The Project Gutenberg EBook of Phantom of the Forest, by Lee Francis

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Title: Phantom of the Forest

Author: Lee Francis

Release Date: June 19, 2010 [EBook #32891]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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PHANTOM OF THE FOREST

By LEE FRANCIS

[Transcriber Note: This etext was produced from Amazing Stories November
1948. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed.]

[Sidenote: Every year men slaughter deer by the thousands; it seems only
fitting that the tables be turned once in a while....]

The automobile reached the crest of the hill, skidded and started toward
the ditch. Earl Robinson twisted the wheel savagely, got the feel of the
ice hidden under the snow, and deftly straightened the car. Roy Starr
awakened at his side and sat up. His eyes were narrowed with sleep.

"Lord," he groaned, "how much farther?"

Robinson spoke through gritted teeth.

"About three miles. Might as well be a million."

The car was moving forward about twenty miles per hour. Three people
slept in the rear seat. They were packed under pieces of equipment.
There were half a dozen guns stacked across their feet.

The snow came down thickly, endlessly. It drifted across the road.
Almost eight inches had fallen since sundown. Tomorrow, there won't be
any traffic moving, Robinson thought, not without a plow to break the
trail. The valley will be a lost world.

"Shangrila," he said softly.

"Huh?" Roy Starr was almost asleep once more.

Robinson said, "Skip it."

He was thinking about the war, and the deep, lost valleys he flew into
when he flew the "hump."

He tried to concentrate on the road once more. They had come six miles
from Indian River. The road was just a white line, leading up and down
long rows of dark evergreens. The snow filled the air, tangling his
thoughts, filling the world with stinging, blinding particles of white.
The snow actually see