FRONT- LINE’
NURSE
LIAM fTARRET
“Laura, look!’’ Jerry cried,
pointing ahead. “That pond—it’s
not in our valley. We’re in the
wrong one. 1 remember, though,
that the map showed a little
pond not too far from our valley.
“How’ll you get to our valley?’’
Laura asked?
“Climb'Taek up into the soup
again,” Jerry answered, “high
enough to clear the top of the
ridge, then let down quickly on
the other side so we won’t over
shoot the valley. With that pond
spotted, 1 can calculate pretty ac
curately though, so we should not
miss this time.’’
Jerry banked the plane and cir
cled around to cross the pond
once more, then headed east, and
climbing fast.
“I’m going up fast and steep
and coming down the same way,”
Jerry told the others. “1 want to
get plenty of altitude to clear that
ridge in the clouds, but I sure do
n't want to overshoot our valley:”
A few wisps of fog passed their
windows swiftly, and then sudden
ly they plunged into the gray
blanket once more. They said
nothing as they climbed steeply.
Jerry keeping his eyes always on
the altimeter.
After a few minuutes of tense
ness he said “Okay — I’m going
downstairs, fast!”
The plane tipped and the sound
of the motors eased off as they
no longer pulled the craft away
from the earth. Jerry cut them to
an idle hum as the plane glided
downward swiftly.
In less than two minutes they
had broken through the cloud
bank again—and there was solid
earth, more than two hundred
feet below them. Jerry leveled off
and banked the plane to the
south.
Not one of them relaxed. They
knew they were in their valley at
last, but there was no time to re
flect on the miracle of good nav- j
igation and luck which had !
brought them to it. The important ,
tiling: riRht now was to find that
pasture which had a landing- field.
“Near the southern end of this
valley, Jerry said, "according
to the map., Rei\emher the dis
tinguishing features?"
"Sure," Laura said. "Three
small trees just east of the center
and a big rock near the northern
end and a brook running across
the southern end."
“Right," Doctor Overton agreed
"And the trees and the rock are
moveable—the brook painted on
the surface of the ground. I’m ea
ger to see that. I can easily imag
ine the fake trees and a papier-’
mache rock which the supposed
shepherds can move, hut I want i
to see that brool !”
“There are the shepherds," j
Laura said. “And —- they really i
have sheep! What about the sheep'
Jerry?"
“Don't know," Jerry replied.
“Can’t land on a field full of
sheep!" j
'There are only eight or ter. ' j
Dr. Overton said.
“Enough to crack us up if we >
run into them mi landing." Jerry
muttered.
The three men on the field,
near the small flock of sheep, had
been staring up at them intently. |
Suddenly they waved their arnw. i
Other men rushed onto the pas
ture from the nearby woods.
As Jerry circled" the field in
the south, so that he could come j
in against the wind, he saw two 1
men pick up what appeared to be i
the big rock and carry it to the j
edge of the field. Others lifted the
three trees and dragged them to
one side- The three shepherds
gathered up ropes to which the
sheep had been tethered and drag
them off the grassy space.
“The field’s cleared!” Laura
cried.
“Is it long enough?” Doctor
Overton asked anxiously. '“('an
you make the landing?”
“I think so,” Jerry said, “with
a side-slip.”
The plane was south of the
pasture now, just completing its
turn. Laura noted that Jerry did
not bring it. completely out of its
turn as he approached the field,
but kept it in a slight bank, glid
ing toward the right side of the
field rather than toward the cen
ter. They were losing altitude rap
idly and she felt that the landing
wheels, which had just been low
ered might well be touching the
tops of the trees.
Almost before they cleared the
last of the trees, Jerry let the
craft slip sideways to the left.
Just as if it skidded down a slip
pery path on the air, the plane sild
toward the ground. In that man
euver, Jerry had dropped the
plane more than ten .feet closer
to the ground with almost no for
ward motion. Straightening it out
deftly, he headed it straight up
the center of the pasture. With a
bounce, the wheels touched the
ground.
CHAPTER VIII
Laura Blake, army nurse, after!
active duty in New Guinea, isas- i
signed to luty in North Africa ml
an ambulance plane. One day she
meets her fiance, Lt. Jerry Don-j
aldson, who has asked to be trails-1
ferred from the South Pacilc to1
North Africa in the hopes of j
meeting Laura there. Jerry volun-1
teers to fly an ambulance plane j
on a dangerous mission to enemy
held territory, and tells the ma
jor who has asked for volunteers
that he also has a volunteer nur^e
—Laura Blake. Laura accepts the
•MifnmenL They take off on
their mission. Through skillful
navigation-^-and some luck—Jer
ry takes his plane through cloud
banked mountain passes and
j lands it on a pasture in a valley
i —the light spot!
I Laura realized that her left
i shoulder was sore where she had
been bracing it against the door
|to tlu cockpit. She pulled away
i'and sighed.
I “That was wonderful, Jerry'.’’
f she said.
I ‘‘I should say so!” agreed Lec
tor Overton. “But can we ever
get off again with a full load?"
“Depends on the wind,” Jerry
muttered. "And some luck. An
other ten feet and we could ne
| sure, but it will be tough. Anyway
—let’s cross that bridge when we
.get to it. Now there’s work to be
Aftei Jerry had cut the ignition
and released the safety belt, he
briskly worked his way back
inrough the plane and opened the
door. Below on the ground stood
three of the French guerillas,
beaming with such smiles that it
seemed their faces could not e .
press their pleasure.
Jerry grinned and saluted in
formally in answer to their wel b
coming cries in French. He hop
ped to the ground and found !
self embraced in the crushing J
three men — a giant with black i
curly beard, very pink cheeks and
the chest of a gorilla.
But the sound of the plane’s I
"Veil-come!” he cried in lus .
cheers for les Auiericains!"
"TliankS, fella." Jerry mum
bled. releasing himself and turn
ing to catch Laura as site jumped
ft dm Li'- plane.
Doctor Ovoilon quickly follow
t'u, and Je*ry noted the mountain-,
eer’s great relief to hear tluent
and easy French—not only fluent
and easy, bu; with the particular |
accent of the men of th«j Haute j
All—uii homme ues menta^r
nes!" he cried, turning: to hrs
over this region all the time, look
companions, who so far had done
Jerry saw w.at other m m were
replacing the take rock anJ t,ces
in the center of the ritid. The
oiieep unconcernedly cropp.'d he
short grass near them.
“Look!” Laura cited, touching
Jerry's arm and pointing "What
are those men doing?"
Jerry saw half a do er. men
dragging toward them io.,g ; >Us
with l'resh-cut branches .1 trees
'fastened to the ends.
"Don't, know," lie replied,* It is
some sort of camouflage. >h yes,
for the plane of course."
Then he saw that Doctor Over
ton was getting hack into the
plane anti that two of the first •!
guerrillas were following him.
"Doing to unload, 1 guess,”
Jerry said to Laula. *Td better
get up t'ue.ie too. You stay below
and see that they handle things
right down here."
The men with the long poles
were now leaning them against
the wings and fuselage of the
plane, so that the branches; fasten
ed to .lie tips arched above the
The three Fienchmen who had
acted as shepherds snatched the
ropes to which the sheep were 1
tethered and dragged them tow
ard the center of the field. And
then Laura heard it — the faint
throbbing of an airplane motor ii*
the skies overhead. She wrinkled
her brows trying to see something
at the spot from which the sound,
seemed to come.
“Still tot. high,” she muttered
to herself. "Wonder if he’s corn
“German plane?”' Laura asketf
“Yes," he replied. “The French
nothing hut smile their greetings.'
say that observation planes are
ing for any clues as to eoncentar
tion of the guerillas- They’re notj
out often on overcast days like
this, though. Maybe they picked
up the sound of our motors some
where and are out looking for 1
us. Maybe he won’t dare come
down out of the clouds.’’
best effort at Englishs. “T’ree
motor had been growing louder
as they spoke, and now Jerry
clutched her arm and pointed,
without saying a word. She fol
lowed the line of his finger and j
saw just breaking through the |
cloud bank, a small airplane.
As it came completely into j
view, Laura saw that it was a
single-seater reconnaissance plane
—one of the little craft with !
steep climb and slow landing
speeds. The pasture would not be
a problem to it at all, except for
the strategically placed rock and
trees.
Laura saw that the three shep
herds were standing near to the
sheep, which had settled down i
quickly after their ma.; dashs on
to the field. It was as placil and
bucolic a scene, she thought, as |
one could wish.
She suddenly wondered just
how well the pLane was cainou j
flaged. Did those branches look
unnaturally bunched .’ Or, if that ;
same Nazi flier had been over the i
pasture before, would he recall !
that no clump of trees had jutted
out just that way previously?
Obscured by trusties and over
hanging branches through which
they could not possibly be seen,!
from the air, Laura, Jerry and j
Doctor Overton anxiously and si-1
lently watched the Nazi reconnais I
sance plane overhead. A
The little craft made ita wa/;
straight up the pasture at an alti
tude just below the clouds, then
—as it neared the end-- started
to climb. In a moment it had
poked its nose into the cloud, and
for a short space half ti plane
seemed suspended in the air.
Finally the gray fog swallowed
all of the craft marked with the
bold black cross, and Laura sigh
ed with relief.
But she noticed that Jerry was
still listening to the sound of the
plane's motor, more intently than
before. The shepherds on the field
had made no move to remove the
sheep or to come back to the
plane. There was a t,|ieer silence
everywhere, except for the dimin
ishing “put-put” of the little
plane’s engine.
Suddenly the sound ceased. At
first Laura thought it had just
passed beyond her range of hear
ing. but then she realized there
was something strange about the
way the motor’s sound, faint as it
was, had ended so quickly.
She looked up at Jerry ques
tion ingly.
“A trick, all right." he snapped
“He was climbing more steeply
than he needed to. Gained alti
tude, traveled some distance un
til he thought he was out of heal
ing, then cut his motor. I'll bet
he's circling around with his mo
tor off or idling.”
“Why?" Laura asked.
“If there’s anything funny on
this field.“ Jerry explained quick
ly. “anything going on here, he
figures eveiyhodv will think lie's
gone and g,. back to whatever
they Were doing, so he's gliding
back to lias e a peek."
“1 guess tiie guerrillas are on
to that trick," Doctor Overtoil
said. They haven't moved./
"There!" Jerry exclaimed.
Laura saw the plane at the
moment Jerry spoke, it slut in an
evil, sneaking silence from the
dirty gray cloud coining from the
1101 tn, the direction m winch it
hau disappeared. Jerry hud been
'right, i.aura heard a little noise
! Lorn it* engine, and saw that its
' propeller turned slowly, idling,
r but in .a moment tlieie was a
loai as tin- pilot gave the engine
2JU‘ gun. the jnopolici whirled
with power ami the plane pointed
I upward again, banking to the
north once moig as it went oil in
to the clouds. Tile Nazi ubseivei
had seen just as it was oil us jirst
"if IP over, so he was -atislicl.
ii. two minutes they were m.i
kiading the plane again, swimy
.mHU seriously.
.In a simn while, they were all
ci.mbing a path that wound steep
ly up the hoc d'Lnfer, towaruthe
guerilla's headquarters in tne
The smiling giant led the way,
followed by ins two lieutenants.
Non- cartridge belts were stiung
about their waists and rilies o\ei
their shoulders. And they carried
boxes of ammunition heavier than
Laura would have thought two
men could lift. These men seemed
partial to the boxes of ammuni
tion above ail other equipment
that hud been brought in the
plane.
tor some time after leaving
the pastuie, thty walked along
tne pain tnrough the tiees in si
lence, each one concentrating on
carrying the heavy ourden tie had
Laura noticed that the leader
maintained a slow steady pace,
it was a steep climb, and she re
called Uiat it was two mites Hum
ine pasture to the cave.
After fifteen minutes she was
putting with tiie exertion. Lean
ing lorwaiil to Oeai the Weigill
vi the pacK. mole easily, she Kept
ner eyes on Hie leaf coveicu paUi
ai ner feel- LuudeiUy she bumped
into Jeny, stopped and iookeu up
The leader nad milled, witn his
head m the air. Then lie whistled
a ciear onuiiKe wlnsile with a
jjietbant nit to it. Anead and to
uie light mere was an answering
wiiistre of me same kind. The
leauer dropped ms hand and star
ted forward once more, and the
inters followed him.
'Lookouts — snipers,’’ Jerry
liuiiiej’eu, half turning ms head
lor -Laura to near. "Iney ve got
this full guarded like the mint!
.Periodically the leader stopped
and uttered his whistle. When the
answer came the column proceed
Laura see a man among the
led once more. But not once dui
trees. J'he lookouts were well con
Buddenly Laura heard voices,
excited voices, just ahead. Look
ing past Jerry's broad back, she
saw the end of the trail, against
a short steep precipice ol solid
in front of it stood half a doz
en men, talking together, point
ing, and waving their arms, Oth
ers joined them quickly, some of
the woods nearby, others from the
huge cave opening which Laura
oike the other guerrillas—in the
5iow discerned in the precipice.
Some «;. the men were dressed
f~:|idy but shabby clothe of these
■tit i, >f the mountain-. ounie were
ill o.iiitary uniform - ont in that
of the Free Frerw Ai iiy and 1
.n British or A;>o”. mi,. Army un
iforms.
They hurried down he path
and began to take boxes and bun
dles from the marchers, talking
and laughing all the time in theiu
happiness in seeing the new arri
Laura felt strong arms lift the
pack from her back, ajid she smil
ed up at the; grinniifg, unshaven
ace of an American.
* il'-.ivy pad, for a iUHe g;il,"
he '•>"•1. "Boy! are wt glad to see
y< a. Figured that plane ,ve heard
ir.i.'fiit be yours. The Jerries don’t
have many two-motored jobs com
ing; over tins atea."
Laura saw that the man was
limping; badly as he strode up to
the last twenty feet to the little
clearing in fron of the cave.
“Here!’ she cried. "Give that
pack'back to me. You've got a bad
heavy load."
leg there—shouldn’t he carrying a
“it s not so bad," the Ar.vei lean
said. ,
Then Laura saw that most of
the others who had greeted them
wete wounded too. Some limped,
two had arms in homemade slings
another* head was swathed in
ba ndages.
There was now a milling crowd
in front of the cave—a crowd ot
guerillas and British and Ameri
Tlten Doctor Overton’s voice
cut through the jumble of noises.
This quiet, mild-mannered man
now spoke with authority, vvi a
command. Immediately everyone
was silent, turning to the ilodoi.
He instructed Jerry to super
vise the setting up ot the big tent
which they had brought with them
to serve as an operating room.
Glancing up, Laura knew that
overhanging blanches front tow
ering trees nearby would hide the
tent from the sky.
Next Doctor Overton asked the
leader of the guerrillas to have
I same of his men build a fire close
to the entiar.ee of the tent. Dut
to this ttieie was some objection.
"We build no fires!" the leader
explained emphatically. "The
smoke would reveal that per pie
are here. Our e >oked food has
come from a feu mountaineers
cabins not far away in these hills
—places whe-e the Nazis would
not be surpri-od to see the smoke
"1 must lave a fire hetc!" Doc
tor Overtoil said. ‘‘No matter
what the daiigoV, 1 must have boil
ing water.”
i'hore was a silence of a few
minutes a< the b . dor tin tight te
tTO UK COXTiNULD)
N. C. War Bond
Champs to Win Jeeps
GRKKXSI'IORO, .May 2S.—Mod
■1 "deeps", exact 112-inih replicas
if the fan:ii..s war deep, will be
awarded as |
Karolina fit
selling jobs
Seventh V\ til
ted Slates T
tbruughout N.
Hiding I hind
I * ni
tarry Department
were mailt .available to Gluroiice
P. !.- .r.ba. 1 . i ini’ ‘ mart of North
Carolina's win To-am-e Commit
tet-. by Ward M. i auuday. chair
man if \V ill-v s th el lanti Motors.
I’oledo, Ohio. Thousands of these
■b-.-p t-i-o.ph.ies have been dDt.ri.hu
ted tb.oaghp.ut the nat ion ' y tin*
-ui' oimibile company.
The models, scale replicas of
’he deep manufactured by Wil
lys■ for the Army and Navy, were
built especially for u-c in the
iiive by wounded servicemen a!
Army convalescent centers. The
Toledo' company stippl - the bo.- •
oitals with cut-om paiis, plastic
wheels an.l 11 tin -p *.; ent wind
shields, and paid the veterans for
each mode! they ..Ittci d.
The idea of u - : models a
prizes in the war bond drive, sit id
Mr. Knnaday came as a result of
thousands of letters from people
all over the country expressing- a
desire to have a model of the fan:
or toonfUMV Sfev'jj
ALKA-SELTZER
Occasionally, i wake up in
the morning with a Headache.
It sometimes wears off along the
middle of the forenoon, but 1 don't
wp it to wait that long, so 1 drink a
gin.-a of sparkling ALKA-SELTZER.
In iust a little while I am feeling a
lo‘ better.
Sometimes the week's ironing tires
mo and makes mo sore an i still
TUn it’s ALKA - SELTZER to the
res ue — a tablet or two and a little
res! makes me feel more like finish
in., the job.
A.nd when I eat ' not wisely but
t o wtal.” ALKA-SELTZER relieves
f Acid Indigestion that so often
k es, Alka - Seltzer brightens my
day. It brings relief from so many I
of mv discomforts, that I always
keep It handy.
Why don’t you get a package of
ALKA-SELTZER at yotu drug stoio
rge Package 60c, Small 30C.
College Buys Land j
Under the provisions of AR
600-1.r>, 22 September 194'i, as
amended, the 'Bronze Star Medal
is awarded to the follow in g:
Staff Sergeant ERNEST R.!
CARPENTER, $4 609 426, Cum
, any It. 29 1st Infantry, for he
roic achievement in connection,
with military operations against!
the enemy on .April 2, 1945. in j
Germany. Enemy artillery shell-!
ed a building in Which the com
mand post was located in Dat
lel.tr. Several men were hit and
tied out for help. Even though
enemy’ shells ■ woer: still falling.
Sergeant CARPENTER disre
garded his own safety, entered a
room to aid a fellow soldier who
was very seriously wounded, and
succeeded in evacuating him to a
place of safety. Entered military
service from Cherryville, N. C.
Education Assn. Met
June 15th & 16th
The Plant- i»i" Commission of
the \'o r l h Carolina Education
Association nv • at the Associa
tion otfii < - in Raleigh on Friday
raid Saturday, June 15 and 1 <>!li. .
Established two years ago, the
Con mission has as is fundamental,
nurnote the task of planning !n-1
fine progress <n education along
with other agencies of state and
national scope. Ft is rroognr.od (
tha the next major advances are,
to he made in the improvement of
the' ut-alitv of education.
Gey R. Phillips, Chapel Hill, is
cb.-viruian of the comipi-sMn. Oth
er members are: R. At Wilson,
Eotb-y .Mount, -I. Watieh Smith.
Pule.gh; Annie T .auric '.ov r. e.
'Aii . u n Salem P. A. T: • -1 e.
V. aeerviiie; Paid Reid, Raleigh;
Madeleine McCain. llign P : ;
laii , ilryan. Asheville, ]• lou-r.ee
hi .d. l.exing:cm ; Hr. . John R..
l.udiiliston, Raleigh: Dean D- R.
Pin an. \\ ako hole t; ,1. P. Siffo. d
A i --marie' C. \V. McCat'ha, Gas
tonia; Dr. Franklin McXntt, of
Crienshoro: James Gorow, Purl
ing! on; J. il. Moore, Farim die-;
and Mrs. Annie Laurie McDonald,
M'ekory, President of the Assorts
at ion.
BUY BONDS
V.
Need a
LAXATIVE?
Black-Draught is
1- Usually prompt
2- Usually thorough
3- Always economical j
25
to
40
doses
only
> 25C ,
The leaves of good hay consti
tute from one-third to one-half
of the total volume of the hay
hut they contain about two-thirds
of the total protein. Save those
Of lie 489 prisoners of war in
X it h Carolina. are harvest
ing food and feed clops, 30 are
in dairy work, and 370 are enga
ged in general farm work.
Arens where trucks are urg
ently needed to prevent the im
pairment of farm production will
be allocated reasonable quantities
of surplus trucks, says the De
partment of Commerce and the
WFA
USEEAGCEAjjB
IN NORTH CAROLINA
c.c people drink Atlantic Ale and Beer than any other.
1 ZKSKi
It 9
'h
i Atlanta, Chirlolie, Ckottanooio. Norfolk, Or land*
NOTICE
DOG
OWNERS
All dogs running at large after June
30th will be killed
Put your dog under leash. ’0
POLICE DEPARTMENT.
"T/ore /Ay rocAs &/?*//y//s...'
“My heart with rapture
thrills” . . . and so does
yours, at the very thought
of again freely touring this
land of the free.
Speed that new day when your car
will wing its way, with NEW-BAY ,
Conoco Bronz-z-z Gasoline in
the tank. You'll command new-day
power — pick-up—hill climb. In its high
anti-knock rating, too, this gasoline will
be strictly new-day.
Your N,ew--Pay Conoco Bronz-z-z—
like our endless output of war-winning
gasolines—will reflect the full values of
deepest research and latest progress. Con
tinental Oil Company
You want assurance today,
that your gasoline is made
to deliver all the perform*
ance possible under the cur
rent restrictions. So go to
vour Conoco Mileage Mer
chant*—where you see the
big red Conoco triangle. For
that sign is his Station lion*
tificution . . . and make it