be kept from
the building a, distance of several
Inches up to the point where It enters
the window.
The Important features of the out
door aerial as shown in the diagram
are:
=? A—Aerial wire.
B—Tension Insulator.
C—Tension Insulator.'""
* D—Supporting wire.
B—Supporting wire.
F —Screw eye.
O—Screw eye.
H—Continuation of A.
I—Lead-In bushing.
J—Lightning arrester. -
K—Ground wire.
L—Ground clamp.
At a distance greater than 50 miles
from the nearest powerful broadcast
ing station an aerial of 150 feet, in
cluding lead-in, will be found to give
FOREFATHERS
OF RADIO
By GEORGE LEWIS
0t Th* Crnlrr Radio Corpora Mas.
While wireless telegraphy soon be
came quite well established, communi
cation across the Atlantic ocean being
proved practical as early as 1001,
remained for an American to make the
developments which made radio tele
phony possible. Lee DeForest was that
American. He developed the "audlon"
■5
III
ill
/
Lee DeForest,
radio tube, now In almost universal
Q se as a detector and amplifier of
radio signals, and as a generator of
oscillations at the transmitting station,
Due to certain- technical difficulties,
it was Impossible to send voice by
radio from transmitting stations using
the old Marconi equipment The radio
tube as developed for power purposes.
Radio Tub«» That Are Used In tha
Modern Seta.
supplied s current, however, which
could be used as a carrier for voice
and music.
As developed for receiving pur
poses, the radio tube may be used as
a detector, replnrtnf the crystal of
Picard and the coherer of Marconi's
of making the
apparatus aa a
£)®K
SUPPORT
the greatest volume and satisfactory
selectivity. In congested areas an
aerial as short as SO or 75 feet, includ
ing lead-in, gives better selectivity and
ample volume from local stations.
Many radio fans have two aerials,
a long one for distance stations and a
short one for tuning out troublesome
near-by stations.
Obviates Necessity of
Excessive "B" Battery
Questions are frequently asked re
garding the use of tubes with a high
amplification constant These tubes
are primarily designed for use In re
sistance and Impedance amplifiers. We
quote a few linos from one of Keith
Henney's tube articles in the Radio
Broadcast magazine. He writes as fol
lows: "A low-mu tube will not 'load
up' a power amplifier unless coupled
to it by means of a transformer. For
example, tjte average amplifier to de
liver .00 watts power requires at 4east
0 volts variation on its grid. A tube
with a mu of 8 coupled by means of
resistance Impedance to the amplifier
cannot produce s variation of voltage
greater than 8 volts and probably not
over 6, so that the amplifier will not
deliver Us rated quota of power. On
the other hand, a tube with a mu of
20, or a tube with a ma of 5 coupled
by means' of s 2.T transformer, can
easily produce the desired change in
input voltage. High-mu tubes can be
used as detectors and hence are use
ful In vacuum tube voltmeters. Their
use In resistance and impedance am
plifiers make the latter practical with
out Increasing the 'B* battery voltage
beyond reason. It must be said here
that the mu of such tubes is not the
only important constant. The plate
Impedance must be conaldered and.
like all other tubes, the usefulness of
blgh-mu tubes Increases as their Im
pedance decreases.
"In this question It must be re
marked that tubes of 1026 differ from
those of 1025 In the fact that their
plate impedance Is less. This la due
to the use of better filament wire
which has a higher electron efficiency.
This low Impedance, while It makes
good amplifiers, causes trouble when
the tubes are used In sets that have
'been neutralized for high Im pedan ce
tubes. It is well known that less in
ductance Is required In the plate cir
cuit of low impedance tubes to make
them oscillate than is the eftse with
high impedance tubes. On the other
hand, once these newer tubes are neu
tralized, the voltage amplification and
power output are increased."
received current capable of operating
headphones. Additional tubes may he
used as amplifiers, their action being
that of relays, releasing current from
local batteries when acted upon by the
signal. Thus the typical radio set of
today employs a detector tube, together
with one or more additional tubes as
amplifiers.
It Is customary to distinguish be
tween tubes used to amplify the cur
rent before It passes through the de
tector and those used to amplify it
after it passes through the detector by
calling the former "radio-frequency
amplifiers'' and the latter "audio-fre
quency amplifiers."
How to Tell Whether
Receiver 1ft at Fault
Noise and distortion are inexcusable
faults, bat it is well to remember It
Isn't always the fault of the receiving
set. Background noise which can be
heard under the voice, as well as cer
tain classes of distortion, are some
times actually transmitted and there
is little you can do to get away from
it This can be checked up by listen
ing in to one or two other stations.
If the signals come through dean-cut
and free from noise, rest assured your
set Is O. K. and the broadcasting sta
tion at fault.
Door Make« Good Frame
for Your Loop Aerial
A door makes an excellent frame
for a loop aerial and it can also be
turned to obtain the directional effect
of a loop. This type of loop works
well, even on distant signala, when
ing an ordinary five-tube receiver.
About six turns, spaced one-half Inch,
will give broadcast wave range when
tuned with a .0005 condenser. A small
er capacity condenser will require
more turns. Insulated wire of No. 18
or 16 gauge works well.
Radio Popular in Russia
Radio Is becoming popular among
the Russian masses. About 1,000,000
home dwellers now' have amateur
wireless sets. The government charges
a license fee of 50 cents a year for a
crystal set and SI a year for a tube a
Amateurs are allowed to use
transmitting apparatus as well as re
ceiving seta. Importation of radio
equipment is prohibited, all apparatus
being of Russian manufacture. 1
Mt
It's easy
walla with
Alabaadne. Alabasdne is
to
a dry powder in white and
tints. Packed in 5-pound
packages, ready for use by
mixing with cold or warm
water. Full directions on
every package. Apply with
an ordinary wall brush.
Suitable (or all interior sur
faces—plaster, wall board,
brick, cement or canvas. It
won't rub off, properly
plied. Ask your dealer for
color chart and suggestions
or write Mias Ruby Brandon,
the Alabastine Company,
Grand Rapids, Mick.
*P"
save money
Arm Bom Lucky
North—DM you enjoy the banquet?
West—Very much. I wasn't hungry
anyway, and a telegram called ms
away Just as the speeches atarted.
CHAMPION NATIONAL
CHANGE WEEK
MAY 2 TO 9
Install
CHAMPIONS
Nowf
Handrads of thousands of
motorists will make certain of
better engine performance for
another year by in s t al lin g new
Champion Spark Plugs daring
National Change Week* May
2 to 9. They will bring back
fore»
and
engine power
stall tinkering
awl
pairs; and save their cost many
times over in less oil and
gas used. sr
«
7Se
Champion
Dependable for Every Engine
Toledo, Ohio
Charles' Ton
He—Shall we waits?
She—It's all the tame to me. *
"Yes, I've noticed that."
A spiritually minded man la easy to
offend.
ACa t-KDUST
ZOC CLOTH
bus* of MpMtallf mam UbrU "Onpou*"
turuBlf 10 Mot« u4
V.DMr.
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potTe»«!
to
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foa
„ vm\&
Iimm
Cutioura
Loveliness
A Clea r
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