Show pup b J All vAll Over But th the 12 1 r lE i II I RiCh Richard AN Io df INNER Powell Powell- el SANCTUM Sh M MYSTERY Y t rF 4 r r ki- ki I f 1 STARRING ARAB AND ANDY BLAKE WHO wv o U FEATURES THE STORY THUS mus FAR Lt Andy Blake assigned to operations was agreeably agree agree- ably surprised by the arrival of his wife Arab who announced she had taken ken a aJob aJob ajab Job jab In Washington with Ordnance to aid aidIn aidin aidis in is the war effort They left the office to look Jock for a room for Arab Arab told Andy that thoughtless people talked too much about their war work and plans While on the bus she decided to walk around and take down in shorthand the I various war conversations she overheard u While in o the act net she was spotted and 4 the a word SPY first a whisper developed developed de de- Into an angry cry Andy pulled the stop cord Jn In order that they could tA both Jump lump ort oft Arab started running with Andy fast after her n. Cha h CHAPTER H n no o a There was only one word needed I 1 f A small hissing word My eardrums Itt ached as I waited for it Then it came tame Spy o It broke the ice ice jam in my blood My legs and arms came alive tin tin- g gling ling I started wrestling forward through the crowd White faces turned Eyes stared blankly They didn't want to let anybody through They were already jamming toward k o the front of the bus Moving fora forward forward for for- a ward under the sting of one word It had started in the back of the thebus thebus ht bus and was working forward like slow poison Spy Spy They let me move grudgingly It 1 wasn't for me that they moved I aside though They moved a little for the gleam of shoulder bars and buttons and the winged wide-winged eagle on my cap I got to the exit at the middle of the bus That was the lim lim- it Beyond that point the jam was solid I yelled at the nearest people and they didn't even turn They shoved back blindly not looking around when I tried to drive through M MI I grabbed the handrail on each side ride of the exit and hoisted myself t up I caught a flash of Arabs Arab's pale face She was jammed against the front entrance The people right around her didn't know yet what was happening They had turned to push pushback pushback pushback back resentfully at the mob Buto ButI But I f o Arab knew She was clawing at the 1 tight folds of the door Spy spy spy spy n The word was striking at her like liken n a snake I yelled at people to stop it but not a back turned It would take a half-dozen half cops to halt them now I put all my lung power into a yell Arab When the door opens run Then I grabbed the stop-signal stop cord and hung on it Ordinarily the driver would have waited until the next loading station and that might have been too late for Arab I But he must have known something was wrong without quite knowing what As I hung on the cord pray- pray In tug th the hUe bus sudden swan to tn th the 0 Y n 0 g 4 curb and halted 0 o I jumped on the step which automatically automatically auto auto- i opens the center doors They flapped back I leaped out U II skidded once and swung toward the front entrance The front doors folded folded folded fold fold- ed back and Arab slipped sUpped out while I was still stin three strides away Run I yelled She jumped to the sidewalk and I i faked a dive at her and clipped the first two men who spilled out after her My nose left a rut in the street but it seemed worth while It gave gavet gave t Arab a few seconds start into the blackness of a private driveway I 1 scrambled to my feet and followed r Fifty yards up the curving drive of the big estate I saw a white blur When Arab runs she doesn't flap her feet the way way most foost girls do like a hen trying out clipped wings I pounded up the drive well in advance of the others But was I really ahead of the rest Once or twice the white blur of Arabs Arab's raincoat raincoat raincoat rain rain- coat se seemed med to be blacked out by another figure Arab flashed past pasta a Alighted lighted ground-floor ground window of the big house and a moment later I I thought I saw a shadow flick across I the same light A shadow as squat I as a tub It was nonsense of course My imagination was pulling things out of hats Tubs cant can't move that fast Then in a split second my foot hit bit something and a fuse blew in my head and I plunged down into ringing ring ring- ing Lug blackness I opened my eyes and peered up at a lighted room A circle of faces hung above me like a Halloween group bobbing for apples How do you feel Lieutenant somebody asked Swell I said Is there an undertaker un un- in the house Li Oh HOh Andy a familiar voice sobbed I HI thought you were dead What made you change your mind I said peevishly What I I broke off suddenly and stared around at the circle Here was Arab with a half dozen of the people who had been ready to get rough with her not long ago What happened happened hap hap- to the girl I asked The girl in the white raincoat and the black felt hat Arab asked in a clear voice She got away We called the police somebody added get her If they do get her I T growled Ill be happy to testify for the pros- pros What happened to me A man said You tripped over something Lieutenant Your head hit the stump of a tree We Ve found you crumpled right up against the l stump and carried you ou into the I. I house here An HAn an ambulance is coming from Walter Valter Reed Arab sniffled Colonel Parker came in first shook my hand and said Glad you came through all right Blake Got to ask you some questions These gentlemen he he sketched an introduction need information Know you need rest but this cant can't wait Feel up to it Yes sir I said faintly It appeared appeared appeared ap ap- ap- ap that I I- Iwas was entertaining the Federal Bureau of Investigation Counter intelligence Counter Intelligence the Military District of Washington the Provost Marshal Generals General's Office and other serious-minded serious organizations Yes sir I said but first I ought to tell you you you- Save your strength Blake Let them ask the questions first Another colonel grumbled Cant make head or tail of the stories of the people on the bus One says she was short another has her nearly nearly nearly near near- ly six feet tall talI She has red brunette brunette bru bru- nette and platinum-blonde platinum hair is knock-kneed knock has beautiful legs you see what were we're up against Sir I groaned its a long story She She She- Lets have a description Sir I wish you'd let me go at this my own way She She- She Blake I babbled She has blonde hair shoulder-length shoulder height five feet seven seven seven sev sev- en and one half with high heels 43 It tr 1 I saw a white blur weight ten one-ten blue eyes nicely cut cameo features age twenty-three twenty a Somebody whistled softly Are you sure of all this a civilian civilian civilian civil civil- ian ian asked Yes sir Somebody else said Nope too good to be true They dont don't come like ike that The last female spy I saw had hair like a broomstick and must have topped one Athletic ic girl Went in for lor weight Colonel Parker said nervously Blake you dont don't happen to know this girls girl's name do you I sandwiched a gulp between a yes What is it I closed my eyes and said Mrs Arabella Reynolds Reynolds' Blake There was silence for a few moments It was so quiet you could have heard hearda a lieutenant drop if I hadn't been lying down already Tell it your own way my chief muttered My own way would have beets been by long-distance long telephone but I went ahead anyway After I finished one officer said Well cross that one off the books as a wasted eve eve- ning After he left I decided that things weren't so bad They couldn't really really real real- ly put a black mark on my file in the Adjutant Genera Generals General's s 's Office for forthe forthe forthe the nights night's work And Arab ought to be grateful After all I had helped her out of a nasty spot in inthe inthe inthe the bus Arab phoned that she would bring the car out for me whenever I was ready to leave and I said not to worry because the Army nurses were very lovely After that Arab called every hour and the hospital authorities got tired of it and decided ed in the late afternoon that I could be returned to duty Arab got out to the hospital without without without with with- out delay and I coaxed the prettiest nurse to escort me to the door and even let me lean weakly on her This had the proper sobering effect effect effect ef ef- on Arab for at least five min min- utes Then as we drove away she started fighting the war her way again Youre just bitter I said because because because be cause nobody consulted you before starting the war Why Andy do you really think Im I'm going to keep quiet after the way those people were talking last night on the bus Im I'm going to do something about it whenever I get geta a a chance Last night 0 in the hospital a full colonel said you ought to be spanked She murmured I do love you terribly Andy and Im I'm ever so grateful to you for last night and Ill I'll be quiet from now on and not get us into any more trouble I hope so Ive HIve already been quiet since last night and that's a whole twenty- twenty four hours What have you been doing Finding a room Swell Lets Let's hear about it Its out on Northwest Q Street in a big old house with lots of space around ft it t. t About sixteen girls live in it it and and its it's owned by a bee- bee refugee Frenchwoman and some of the girls are the cutest things and I just know they're all going to make passes at you and and and- Whoa I said Youre peddling this too hard Now tell teU me what it itis itis itis is Im I'm not going to like about the place Well its it's really a very little thing Ill bet So are thirty-caliber thirty bullets Its just dust that Mrs Fielding she Fielding she married an American wont American wont won't rent rooms to married women That is not married women who are working working working work work- ing at it She said that the first thing She says married women who really love their husbands are always either moping around and depressing her or else rushing off in jn ina a few months to wherever their husbands husbands husbands hus hus- bands are and there she is with the trouble of finding the right girl forthe forthe for forthe the room again So because Im I'm signed up with civil service under my maiden name of Arabella Reynolds Reynolds Reynolds Rey Rey- she sort of got the idea that Im I'm not married and let me have havethe havethe havethe the room That isn't like you Butch You know well we'll be finding an apartment and leaving her flat We Ve had dinner downtown and Arab mentioned that she hadn't recovered recovered recovered re re- re- re covered her white raincoat and hat after dropping them last night We Ve drove to the scene of the chase and spent half hall an hour poking through the shrubbery with a flashlight It was no use Either Arab had forgotten forgotten forgotten for for- gotten where she dropped the articles articles articles arti arti- I cles or somebody had walked off with them I switched on the overhead light I and drove on slowly and listened to Arab deciphering her shorthand She had filled half a dozen pages Some of the quotes started out as if they might be important but then turned into meaningless chatter about how the supervisor said this and Edith snapped right back at her There were perhaps four remarks of the talk loose-talk type but they weren't dangerous to anybody except except except ex ex- a few thousand guys who were off fighting Germans and Japs or getting I ready to There wasn't a remark which might have made Arab dangerous to somebody on the bus Did you find anything in that she asked closing the notebook You missed it I complained It must have been said while you were listening and you missed it We Ve cant can't do anything about it can we Andy Let me think a minute I said An idea was fluttering in my head It would brush the edge of my thoughts like a moth and then van van- ish I didn't know what the idea was but I knew I needed it Badly Were here Arab announced suddenly and I pulled over to the curb and got my first look at the house on Q Street It was in a rather desolate section section section sec sec- tion quite a distance beyond George George- town Only two other houses were in the section Arabs Arab's place was planted on several acres of unkempt grounds It had been built maybe thirty years ago by someone who had hoped it would look like Uke an em em- bassy It was a three-story three man man- sard-roof sard type with a tiny porte- porte and a couple of pillars The pillars were oversize for the house They stuck out like buck teeth What a comedown I said This house It starts off thirty years ago in in the society columns and ends up in the rooms rent section You said you saw it advertised advertised advertised adver adver- today didn't you Oh yes In the Washington Post The idea fluttered back into my head and settled down I asked vin in a carefully restrained tone the number of this place seven Fifty ninety sever Q Street Northwest I got out a cigarette and struck a match My hand trembled so that the match went out I tried to strike another and merely crumpled it Youre awfully nervous Arab saidI saidI saidI said I read rend the Post this morning too Did you But what's that got to todo todo todo do with with with- I had plenty of time I said I 1 read the rooms for t section There wasn't any ad for this house I I 1 I must have read it in another another another an an- other paper I grabbed her shoulders and shook her and shouted You read rend it in your notebook 1 That thug on the thebus thebus thebus bus dropped a n remark that brought you to this house And you skipped it when you read me your notes You utter damned fool are you trying trying trying try try- ing to get yourself killed TO BE CONTINUED |