Show 0 X taht sim A SPY ys SYLVIA TAYLOR w THE stany SO fani joan leland secretary ecret ary to 0 o arthur bl Mul ulford tord san francisco I 1 importer to li amazed and angry when lie he discharges her and refuses any explanation ifer her titter sister sybil with whom she shares hares an apartment loses loies her beauty salon position the tame same day joan accepts accept a position posit lon la in a night club as ai secretary to hind handsome some karl hi filler who pays her a high salary diary la in advance and gives the unusual hunts hoot as the reason lie ile obtains a job for or sybil and makes love to joan who Is fascinated paul sherman his manager interrupts interrupt them returns later to invite joan to dinner with him joan meets karls karla partner eric strom noth both paul and eric seek icek to make dates with joan on one sunday wh when n karl eric and joan were at dinner karl li Is called to the telephone ile he then asks joan to come to the office for or some ome dictation she be writes one short letter tier and karl suggests agge ts the she go home in a taxi fall while she Is walling waiting I 1 paul la ul shows up in his car she tells him she had forgotten her purse now continue with the story CHAPTER V ill get it for you paul offered and let karl know kilow youre taking me home oh nol no I 1 ill go myself joan wondered why everything seemed to interfere with her romance with karl both paul and eric seemed bent on making trouble but she could not be rude to paul after all karl seemed to like him the door of the club was unlocked as she slipped in and hurried down the corridor afterwards she wondered what instinct prompted her to pause for a moment as she stood with her hand on the doorknob of karl millers office the hall was dark save for the crack of light beneath the door an open window beside her led to a fire escape where the rain fell noisily on the metal balcony perhaps her hesitation was due to the fear that karl would be angry with her perhaps the uneasy feeling that he might discover paul was taking her home but joan paused and her heart was beating heavily it seemed a long time but in reality it was only a few seconds that she stood there listening to eric stroms voice ja karll bittel karls karis reply was harsh rein nein Es verboten vcr ver boten joan did not understand but instinctively her hand drew back froni from the door this was a private con karl would not want her to hear but hi her er nervous gesture had made a small sound which karl millers ear caught immediately i he threw open the door with a violent gesture coant what are you doing 1 I forgot my purse she faltered feeling eric stroms sardonic eyes upon her karls karis relieved smile reassured her of course coursel here it is joan made a hasty exit closing ahe the door quickly behind her but as she ehe walked down the dark hall she realized that she was shivering 4 4 4 the matter paul demanded as joan got in the car youre as white as a ghost nothing Not hingl 1 but the girls hands were clasped nervously lets go 99 home Pl please easel 1 joan tried to tell herself that nothing was wrong just because karl and eric strom had been speaking in their native tongue was no cause for alarm but she found herself saying to paul do you speak german so you overheard karll you answered my question and I 1 am not going to paul said firmly as he stopped the car in front of her apartment building do you mind if I 1 comer come in fara for a minute joan was not very gracious about it she was tired and confused the last tiling thing she wanted was to be forced to listen to pauls subtle insinuations against Ka Karl rl paul however settled himself comfortably before the fire lit a ci cigarette and said joan why dont you quit working at the club she stood before him green eyes narrowed with anger her head high 1 I dont think its any of your busi bus ness bess what I 1 do or where I 1 1 work im tired of your insinuations if you have anything against karl miller why dont you come out and say so why sh 0 I 1 work for him she threw her hat on the table and smoothed her hair in front of the mirror over the fireplace paul rose and touched her arm im sorry jearil I 1 guess I 1 used the wrong approach I 1 suppose from your point of view im meddling where I 1 have no righetto right to their eyes met in the mirror his face was unsmiling the brown eyes serious ee rious you dont seem like the type of girl to be working for karl miller you dont belong at the club elite 1 im sick of hearing everyone say that im old enough to know what whai im doing I 1 dont need advice from anyone you are a very stubborn woman paul laughed the room was cheerful in the firelight the polished brats brass shone and a large blue bowl of mums lent a gay note to the somber furnishings do you live here wile alonet with my sister sybll sybil Z 1 F X 1 A Pl please easel joan cried exasperated Is there any good reason why I 1 work for karl and she approve of your working for karl either Pl please easel 1 joan cried exasperated Is there any good reason why I 1 work for karl do you know something against him zt paul stared into the fire but lie he was silent then you dont know anything joan continued paul tossed his cigarette into the flames okay joan you win I 1 cant say any more but remember this watch your will you thanks for the advice its for your own good paul sherman said picking up his hat how about that date tomorrow night joan smiled faintly dont you ever give up I 1 told you I 1 go they stood at the door measuring each other with their eyes pauls a mask that told her nothing joans challenging him defying him to speak one word against karl miller 1 I wont bother you any more then paul said quietly good night in the bedroom sybil was propped up in her bed wearing a blue satin bed jacket reading a magazine was that karl no paul sherman giving me some come good advice about working at the cluba he think im the type whatever that maans means 11 she slipped into her warrn warm bathrobe and sat down on the edge of her sisters bed 1 I met karls karis partner eric strom tonight he tried to make abate a date with me too its a shame the way vay everyone tries to double cross karl ol 01 how 1 in the world did you happen to come home with paul toan joan I 1 explained but did not mention th what she had overheard when n she went back to get her purse before she could finish the telephone rang karl millers voice came forcefully avei over the wire joan you are hone home safely yes ive been home for some time she smiled picturing karl on the other end of the line how sweet that he could be so concerned I 1 1 I just wanted to be sure that you were were all right good night darling darag it was the fhe first time that he had called her darling her pulse leaped at the im unfamiliar familiar endearment we will not work tomorrow karl informed her we shall have dinner together alone joan went back to the bedroom with shining eyes to tell sybil then you wont meet paul of course not I 1 I 1 anyway joan had not considered the possibility lity that karl miller might take her to dinner atthe at the same place paw paul suggested but as they walked into the lobby of the hotel paul had mentioned joan coming gutof the bar ban he nodded pleasantly as he passed them and joan bre breathed ached a sigh of relief their meal was almost alt t finished when joan saw paul agaj again he was sitting alone at a corner table directly behind karl when they left joan looking over her shoulder saw paul behind them was he deliberately following her was this his idea of a joke but joan did not tell karl he might have discharged paul and she did not want him to lose his job on her account karl drove swiftly along the embarcadero bar cadero have you ever been on a freighter he asked the girl at his us side like to see one id love it she answered sweet he reached for her hand they stopped at pier 27 joan could see the hulk of a small ship looming out of the mist F karl carl took her arm as they walked through gha a large larger storeroom out into the foggy naj night ht and up the swaying gangplank of the freighter on deck she followed karl up a narrow staircase to the captains quarters but though a lamp burned brightly in the cabin there was no sign of I 1 the captain joan was intrigued by the round wooden table the small desk the faded curtains that inadequately draped the portholes port holca holes anyone on board she asked drawing closer to karl there are a couple of sailors below I 1 saw them as we came up well wait here a few minutes do you mind no its fun faunl I 1 I 1 karl kari walked to the table poured some som e whisky out of an old fashioned crystal decanter and quickly downed it this ship has been to south america all through the west indies even to japan how id love to go to some of those places I 1 im so tired of living such an ordinary life just eating and sleeping and working day after day she moved her hands with an impatient gesture her figure was straight and slender in its black wool dress her face pale ivory with its eager mouth and flashing emerald eyes y karl miller caught his breath as s he looked at her id like to take you to south america Amerl ca darling dar lingi 1 maybe I 1 can some day Would you like to have me show you th the world more than she cried recklessly oh karl he pressed her hand to his lips youre beautiful he murmured youre beautiful and exciting and I 1 love you lieb chent do you know what liebchen heechen means it is ia sweet hearal it is what you are to mel his arms were around her laeb cheal this foreign word held a curi ous fascination for her it was like karl strong strange and sweet you believe me joan you believe me the drone of foghorns fog horns seemed a mournful undercurrent to her rapidly beating heart yes karl I 1 believe you jou 1 As karls arms closed about her joan heard a faint sound outside the cabin door startled she cried what was that karl did you hear it probably one of the sailors but his hand reached to the inside pocket of his coat and he walked swiftly to the door and flung it 0 pen open there was no one the stairway ay leading down to the deck was empty karl looked out into the dark night you must have imagined etl no one is there 1 I heard something I 1 know I 1 did oh karl lets get out of here you can see your friend some other time cant you his voice was controlled just as you wish but a as she preceded him down the steps joan saw a figure disappear into the shadows of the deck andi even in the fog she could see that it was paul Sherma shermana nl i I 1 three weeks had fiad passed since the tha night joan went to the freighter with K karl arl and was followed by paul sherman she had not mentioned I 1 it to karl she wanted to solve the mystery rhy of pauls curious behavior for herself she was suse sue that paul meant no harm looking oyer karls appointment book she saw that paul sherman would be at the club at ten thirty that night im going to try to see him alone al one she decided and demand an explanation if he tell me ill threaten to go to karl about it her relationship with karl could not have been more perfect since the night on the freighter when he told her he loved her shi she felt much closer to him at least three evenings ev e a week karl took her dancing on sundays they went for long rides across the golden gate bridge into marin county where the trees flashed their autumn reds and browns in the deep november sunshine only sybil was able to shatter her peace by saying it if karl is really in love with you why he ask you to marry him he probably will joan said stubbornly in time after A after fter all we known each other very long karl not once had mentioned marriage you stul still dont trust karl do boulo you loan joan asked as aa the girls girla washed the supper dishes TO BE CONTINUED |