Riddle of the Storm / A Mystery Story for Boys

y. It was great, this rising aloft to greet the sun. With a safe landing place, the frozen river, ever beneath him, with a dependable mechanic beside him and the lon

be safe. It will be full of lurking dangers as was the Span

nd numberless plane. Instead, from out the air there leaped a fresh my

roak from the tree-tops, pelicans stand upon icy rocks watching fo

atched the flight of birds, he could distinguish the darting course of one, the soaring fligh

lace!" He fairly gasp

ween the eyes. "It's a carrier-pigeon!

his next stopping place, Fort McMurray, the headquarters of steel. At this place he would unl

Only some one in desperate circumstances or a man without a heart." At

ing. There'll be a message tied to the bird's foot. I'm sure of that. All I have to do is follow him to

bably is," he told himself hopelessly. "I can't follow him there, not just now. Already I

to this dilemma, the pigeon wavered in his

ht," Curlie sh

olut

s a cabin down there by the river.

't k

to that man of t

olut

see abo

y, son. Ab

and lower, went bump, bump, bump three times, and

were approaching the cabin. The ca

the cabin, and a few fresh moccasin tracks in the sno

ut to meet us," Curlie grumbled,

slow-going local passenger train is to mountain towns. It brings the mail, reports news of the outside world, and delivers such necessiti

still as it might have been had

he door. No response. He k

ty kick. It flew open. At the same instant a short, sc

urlie. "A pigeon soar

?" The man's t

nt to

lasted frozen wilderness." The man took a step back

e slow at tim

ed. At the same time his

k came over the ca

our own way!" he grumb

pig

man about to go into a convulsion. Reading th

carried a m

"I know. He does! An' 'at message yo

he message,"

room at the back, only to reappear with a

seemed greatly relieve

e bit of cloth. He spread the message on t

e made nothing of it. And indeed, how could he? The message, more than a hundred words long, was

erry, "is worse than

ontemplation, "we don't know who sent it, nor whe

sts may be trying pigeons as messengers. Then, too, some lone trapper may have carried that bird a thousand m

e?" Jerry lifte

But the Government mes

er thought, "that we'll make a copy

n-dweller was again on his feet. The

Was he, after all, a confederate of those outlaws who had ta

in with them!" he

with 'em?" the litt

reak,' outlaw

changed. "Before Gawd, I know less 'n

, "here is the message. It's up to you.

ay out of the cabin. He then climbed into the plane with Jerry f

all this, he ventur