Part 1 (1/2)

The People of the Crater

by Andrew North

_”Send the Black Throne to dust; conquer the Black Ones, and bring the Daughter from the Caves of Darkness” These were the tasks Garin must perform to fulfill the prophecy of the Ancient Ones--and establish his own destiny in this hidden land!_

_CHAPTER ONE_

_Through the Blue Haze_

Six ned and the great War of 1965-1970 declared at an end by an exhausted world, a youngravel beneath his badly worn shoes He had been trained to fill the pilot's seat in the control cabin of a fighting plane and for nothing else The search for a niche in civilian life had cost him both health and ambition

A newcomer dropped down on the other end of the bench The flyer studied him bitterly _He_ had decent shoes, a warm coat, and that air of satisfaction with the world which is the result of econoe, the race of movement and an air of alertness

”Aren't you Captain Garin Featherstone?”

Startled, the flyer nodded du and waved it toward his seat mate Two years before, Captain Garin Featherstone of the United De raid into the wilds of Siberia to wipe out the vast expeditionary ar there It had been a spectacular affair and had brought the survivors so fa for,” the stranger folded the clipping again, ”a flyer with courage, initiative and brains Thein”

”What's the proposition?” asked Featherstone wearily He no longer believed in luck

”I'ory Farson,” the other returned as if that should answer the question

”The Antarctic man!”

”Just so As you have probably heard, I was halted on the eve of my last expedition by the sudden spread of war to this country Now I aain”

”But I don't see--”

”How you can help me? Very simple, Captain Featherstone I need pilots

Unfortunately the war has disposed of most of them I'm lucky to contact one such as yourself--”

And it was as simple as that But Garin didn't really believe that it was lacial shores of the polar continent soe planes, he began to wonder at the driving ue plans

When the supply shi+p sailed, not to return for a year, Farson called theether Three of the coineers who spent rossed in the lanced from face to face, ”we start inland

Here--” On a map spread before hio I was adue south, our plane was caught by some freakish air current and drawn off its course When ere totally off our map,in the distance a thick bluish haze It seeht line from the ice plain to the sky Unfortunately our fuel was low and we dared not risk a closer investigation So we fought our way back to the base

”Verdane, however, had little interest in our report and we did not investigate it Three years ago that Kattack expedition, hunting oil deposits by the order of the Dictator, reported seeing the sa to explore it!”

”Why,” Garin asked curiously, ”are you so eager to penetrate this haze?--I gather that's e're to do--”

Farson hesitated before answering ”It has often been suggested that beneath the ice sheeting of this continent may be hidden mineral wealth