By ARTHUR STRINGER wnu.SER.viCt
'
CHAPTER 1
"Lindy’s in!”
Cruger, at his desk, heard that
cry from a ground-worker passing
the open window. He smiled as he
looked up from his time sheet. There
was always a note of triumph in the
call of the port boys when Lindy
came in.
Cruger got up from his chair and
crossed to the doorway, where the
sunlight fell flat against the river
slopes and proclaimed that spring
had come again to the North Coun
try. He stood there until he caught
sight of his long-legged bush pilot
swinging up from the landing dock.
Cruger went back to his desk and
his figure-stippled time sheets as the
long legs strode into what was over
generously known as the Adminis
tration Building of Norland Airways.
It was a place of plain boards and
tar paper, with only the two poles
of its radio antennae to crown it
with any passing sense of dignity.
Slade, when he stepped into the
map-hung office, again made Cru
ger think of a panther, but this time
it was a panther in a cage. He
seemed too big for the room.
“I’m glad you swung back
early,” said Cruger. “And I
want to tell you, first crack out
of the box, that we’re going to
take the crepe off the door.”
“What does that mean?” ques
tioned Slade.
Cruger, instead of answering, took
up an official-looking envelope.
"Before we begin,” he casually
observed, “you’d better give this the
once-over.” He surrendered the en
velope. “You know what it is?”
“I’ve an idea," said Slade, after
inspecting the insignia.
“You’re a quick jumper, aren’t
you?” retorted Cruger, his eye on
the weathered young face that held
a touch of discontent somewhere.
Slade’s smile was wide yet non
committal.
“They yelp for flyers,” he said,
“and while they’re yelping they turn
me down.” He got up from the safe
and paced the narrow floor. “I must
be bad.”
Cruger’s shrug was a condoning
one.
“I’d say it's because you’re good.”
he parried. “Good enough to be
needed right here on this northern
run. And those tin hats happen to
know you hold a key position.”
Slade turned on him.
“Did anyone in this outfit broad
cast that, just to block my enlist
ment?” was his indignant demand.
Again Cruger shrugged.
“Who are we to interfere with the
War Office? It ought to be big
enough to make its own decisions.”
But Slade didn't seem to hear him.
“They hot-air about wanting men
who're hard-trained and resourceful.
Well, I ought to ring in on that. I’ve
kept more than one lemon-crate up
when every law of aeronautics said
it ought to be down.”
“You’re resourceful, all right,"
acceded Cruger, “but you’d be in
clink with a broken heart after two
weeks of army rules.”
“I'd learn,” said Slade, "along
with the other leathernecks.”
“But they’d all move too slow for
you,” contended Cruger.
“That fight doesn’t look slow to
me. And I ought to be over there
11while the show’s still on.”
Cruger smiled the smile of a man
with an extra shot in his locker.
“There was a time,” he obseryed,
“when bush flying seemed to stack
pretty high with you.”
“But if you can’t get a little ex
citement in your day’s work,” Slade
was saying, “you may as well give
up. And you said, two weeks ago,
we’d have to.”
“Before we go into that," retorted
Cruger, "we ought to check up on
the all-round dullness of this bush
run of ours. I s’pose there was no
excitement in that mercy flight of
yours to Murray Bay when you
picked up those two frozen huskies?
Or in finding your Flying Padre
when he was stymied on Lac de
Gras last winter with a busted pro
peller and a factor's wife in labor
and delirious with flu all at once?”
Slade had his own memories of
that event. But his smile remained
morose.
“She had her baby in the plane,
four feet behind me high-tailing it
for the Fort Smith hospital,” he
acknowledged. “The nose-over on
the lake ice gave Doc Morlock a
bad arm, so his girl Lynn had to
get busy.”
The softened note on the name
did not escape Cruger. But he let
Slade go on.
“She knew what was needed, all
right. When we were swinging over
Lesser Slave Lake I heard that baby
give its first squawk.”
“But you saved two lives, didn’t
you? I suppose there wasn’t any ex
citement in that?”
The shrill of the desk ’phone cut
off Slade’s impending response. And
while Cruger answered the 'phone
the man in the flyer’s jacket walked
to the window and looked out Be
yond the rough-boarded hangar and
the landing docks he could see the
friendly cluster of planes on the
Snye.
^r_
“I’m glad you swung back early,” said Cruger, “We’re going to take
the crepe oil the door.”
But what held his eye the longest
was the smaller blue monoplane
that looked ^aded and weathered
and sadly the worse for wear. That,
he knew, was the plane of the Fly
ing Padre, the mercy-flighter and
man of medicine who was some
times known as the Grenfell of the
Outer Gulf. And in it the Padre’s
daughter had gone along as pilot
and helper. But never again, Slade
remembered, would the clear-eyed
Lynn Morlock take over the con
trols while her tired father held
back the hand of Death two thou
sand feet above the lake-spangled
Barrens. That, he surmised, was
already a thing of the past.
Cruger, as he hung up his receiv
er, caught the passing look of rapt
ness in the Viking blue eye.
‘‘It’s just about as big a game,
Lindy, as a man could get into,” he
said out of the .silence. "It’s still
as good as dog-fighting Messer
schmitts. And we’re both going to
stay in it.”
Slade swung about and faced his
partner.
"That wasn’t the tune you were
singing two weeks ago.”
Cruger’s laugh was slightly de
fiant.
“They had us backed agqinst the
wall two weeks ago. I told you our
shoestring was wearing thin and we
couldn’t buck the big companies an
other month. But Norland Airways
is going to stay on the map.”
Slade’s face lost its diffidence.
“What’s changed the picture?”
Cruger’s answer to that was not a
direct one.
“We’ve both got all we own in this
one-horse putflt and we can’t afford
to see it fold up. While you were
out fighting head winds I’ve been in
here doing a little fighting of my
own. And I’ve just got my hands
on a reconditioned Lockheed that’ll
give us a second air truck and re
lease Abbott and his Postcraft for
Winnipeg and Toronto passenger
traffic. You’ll like that Lockheed.
They've slapped a fresh coat of alu
minum paint on her."
“What’ll she carry?” asked the
fiver.
“A pay load of thirty thousand
pounds a trip if she has to.”
“Where’H you get your pay
loads?” exacted Slade, remember
ing how war conditions had put a
sag in sub-arctic mine work.
“I’m coming to that, stick-jiggler.
The traffic’s still there, if you’re
willing to go after it. And I've gone
after it. I’ve under-bid the big out
fits and corraled enough business
to keep us busy till freeze-up. I’ve
got Fort Norman oil and a new slice
of the Yellowknife stuff for you.
I’ve got a renewal of the Copper
mine contract. And what’s more.
I’ve got a Santa Claus In spectacles
who’s handing over enough ready
dough to keep our cash tank from
running dry.”
The Viking blue eye became
more alert.
“Who’s your Santa Claus?”
“He's a passenger.” said Cruger,
“you’re going to fly into territory
that’ll make London look like a tea
room on a rainy afternoon.
Cruger sat back, apparently wait
ing for a question. But Slade, with
his world to reorganize, merely
walked to the window and looked
out.
“You’re flying,” Cruger was say
ing, “into the Anawotto country.”
Slade's turn, at that information,
was quick.
“What nut’s going into that wil
derness?” he demanded.
“They go into some queer places,
these days,” observed the older
man.
“But the Anawotto’s as empty as
Sahara. Why, the only human be
ings north of the Kasakana are two
frost-bitten old quartz-pounders, two
half-demented old derelicts who’ve
been bushed for three years and
would bump off if 1 didn’t tote ’em
in their flour and sowbelly.”
"You’re going well past the Kasa
kana this time,” Cruger announced.
“Into country you’ve never seen be>
fore.” %
“For what?” asked Slade.
Cruger took his time about an
swering.
“For swans’ eggs, I understand.”
Slade’s sun-bleached brows came
a little closer together.
"Just what does that mean?”
Again Cruger took his time.
“It means we’ve got a simple
minded naturalist out there, an or
nithologist answering to the name
of Frayne, who wants to be flown
north so he can And the breeding
ground of the trumpeter swan. I
never saw a trumpeter swan. Did
you?”
Slade stood thoughtful a moment.
“Yes, I saw a trumpeter, only
last spring. I played tag with him
over Lac la Martre. He must have
had a wing-stretch of nine or ten
feet.”
"I’d call that quite a stretch,”
said the man at the desk.
"You’re telling me?”
"They may be impressive,” said
Cruger, as he opened a desk draw
er, “but from what I can gather
they’re dying off. And this man
Frayne wants to sleuth out their
nesting quarters before they follow
the dodo and disappear for good.”
“And he’s going in to the Ana
wotto alone?”
Slade’s brow-pucker seemed one
of incredulity.
"No, he's taking an over-sized
blond named Karnell along with
him.”
“A blond?” croaked Slade. “You
don’t mean a skirt?”
“Anything but. This blond is all
male He’s square-headed and go
rilla-jawed and looks like something
that’s been worked on by a snarl
ing iron.”
Sladex found the picture unpalata
ble.
“But who’s your friend Frayne?”
he persisted with a shrug of dis
taste. “Where does he come from?
And why does he pick on us?”
“That’s neither your problem nor
mine. But he’s the Norland’s friend,
all right. He may be a simple
minded crank. But he’s so well
heeled that money doesn’t seem to
mean much. And at this stage of
the game we re going to handle a
Christmas present like that with
care.”
Slade nodded his understanding.
“But he must have a screw loose
somewhere,” maintained the young
er man. "or he wouldn’t be head
ing tor what he’s sure to get in that
Anawotto country.”
“You needn't lose sleep over
that," contended Cruger. “He may be
after birds’ eggs, but he seems to
have a working knowledge of sub
arctic conditions. I didn’t And him
much of a talker, but I stumbled
on the fact he’d been trophy-hunt
ing in the Himalayas last winter.
And the winter before he hunted
the snow leopard in Siberia and
Tibet.”
“Then I suppose he’s English,"
said Slade. “One of those English
big-game guys who go around with
a monocle and a tin bathtub.”
“He’s got equipment, ail right,”
conceded Cruger. “And he’s pay
ing us quite handsomely for flying
it in.”
(TO BE CONTINUED)
By VIRGINIA VALE
Released by Western Newspaper Union.
JINX FALKENBURG re
ceived an urgent request
from a group of soldiers at a
U. S. military outpost recently;
signing themselves as the boys
in “Hut # 33, Iceland,” they
beggedhertosendthema large
picture of herself in a bathing
suit, as soon as possible. “We
want to put it on the wall for two
important reasons," they wrote. “1—
It will give us something interest
ing to look at. 2—It will help to
keep the clptain’s eyes busy when
he comes around to inspect our
quarters.” She sent a picture five
feet high!
NIC_
“Once Upon a Honeymoon” unites
three of the screen’s top figures in
the studio where each has previous
ly scored triumphs—RKO Radio.
They’re Ginger Rogers and Cary
Grant, who’ve both made plenty of
hit pictures, and Leo McCarey,
producer-director of such delightful
films as “Love Affair” and “My
Favorite Wife.” “Once Upon a
Honeymoon” is the kind of thing
they all do best.
-*
Thousands of moviegoers, on read
ing of Elmer Davis’ appointment as
director of the Office of War Infor
mation, recalled seeing him on the
screen. To “Information Please”
fans he was one of the highlights
of the series issued by RKO Pathe.
-*
Bill Stem, NBC director of sports
and famous sportscaster, plays him
self in Samuel Goldwyn’s “The
Pride of the Yankees," which stars
Gary Cooper and is based on the
BILL STERN
life of the late Lou Gehrig. Theresa
Wright, Walter Brennan and Babe
Ruth head the supporting cast. Stern
flew from the Coast to participate
in the scene showing “Lou Gehrig
Memorial day,” which marked
Gehrig’s retirement.
J. Carroll Naish is going to be
seen as an ape-man, no less, in
20th Century-Fox’s “Buried Alive.”
It’s this company’s first effort in
the horror line, and just the title
promises well. John Shepperd and
Lynne Roberts will have the roman
tic leads.
-*
Rosalind Russell is bookhd for an
other of those pictures in which she’s
such a clever and handsome young
business woman that she makes
business women in the audience
green with envy. This one will be
“Portrait of a Lady,” and the plot
(which somehow has a familiar
ring) deals with the efforts of a hus
band to win his wife away from a
business career.
-*
“Guerrilla Brigade,” the Soviet
picture which was shown in New
York recently, has been booked by
the RKO circuit and is scheduled for
national release. This is the first
time in some years that a Russian
picture has been booked by a major
theater chain here.
-*
Those bitter little quarrels be
tween actors and motion picture
companies no longer mean what
they once did. not since radio’s here
to stay. When Madeleine Carroll
and Paramount disagreed not long
ago, the beautiful Miss Carroll
merely departed for New York and
picked up some engagements to
broadcast, at $2,500 each. Paul
Muni and his studio parted, so he
did a stage play, got $5,000 apiece
for several radio performances, then
signed with another studio. John
Garfield and Warner Bros, dis
agreed, and radio grabbed him.
William L. Shirer talks to his
friend, Edward R. Murrow (“This
Is London”) every Sunday before
their respective broadcasts. The
conversation is over a private wire,
and the first thing Murrow asks is
about the baseball teams.
-*
ODDS AND ENDS-Janet Blair, for
mer singer with llul Kemp’s orchestra
and note playing the title role in “My
Sister Eileen," is rehearsing the songs
for a new civic opera to be presented
late this summer in Eos Angeles , . .
Mainbocher, famous dressmaker who's
been responsible for many of the
Duchess of If indsor’s costumes, has
been signed to a term contract by Fox
.,. Bob Burns has a new baxooka, made
from scraps from P-38 bombers by the
boys who build the planes . . , Donna
Heed’s wearing the silver wings of a
pilot on the Anti-Submarine Patrol in
the Atlantic, Lt. Donald Arlen.
Here Are Low-Cost Vacation
Items for the Girl Who Sews
By CHERIE NICHOLAS
THOSE who give wholehearted and
patriotic co-operation to the eco
nomic emergency of our nation's
wartime program can be practical
and saving this •summer in the mat
ter of "clothes" expenditure without
sacrificing the joy that comes with
the satisfaction of having a charm
ing vacation wardrobe. They can do
this just by making home-sewing a
thrifty hobby.
It’s more than ever important
these days to in no wise under
estimate the morale value of a be
coming new frock, and you owe it
to yourself and those who look to
you for inspiration to appear at
your best, especially when you want
to make the cherished moments of
a holiday memorable. So get out
the family sewing machine and start
right away on a pretty-clothes pro
gram. Even if you have never
stitched a seam in your life, don’t
throw up your hands in despair.
Your local sewing center can teach
you modern sewing shortcuts and
dressmaker tricks in a few after
noons and evenings.
You’ll find you can gather togeth
er a collection of lovable, tubable
cottons, rayon weaves, linens and
such (washables are smartest to
wear this summer) featured at
amazingly low cost both in the regu
lar piece goods section and on rem
nant counters. One of the most ef
fective ways of making a few care
fully chosen costumes go a long
way toward creating a flexible, mix
able all-purpose wardrobe is to plan
related color schemes in companion
fabrics so that you can wear the
jacket of one outfit with the skirt of
another, or team up at will match
ing or contrasting slacks, shorts and
blouses. You will find great help in
the intriguing stripes, checks, plaids
and "plains" brought out this season
in complementary weaves and
colors whicli are really lovely.
Destined for fashion success and
certain to prove a boon to the slim
budget is the eye-catching three
piece playsuit shown to the right
in the above illustration. By pick
ing up remnants specially priced for
quick selling you can get this outfit
together at an almost unbelievably
small cost. Gay print shirtwaist (a
sportswear favorite this season),
jumper-type shorts and a full-gath
ered front-buttoned overskirt com
plete this costume which will serve
for varied occasions the whole sum
mer through. Don’t let the button
holes frighten you, for with the new
buttonhole gadget modern sewing
machines have, you can make them
in double quick time, even if it is
your first venture.
If you covet being a heroine in a
fashion success story, make the red,
white and blue slacks suit centered
in the picture. It consists of navy
slacks, white middy, red jerkin and
matching beanie cap. You'll get a
world of service out of this bright
assortment of play togs, and mak
ing it yourself will send your pride
soaring to the 'nth degree. Notice
the precision with which patriotic,
colorful, shield-shaped buttons file
down the side of the jerkin. By the
way, a jerkin of this type is a valua
ble asset to any vacation wardrobe
—it's the “missing link” which will
convert any simple casual dress or
skirt and blouse into a smart fashion
unit.
For after-dark wear you’ll be
needing many a party frock if you
are helping at army entertainment
centers. All-American cotton is the
wartime ideal for these summer
dance-and-dine get-together affairs.
You'll be your most glamorous self
if you make a budget-minded dress
of gaily colorful print like that il
lustrated to the left in the above
group. Especially smart is the cor
seletted front bodice closing.
Released by Western Newspaper Union.
Cotton Is Choice
Of Summer Brides
According to the signs that tell
this is going to be a summer of
wartime weddings. Summer with its
background of flowers and sunny
days and starry nights provides a
most inviting setting for picturesque
organdies, exquisite batistes, quaint
dotted swisses and other such deli
cately woven cotton sheers as fash
ion favors this season.
Many a bride-to-be is finding it
necessary to change her plans for a
pretentious wedding to a program
which calls for the utmost simplicity
and economy, owing to wartime con
ditions.
One of the pleasing surprises this
summer is the number of brides
who are choosing for their wedding
gowns pretty sheer cottons, among
which organdy seems to be an out
standing favorite. To lend the most
enchantment to her picturesque or
gandy wedding gown a recent bride
wore a wide-brimmed halo of finely
pleated organdy ruffles, and the ef
fect was entrancing.
‘Dunk’ ’Em
There is a new word being added
to the fashion vocabulary. This new
word, “dunkable,” is in keeping
with the spirit of the times, for the
trend is toward making everything
washable from gloves to hats and
to shoes. Washable, dunkable gloves
answer the call of the hour, and you
can get these in greater variety than
ever before.
Midriff Blouse
Decidedly new is the “midriff”
blouse. It's a startling fashion, but
young girls are taking to it with
enthusiasm.4 Wear it with the
matching printed chintz skirt which
is sold as its companion piece.
vlower Buttons
Bring new intrigue to your best
beloved sweater this summer with a
row of gaily colorful buttons
wrought in dainty florals of original
design. Realistic flowers bloom on
the lovely sweater shown above.
The flowery motifs are contrasted
effectively against the background.
The knitted stitch achieves a tex
ture that is shaggy (smartest new
sweaters are like that) and almost
grasslike in appearance. Irresist
ible and unusually colorful are
these clever button originals in
which tiny, artfully shaped flowers
and leaves are affixed to a latticed
disk of contrasting color. These
three-color buttons will bring perki
ness and style accent to the most
somber costume. Try the flower
button way for your sweater. You’ll
love it!
High Egg Production
While Prices Are Good
Suggestions Given for
Improved Pullet Flocks
By H. H. ALP
(Extension Poultryman, College of Agricul
ture, University of Illinois.)
In times of good prices one is not
likely to think in terms of losing
money, certainly not so much as
when prices are low. There is a
great deal more at stake, however,
when prices are high, or favorable to
the producer. If low egg production
exists then, the loss is actually
Courtesy U. S. Department of Agriculture
It is a smile of Victory this young
miss has. For with the eggs from
her own chickens for consumption
here, and abroad where they are
sent in powdered form, the neces
sary energy to carry on the great
light against the enemy is being
partly supplied.
greater than it would be if egg pro
duction were low during a period
of poor prices.
For good egg production at this
season of the year, the pullet flock
should have:
1. A poultry house which provides
four square feet of floor space for
each bird.
2. Some form of insulation in the
house.
3. A good ration in small feed
ers, which are freshly filled every
day, or at least every other day.
4. Two water containers in a
room approximately 20 by 20 feet
5. A ration featuring some form
of milk, whole oats, a good grade
of alfalfa, and a vitamin-D oil.
6. A supplemental feeding of
moist mash once a day, if neces
sary. This practice is not essential
for all flocks, but in the case of
flocks “going stale” or losing weight,
and for late, immature pullets.
7. Lights if necessary. Lights
might be used in the same situa
tions in which moist mash feeding
is suitable. A successful practice
has been to use two 10-watt lamps
all night in a room 20 by 20 feet.
8. Fresh litter to keep up the
spirits of the flock and for the main
tenance of health.
9. Regular attention; irregularity
plays havoc with egg production.
10. The benefit of some good com
mon sense. It is not bought in bot
tles and bags.
AGRICULTURE
INDUSTRY
Peat Moss
By FLORENCE WEED
(This is one of a series ot articles show
ing how farm products are Boding an im
portant market in industry.)
Peat miners, you might call them,
those farmers who are lucky enough
to find a bed of peat located on their
land. Domestic peat is needed now
to supplement the reduced supply
being imported from Europe.
Most of the beds in this country
are located in northern states:
Maine, New Hampshire, Wisconsin,
Minnesota. Ohio and northern Wash
ington.
Moss, sedge and reed peat are
considered safe as a fertilizer for
gardens and golf course greens. Oth
er kinds which have an acid reaction
and are not chemically adapted to
combination with soil are found use
ful as insulating material, as stable
litter, and as an absorbent layer for
poultry houses in winter. Peat dust
is found to be an effective deodoriz
er. Peat can be used as a substi
tute for medicated cotton in the
making of surgical dressings. It
has been used in the making of
paper.
Peat mining is not a difficult job.
The peat is first ripped up from the
earth, shredded in a machine,
pressed or dried to get rid of excess
moisture, then cleaned and sacked.
For some uses, the peat is pul
verized to powder. All of these
are farm operations that can be done
by one man.
Agricultural Notes
Wet mash has been used from the
beginning of the poultry industry to
encourage the birds to eat more,
and to increase or maintain produc
tion.
• • •
The U. S. department of agricul
ture has recommended to war
emergency officials that increased
amounts of dairy equipment be
made available to farmers in 1942.