The Key West Citizen Newspaper, August 19, 1947, Page 3

THE KEY WEST CITIZEN | econtemmamtenmnmnmmntetimmninmdemdmmmntanttanmemannantnetaiadnemmateeiedine= aaa Chapter 7 ERHAPS Hardin- noted the thunder gathering on Nor- way’s face or perhaps he was ‘struck by a rare twinge of con- science,—he assigned two more men to help Andrews undercut the giant fir that afternoon. In spite of his liking for the big Scandinavian Doug ,was re- lieved that others had been chosen to work with him. He wanted to knoW something of each logger individually, not just as a part of a group, and laboring together on the big tree was a good way to do it. With each chip that flew. from the raw .gash he learned something about the men, the company, or the English and Nor- dic tongues. Oaths were as nu- merous and sturdy as the trees around them. But if there was any ill feeling for Hardin as log- ing boss, it was not expressed. nly Norway had.spoken up. By four o’clock the tree was ready. Doug yelled out the warn- ing “Timber-r-r!” and swung. With a crash that made the ground tremble as with an earth- uake, the forest giant fell into the center of the clearing. Kick- ing aside splinters Hardin walked over and inspected it critically. “This’ll make a good spar tree, better than the one Elmo was working on yesterday,” he said. “OK you peelers, get busy.” When px & returned to camp, Norway took Doug over to the mess shack, “Hey you, Ollie,” he shouted, “You got something to fix Doug’s hands?” The little Swede examined Doug’s palms. “By God, what did Bill Hardin do? Make you cut down the whole forest?” “It feels like it,’ Doug ad- mitted ruefully blowing on his throbbing blisters. “Guess I got soft in the Army.” “Soft! Five years he spends fighting those devils in the islands and he says he is soft! Should have hardened your hands first and worn gloves, Doug, now you pey for it.” He applied some greasy oint- ment of his own concoction then taped his friend’s hands, “I have ae tem =. extra gloves, you wear them to- morrow.” Then as Doug thanked him Ollie added, “Miss Larson leave message for you... She say come up to the house after dinner, she want to talk with you.” Grinning he gave Doug a arp prod in the ribs. “Watch out for Hardin, he’s a jealous man sometimes.” Dog-tired after his first day’s work Doug half considered ignor- ing the invitation, or was it a command? he mused. After all Elsa was his boss in one sense of the word. Probably wanted to talk about Glen Slocum. He won- dered idly if there had beén more than friendship between them ‘but Glen had never spoken of Elsa as his girl and from the way Hardin had acted the previous night he’d gathered that the boss logger considered himself top man in her life. At seven a truck carrying a group of loggers to Queet’s Inlet headed down the skidroad and Doug hopped a ride on the running board as far as the Lar- son’s. When he left them the men grinned significantly but appar- ently felt they still didn’t know him well enough to make any comments, i Elsa was waiting for him. She stood with her back to the sun so that the first glimpse Doug had of her was a shadowed figure whose head was haloed’ with a nimbus of tawiig gold. The hound at‘ her fect was joined by his mate as Doug approached. “Hello Doug,” Elsa said, “I hoped you’d come.” He grinned. “I was practically told I'd be taking my life in my hands if I did.” Her enormous eyes grew som- ber. “I don’t understand.” “Hardin.” “Oh.” The amber irises spar- kled again. “You ought to know logging camps “well enough not to fall for all the stories that drift around.” She didn’t ask him into the house but led him over to a rus- tic bench. He sat there waiting for her to: begin and looking around him. The Larson house was a big rambiing structure built of peeled madrona logs that gleamed like bronze in the sun- | RATION CARD MURDERS’ By IREN AP Newsizatures ERLIN.—Files at the central police station reveal stories of tem. NY E SIMON thefts, assaults, kidnappings, and murder—all committed for the sake of another ration card. Last month, for example, u 50-year-old city relief recipient set. It seemed to belong to the. forest yet around it was a strange- .. ly prim yet } fashioned garden just comin into bloom. Evidently Elsa car for it for loam-enc tools and worn gloves were on the seat beside her. She seemed undecid-:- beautiful old ..- ed how to begin until Doug was ' unable to control, a yawn that overtook him, then she smiled. “I know you're dead tired. I wouldn’t have sent for you if f hadn’t thought it important.” “I thought you probably wante ed to talk about Glen Slocum.” “No-o-0, not exactly, though : it’s because you were his friend—” hat’s Larson?” He forced her eyes to, meet his. “Elsa,” she corrected, paused, then rushed ahead impulsively. “Doug, something has been hap-~ pening in our camp. Accidents. . « a whole series of them. We thought it was just bad luck or carelessness. Now we know some- one is behind it—the snapped cable that injured Elmo yester~ day had been cut. “Hmmm,” he pretended sur- eee “A villain in the woodpile, e ” “Yes. Ed, my half-brother, dis~ covered the cable and fixed it up, but Charlie end Norway know too. Ed thought it better if the others weren’t told. We need log- gers so badly and that sort of thing—” “Why are you telling me then?” “Because you are Glen’s friend and I don’t want you to work for us with your eyes shut. There may be more accidents, I—I, well, if you want to join up with some other outfit, I'll understand.” Doug felt unreasonably pleased at her words;: having someone concerned over you was an agree- able sensation, especially when that someone was as attractive a girl as Elsa Larson. But before he could sa anything the back door slammed and a man came toward them. Beside him Elsa sucked in her breath sharply. “Here comes "Ed now. Please don’t say anything to him, Doug . e - I mean don’t let him know that I told you about the cable.” There was a strange unace countable urgency in her voice, (To be continued) ee ‘Nat. Airlines. Today Starts | (Special to The Citizen) | MIAME, Aug. 18—The™ time jwhen air travellers had to wait ; hours, sometimes days, after re- lquesting reservations to find out {whether they had them will pass into history this month, so far-as {National Airlines is concerned. ;: When National puts its “Reser- vamatic” system into effect today a person asking for a reservation | will get an immediate answer : “yes”, for the flight and hour |} requested, or, if the flight is sold ; out, will be offered positive space on an alternative flight. In addition, the ‘“Reservama- itic’ system will permit instant {confirmation of requests. for space’ on any flight, on any date, ; between any points on the sys- regardless of which of the 9 NAL stations receives. the re- quest. For example, a traveller at Pensacola could, with a single othering you, Miss”" New System : : : ; hone cail to the Pensacola sta- murdered a housewife for her ration card, six children were on make all the arrangements kidnappeo in order to get their valuable children’s ration cards ¢5. 4 trip which might involve and a young wife was fatally * tour or five or more fights on stabbed by a husband in an! ‘different days between different 2-Story Fall Calls argument over a slab of bacon. | | points. For P hilosophy, Program of Coming “Hunger and need is swiftly CHICAGO.—(AP).—Hepry Pac.! United Nations Meetings , ede eS ee ili ini ad wve killing off the last remaining GUVGVIVEVCVVVVVG ker fell out of a window of his 25 August decency in the hearts of us Germans,” said a municipal of- ficial, “All scruple seems gone. For an extra pound of butter | ! | | one commits assault, for an ex- tra ration card one murders.” “We in the city administration are helpless to cure the situation because of the city-wide corrup- psecond floor apartment and land- jed in the grass below. | Examinaiion at a hospital dis- | closed he had suffered only a cut ‘on the face. He attributed the Commission on Human Rights _of the Economic and Social Coun- cil to meet at Geneva. 26 August Annual Conference of the Food tion in official circles. The daily j accident to a dizzy papers are full of stories of food |said: thievery and fraud committed } by city offiicals.” Thoughtful Berliners say that the danger today is not the ideo- | logical gap between eastern and | lightning western minded . Germans. the ‘gap “between peoples families of food envy,” as daily paper phrased it. “Our courts today are swamp and ‘bile. one who arguments due to the most primi- | hours for tive self-preservation due to thess | —---— reasons,” a leading lawyer deciar- | ed. “The husband asks why his } wife gives him so little to eat? Does she eat more while he out working? He begins to lock the food away at night. They quarrel bitterly. Soon they re in my court for a divorce,” on? judge exvlained. “Wives report. their husbends accuse them of not distributing the family food fairly. Hushands eall their wives ‘stupid fools’ be cause they do not supplement the regular rations with black mar ket food. In one case a father kill ed his two children when he surprised them rifling the cu»- board for some potatoes mother had locked away for Sunday.” Meanest of all food-crazy Bex- is | | | | ‘ { | \ “I must be getting old.” Packer is 74. If you cannot get indoors in a storm, but |safest in a steel. bodied automo-_ ‘liners, say the police, is the man} : : : steals ration ed with divorce suits based or jousewives while they queque up - food. he Artman Press Greene and Ann Streets Phone 51 RaTE spell, and and Agriculture Organization of .the United Nations (FAO) to meet jat Geneva. ,28 August } Statistical Commission of the Economie and Social Council to meet at Lake Success, New York. Social Commission of the Eco- nomic and Social Council to meét ‘at Lake Success, New York. 30 August ‘ Interim Commission of the World Health Organization (WHO) to meet at Geneva. you will be, cards from _ A BARABASAASAZABRASA? NG ey & Our prices are consistent with our quality work on all types of printing. Pub- lications, stationery, office forms, invitations, adver- tising, others. +