Show 1 Telegram e Serial Seria Serial 1 Secret Orders By By Eleanor Atterbury CHAPTER 27 21 After that Stephanie stood long hours at the grilled window window win win- dow watching the shadows of ot I late afternoon creep slowly steadily into the alley She was wasI helpless to do anything now I At best it would be late evening evening evening eve eve- ning before anyone at home beI became be be- I came really alarmed Knowing shed she'd been caned called to headquarters they'd probably think she had Just stayed on through the night She had on several occasions occa occa- There was no hope for help from that direction A little old Chinese beggar woman poked into the alley picking up tinfoil Idly Stephanie Stephanie Stephanie Ste Ste- phanie watched her Back and forth through the rows of garbage gar gar- garbage bage cans Poor old thing Stephanie Stephanie Ste Ste- phanie watched her trudge slowly past the window the hem of her filthy dress just touching the sidewalk her face hidden by a battered old felt hat The beggar disappeared and Stephanie went back to her own thoughts Too nervous to relax she pac paced d the narrow room slow slow- ly As she moved her big guard watched her relentlessly The steady scrutiny of those brutal black eyes drove her back to the window The old beggar woman was there again Poking at the refuse strewn in the gutter Stephanie shuddered But at that the old woman was better off than she was was was' Watching the old crone go Stephanie smiled wryly You couldn't possibly realize how precious liberty was until someone someone someone some some- one took it Away from you It wasn't five minutes later that the old woman returned Intrigued Stephanie watched her going slowly along the walk scuffling through the litter of papers with the point of her hercane hercane hercane cane stooping now and then to put something into the basket she carried earned Unconsciously Stephanie Stephanie Stephanie Ste Ste- phanie stepped closer to the window window window win win- dow to see what it was she was collecting As she did the woman woman woman wo wo- man look looked up squarely into her face For an instant Stephanie thought her imagination was playing tricks The old woman turned away so quickly she could not be sure Still Still she she was sure that was Liu Old Woman in Alley Believed to Be Liu At that moment Henris Henri's watch dog apparently sensed Stephanie's excitement Something interesting going on on he growled over her der Instantly Stephanie drew back from the window shrugged carelessly as she walked to the cot sat down Nothing more than an old beggar hunting for tinfoil Nothing huh He peered out the window and Stephanie's heart stood still You seemed mighty interested in nothing It was nearly 5 o'clock then For the two hours following Stephanie tried hard not to let lether lether lether her hopes rise too high It seemed unwise to depend on so flimsy a thing as a fleeting recognition rec rec- Because how could that have been Liu dressed Liu-dressed dressed like that poking around a miserable alley And yet if Liu had missed her suspected what might have happened it was just possible she had disguised herself that way in the hope that that that- But Stephanie couldn't even be sure that Liu had actually seen her It would be difficult if not actually impossible to recognize anyone down in this dark hole And through a window as dirty as as' as that one too But 7 1 o'clock arrived inevitably inevitably inevitably bly and with it the sound of Henris Henri's step on the stairs out out- side When he came in she scarcely recognized him No longer the impeccable man about town he looked now more like a long long- Heavy mackinaw boots a cap pulled down over his eyes And even his speech had lost all of the romantic French flavor that had charmed Vicky so Hello he greeted her care care- lessly Then he spoke in rapid German to the four men who'd scrambled to their feet as he came in As he spoke they nodded eagerly slipped pistols into coat pockets left the basement basement basement base base- ment hideout one by one at short intervals When they had gone Henri turned to her Well have you made up your mind Certainly And you still prefer to be stubborn about this he smiled and the threat implied was ap ap- ap- ap parent Im not telephoning any false messages to my father if that thatis is what you mean He stared at her eyes narrowing narrowing narrowing nar nar- rowing dangerously Very well You'll come with me Radio Operator Appears to toBe toBe toBe Be Gardener From Miler House He swung open the door to the street But just as Stephanie would have stepped past him his grasp on her arm tightened find its it's wiser wiser and and more comfortable to keep your mouth shut Then thrusting her ahead of him they went up the steps to the street A car waited at the curb its motor running its three 4 pants silent as Henri thrust her almost bodily into the back seat climbed in after her 1 Not a word was spoken as the the I Icar car pulled away from the curbing curb curb- ing moved rapidly through what Stephanie recognized immediate ly was the dingy end of ot China town Down steep narrow one one- way streets through deserted districts that during the day day light hours teemed with whole whole- 4 sal sale produce trucks but deserted now echoed hollowly as the big car rumbled along S Crushed firmly between Henri 1 j and the huge silent man on her her left Stephanie was helpless to move And in the front seat the man beside the driver sat turned half In her direction his hIs' hand under the lapel of his coat coat- threateningly Not once during the much too short ride to the waterfront did she so much as see an officer Hardly a pedestrian even It it was as if the streets had been cleared purposely Any stray hope she might have cherished in spite of Henris Henri's warning had to give up now 1 At the wasa waterfront she Was transferred so quickly from the the of the big car to the thai deck of a small boat that she had only time to recognize that that j j it was the same fishing boat she had surprised Henri visiting I Was that only a few weeks ago I Fishing boat it might seem to i be she realized moments lateras later as thrust into the cabin she sat J huddled in the corner of a leather J covered window seat and tried 3 to collect her senses But only I from the outside Here in this this this' trim cabin was grim evidence that it was not fish these men were after Along one wall racks of guns of all sizes sizes At the end the glistening glistening glistening glis glis- dials of a huge radio A sending set probably and the operator wearing the headphones head phones she saw instantly wa was one of the gardeners from the thel Miller house I ITo To be continued j |