| Show I I J Joan's Joans S H Holiday 0 ii 1 loore 4 ulie B-ulie By Julie Anne Moore L Copyright 1931 by the Independent e Syndicate Inc l I CHAPTER THREE THIRTY The R Red Eec d Bird was warming up Jules Julu paced Ced a regular course before It it his hands hand pushed down in oat pockets pocket his eyes lifting now flOW arid and d again to the clear sky as if U to test an idea Occasionally he looked toward the big house impatiently They would come soon but why the delay It was not such liuch a big job they were doIng do do- ing But they were long about it Then he accused himself of ot childish haste No doubt they were working as fast as they could He was He must be patient The little planes plane's motor hummed evenly Jules resumed ida his pacing The decision to undertake ke Jules' Jules mad plan had come only after hours of argument All morning they had debated its possibilities and the ob obvious oh- oh obstacles were many and for for- It would be e very nearly Impossible impossible im im- Im- Im possible to follow the pigeons Harry flarry insisted There was the bare possibility possibility too that they would prove to tobe tobe tobe be speedier birds than they thought Bird would flown a suggestion that came up again and again and never failed to Irritate Jules who could conceive of no greater speed than that of which his beloved plane was capable And then it was Jul Jules himself who thought of this assuming that he was as able to follow the pigeons there was little likelihood that he would find a place to land landan an important tant consideration since the plane would certainly give them away to Joans Joan's captor One by one however these objections objections were minimized chiefly because there seemed to be no alternative haying having little faith in Shrikes Shrike's implied promise to release Joan upon receipt of the ransome All AU save one and upon this one they were agreed A Abird Abird Abird bird with the sober coloring of ofa pigeon pig- pig con eon could long followed by the hum human m eye Nature it an Inconspicuous plumage Then Then Merle imitating Jules' Jules animation animation ani ani- an- an mation of a few minutes before whirled about and cried have it I have it Well We'll dress the pigeons in ret red shirts And before they could digest the idea she had dashed off toward the stairs Jules turned to Harry It Is the great idea Harry Harryl A red pigeon I will wUl pursue to the outside of the earth carth Quick Help Merle I will go warm up my Red Bird that Is to the red pigeon 1 Merles Merle's fingers were too anxious The pigeons were not good dressmakers dressmaker's ers er's models The result was slow progress but unmistakably progress t The little red shirt a scrap of or red silk from an old dress Merle had found in inthe the attic was a a. snug fit It had to be for it with neither the birds bird's wings nor its tall tail feathers When the second pigeon was neatly sewed into his finery Harry chucked him hastily into the cage with his fellow Lets go he said quickly If this plan works Merle did not wait watt but ran ran out before re him and called to Jules who came came running to meet Bravo Bra Jules cried and clapped his hands vigorously Harry held the cage aloft that Jules Jule might see what they ther had done But Bul Jules was too anxious to be off Your chute Harry it Itis is there b by the tree Quick He turned to Merle My My sweetheart sweetheart sweet sweet- heart he said with difficulty everything depends with you We Ve will go up We will climb to say ay fJ hf- hf teen hundred feet leet Then I Z wave When I wave you will make your pigeons pigeons pigeons pig pig- eons free It Is isso so simple is it But it is very very important Abruptly ly Merle caught his face be tween hands and kissed him If you go toward the city darling she told him Ill jump in the car and go home If you go any other way Ill I'll stay here Call CaU me if anything happens Ill I'll-be terribly terribly terribly ter ter- ter- ter anxious Harry his parachute secured was climbing into the front cockpit Jules put a foot in the step swung a long leg over and all but disappeared The motor roared the RedBird shot forward forward forward for for- ward rolled along the ground and leaped into theair Merle lost in a dust waited wait wait- ed cd the cage in The plane cUm climbed bed quickly in short steep arcs And then unexpectedly It leveled out and waved above tho the rear cockpit Merle dropped to her knees put the cage on the ground and opened the door One by one she took the birds from the cage and gave them thema a little toss into the air Like the plane they rose in small circles climbing climbing Like true red redbirds redbirds redbirds birds they seemed to the anxious girl girlon girlon girlon on the ground The next moment they were lost to Merle But when the plane above them abruptly altered its course nosed down a little and shot off to toward toward toward to- to ward the city she knew that It was Red Bird after red bird Before she heard his st step p in the hall hail the vibration told Joan that Shrike was back Every ery muscle in her body taut she breathed a hurried hurrIed hur hur- ried ned prayer that tha t some miracle would save her from this unspeakable fiend But her faith stopped short of ex ex- ex This beaSt S seemed emed to be beyond the reach of her God She heard the door open and close And then the little light flashed on and came slowly toward her She made 8 a futile effort to scream She strained against the rose rope that held her helpless Her one hope during dur dur- lug ing the last few hours had been that Mueller would for some reason come conic cometo cometo to the cott cottage ge But It was a a. wild hopeWell hopeWell hopeWell hope Well Im I'm back There was an odd eagerness In the high voice I r knew you'd be waiting for me he chuckled so so I hurried all aU I could The light drew nearer and anti nearer until it was not not- more than a foot above her face She closed her eyes She prayed fervently Oh God Godi Stop him himl st Stop p him But when she opened her e eyes es the light had not moved and Shrikes Shrike's hot breath beat upon her face He said Ingratiatingly Promise to be nice and Ill I'll take the rope off oft Not the gag That mat stays But the ro rope e. e Prom Promise e The light hurt her eyes but she continued to stare at it dumbly Shrike laughed shortly Cant talk with the gag on eh Vell Well shake your our head hend one way or the other Do you ou promise What should she do If she shook her held head Suddenly she bc nodded If he took the rope or off she could at least struggle le This wa way she was as powerless to move Now that's good sense Shrike said obviously pleased The light moved mo to the loot foot of the couch Shrike ik said after fter fter a a. mo me ment V She moved her feet T They ey w were re free tree Now SNow for the Hands hand Can you The sentence was never finished for forat forat at that moment there came camet to their ears the hollow roar ot of an airplane motor The light rose and was WM very ery still Joan Jonn knew that he was listen listen- ing mg hats hat's the first airplane Ive I've heard in Sn these parts Shrike said wd he uncertainly But the airs air's free tree added a moment later r. r The light fell once more Then a strange thing happened happen d. d Something struck the roof dJ directly above their heads struck an aria and 1 dragged across the shingles The Tho s spotlight went out Joan h heard ard Shrike jerk the door open and nd run out Instantly she he swung wung her fe feet t tto to the floor and stood up Her legs were stiff and weak but she sum isum- summoned sum sum- ber her all strength and stumbled toward the door She stopped a moment mo trio- ment merit to kick of off her shoes hoes th then n moved on She never knew when she left the room for the door was open and the hall hail was as as' dark as the room The roar of the airplane was WM almost deaf deafening ening now The door At ad the front end of or the hall opened and she me saw Shrike peerIng peerIng peerIng peer- peer Ing out a revolver poised in his right hand She stepped stewed back In the doorway doorway doorway door door- way of the dark darkroom room Then the back end of or the hall ball was flooded loaded with light and she knew that someone had come comein in the rear door She leaned forward quickly StandIng StandIng Standing Stand- Stand Ing In the back door his red head bare bared was Harry But he did not see her His eyes were fastened upon the crouched figure at the op opposite endot end of ot the hall hail At that moment Shrike became aware of the man behind him So startled was he by this this' discovery that he did not st stop p to consider whether the thc man had a a. revolver but suddenly jerked the door open and darted out Even as he jumped to the ground a great red vulture s swooped down al almost almost almost al- al most to the ground before the door and shot upward again The Thc roar roal was deafening The house shook hook vio yb- Then the red thing bad had gone and the Uie noise lessened and Joan realized with a sickening sensation that the grotesque heap on the ground before the door was what was left of the theman theman theman man Shrike Weeks later Joan had the details of that momentous afternoon But not from Harry He refused to discuss discuss discuss dis dis- dis- dis cuss them Merle discussed them with relish From the receipt of the pigeons t to the idea of dressing them up in red silk she hc omitted nothing Of Harrys Harry's and Jules Jules' part In Joans Joan's rescue she boast boasted shamelessly Of course Im I'm proud of them Merle declared They were wonder wonder- ful And old Harry what a fellow fellow fellow fel fel- fel- fel low he Is Do you know Jules says he was never so frightened in his life as when he suddenly dis discovered ered Harry crawling crawlin head first over the side But he couldn't do anything about it She laughed laugh softly seen where the two two pigeons went you ou sec see but hut there wasn't any place to land and Harry wasn't risking a adelay delay deJay So out out- he he- went It was sure fools fool's luck that he plowed down on the very ery house of course Joan nodded soberly You dont don't know w what t they hey saved me from Merle No UNo Well Vell I can imagine The Lord was with you Joan Imagine that beast running out of the house just In ln time to get himself brained by the landing gear of ot Jules' Jules plane Poor Jules I think he still worries about that Hes He's glad Shrike was killed d naturally but man-like man he wishes someone else could have had the job Do you know why Jules sw swooped down that way Hed He'd seen Harry hit the roof and and then hed he'd lost him he was afraid Ham Harry had fallen off ort the roof and broken his neck or something So he dropped down to investigate hn He didn't know hed he'd hit Shrike until hours after ter But all air this Joan had from Merle the week after she and Harry returned returned re re ye- turned from the Great Lakes The The morning morning following her re rescue cue from Mueller's cottage Joan had disobeyed cbs dis obeyed Merles Merle's orders and gotten out of ot bed shortly after ten and anti gone downstairs She was still stUl a little weak and anti ravenously hungry but Shrikes Shrike's death had removed ther theone one cloud from her rose-colored rose heaven and land she was unbelievably happy happ Harry was In the library bent over overa a folio of or house plans plans' He did not note see her until she he came up behind him and touched his arm ann Slowly he turned and put his hands on her shoulders Beautiful he whispered It t Isn't true darling she told always been notoriously Ive ugly Youre beautiful he said fervent fervent- ly Remember member that night In the lunchroom 1 you When enyou paid for my supper When thirst I I. first saw you In a decent light I thought you were the most adorable creature rd Id ever seen een Joan laid her cheek against his broad chest and d put Jut her arms about him Ill never forget she said Mid softly That was the night first of the first I holiday Idever had That night hell helland helland helland and seaven broke loose t together gether She lifted to his and smiled Slowly his head heRd dropped until his him lips were pressed t to hers THE T. T END |
