Alan E. Nourse - The Fourth Horseman Read Online Free PDF

come up, but it would be another ten hours of mop-up before any of ihe crew could leave. Damned logging companies, he thought. They love to get their greedy hands on those logs—but they can't be bothered with a decent cleanup. Forest Service has to do that.
    His walkie-talkie crackled and he took it off his belt. "Frank? Larry here," a tiny voice sounded. "How's it doin'?"
    "Looks pretty good so far," Frank said.
    "It looked great from down here. Seen anything?"
    "I jumped a big bull elk about an hour ago, right up here in nil that smoke."
    "Smoke don't bother those big guys any," Larry said. He paused. Then: "Frank, the Super just called. Wants you back down at the office."
    Frank blinked at the walkie-talkie. "In Leavenworth? When?"
    "Like right now. That's what he said."
    "Hey, man, I've got a slash burn going. I can't just walk off and take a twenty-mile drive."
    "I'm supposed to relieve you," Larry said. "He wants you down there fast."
    The burn was still far too hot to pick his way through it, and it took Frank half an hour to get down the outside fireline to the place where the pickups were parked. He looked at Larry, already shouldering the Fire Boss's pack, but Larry just spread his hands and shrugged. As Frank started his pickup down the rough mountain road toward the highway to Leavenworth, he grew more and more apprehensive. Nobody hauls a man off a burn like this, he thought, unless there's a real bastard of a fire going somewhere else. He didn't have the only first-attack fire crew in the Wenatchee District, for God's sake—but if something else wasn't burning, why would the Super be in his office at 5:30 in the morning?
    Forty minutes later Frank stalked into the little Leavenworth Ranger Station, filthy and reeking, and stuck his head in the door of the Super's office. "Hey, man, what's going on? You got a big fire somewhere?"
    "No, no. Nothing like that." The Super was a small, wiry, balding man of about sixty with blue eyes and a gentle face. "Nothing like that at all. Come on in, have a seat." He waited until Frank settled his huge bulk onto a frail office chair, his face quite unreadable. "That burn doing all right up there?" he asked.
    Frank frowned. "Of course it is. You talked to Larry, you know it's going fine. You didn't call me off to ask me that."
    "No, that's true. I didn't." The Super avoided Frank's eyes, fiddled with a marking pen on his desk. Then he took a deep breath. "Frank, I understand that you've been close to Pamela Tate this summer, is that right?"
    Frank looked at the man. "You might say that."
    "Maybe very close," the Super said.
    "We're engaged to be married," Frank said. "Is that close enough?" He sat forward and stared at his boss, frowning. "Why? What about Pam? She's on patrol up in the Enchantments right now. She's not due back until tomorrow afternoon."
    "Did she seem sick in any way when you saw her last? Before she started up there this time?"
    "Lord, no," Frank said. "She was healthy as I am. Say, what the hell is this, anyway? Is something wrong with Pam?"
    "I'm afraid Pam ran into some trouble on this patrol," the Super said quietly. "I thought you'd better know."
    Frank was on his feet, towering over the desk. "What kind of trouble, up there? A bear? There hasn't been a grizzly up there since we shot that old sow eight years ago."
    "It wasn't a bear, it was something else. A hiker found her lying half in and half out of her tent about noon yesterday and packed all the way out to report it. We sent Doc Edmonds and two of the trail crew up there in a chopper last night the minute we got word. They brought her out. Just got down an hour ago. They dropped her pack and tent over at her apartment." The Super paused. "She—she looked like she'd been worked over with a bill bat."
    "Great God. Nobody ever assaults anybody up in a place like that! But at least she's healthy as a horse. She'll mend." Frank turned for the door. "Where is she now? Wenatchee General? I've got to see