Show CARIBBEAN C A IT 1113 13 E A N ft 1 conspiracy s 04 bu BRENDA CONRAO c THE STORY SO 80 PAR FAH anne neywood dutiful beau auti timi ful daughter of 0 a wealthy new york toh newspaper publisher go goei on n an 11 Situ ment to puerto rica wa where e I 1 pete wilcox a reporter on her fathers father paper li Is s stationed t as a a U S army officer on the boat the ha meets meet a young puerto rican miguel valera and an engineer named richard taussig caustic ol of whom the ibe Is ii immediately suspicious in spite of 0 the fact act that he look fooht like a typical tourist she does not cot know that he li Is la in fact act a german agent ordered to destroy puerto rico water supply anne ance knows something li is wrong hot but want taussig to know she he him As the boat docks docka she he and miguel valera are at the rau ran together to CHAPTER n H she looked down again at the people on the dock A girl was standing there thera gazing up along the crowded ships rall she was 0 80 o lovely that annes heart sank lank another notch in spite of hersell herself she was slim elfin and not very tall with warm peach colored skin and dark sparkling eyes and tawny chestnut hair behind her was an older roan man with the same arresting quality the girl had except that hers here was an almost breathtaking breath taking loveliness and his was a rugged and aristocratic dignity that seemed to hold him completely apart from the crowd around him suddenly both faces broke into an eager smile the old man raised his hat the girl waved her hand anne glanced around miguel valera was waving back to them his face lighted with pleasure my father he said anne had noticed before the pride prida and warmth that came into his voice when hed spoken his fathers name she could understand it now cowand and yet tor for some reason it made him suddenly remote from her as if the man on the dock had moved in between them there at the rail and my cousin graciela Gra clela she and her father live with us her mother was killed in spain in the civil war lovely she anne said anne caught a final glimpse of Grac Graci lelas elas face ace as they followed the crowd below he know thes the in love with him the she thought or he care the reflection she caught of herself in the mirror on the landing of the stairs had a new and sudden cudden radiance and tile the touch of his guiding hand on the bare skin of her arm had afkind a kind of magic she no before im sorry the trip i is over really 11 she said im slad glad youre going to be in san juan I 1 hope let me show you around anne came to a dead stop at the bottom of ohp stairs coming out it A the pursers office with two of the ships officers behind him was captain in peter wilcox of the united states army he was in tan tropical gabardine with a tan sun helmet inder his arm and an inlaid mahogany swagger stick in his hand for in instant he looked so different she sure if it was really he he was vas older and harder and more au horita tive then he grinned as he be used to do hello annie I 1 wondered if there was as another anne heywood in this jart ot of the world oh pete its swell to see youl she ran down the last steps it was vas swell to see him she would lave kissed him for an instant she luite juite forgot miguel valera but he bield out his hands so that was hat she turned back have you wo two met this is mr valera captain wilcox the two men shook hands something curious seemed to happen to ahe atmosphere all of a sudden it was like a cloud crossing the sun it get your stuff together anne pete said ill be along and help you get it to your hotel he grinned again if like roe me to that Is the passengers from the ship had already registered the clerk turned to anne 1 are you miss heywood its IV a good thing you made a reservation its the last room in the house bouse A gentleman was just asking tor for you one ot of the passengers she sh took up the pen wrote miss anne and stopped her ey eyes es were fastened on the top card in the stack the clerk was holding on it wits wai a small mall curiously cramped migna ture wr mr richard taussig new york city you are in room miss I 1 hey wood the tha clerk said IV corner room on the ocean side her eyes were still fattened fastened on the card in hla his hand the room number en it was she wrote I 1 heywood huntington long island new york put the pen down and turned around pets hwajung waiting looking at her R he a took her arm the matter whine 1 anz W ohp eald am quickly then ha laughed 1 I dont know lot got into me all of a sudden im just stupid I 1 guess he go gripped her arm a little tighter she looked up at him wi with th warm laughing eyes the idea that mr richard taussig could exude any kind of pitch in room that could step seep through and defile anything of hers in boom room seemed suddenly too tod fantastic to her herto to worry about rm glad im here hera she said softly so am I 1 pete said now id like to think you come came down because you missed having me under toot foot but bui im still relatively sane and you dont look as if the doctor ordered a rest what about coming coining clean miss heywood anno anne crossed the patio and sat eat down on the balustrade im lust just down for fun she said he looked at her a moment did you meet old don alvaro he asked she looked blank the father of the guy boti you were with on the ship you mean miguel valera valedat Va leraT 1 I mean his father yes I 1 met him while I 1 was sitting on my trunk waiting for you what were you doing I 1 Chec checking kind up on the pas passenger senser list 1 I 1 keep forgetting youre in MIU mill tiry tary intelligence anns anne said do you catch spies or what he grinned public relations Is all I 1 do there arent any spies down here miss heywood Every everything things an open book if you want a scale map of the island and all its fortifications all you do is send ten cents la IA stamps bamps to general headquarters he got up ive got to push along what about lunch twelve officers club at el morro any taxi dri verll get you there anne nodded pete wilcox waited on the gallery until he be heard beard the door trundle shut and the elevator begin its wheezing progress upward he tossed his cigarette into the jar of white sand by 6 I 1 ga 14 1 I keep forgetting youre in the he military intelligence anne said the pillar and came back into the lobby it was empty except for a man sitting on a wicker sofa between the center arches reading A spanish newspaper pete went over to the desk the clerk pushed the pile ot of registration cards across to him annes was on top under it mr richard Taus siga sigs pete glanced through the rest ot of them quickly and handed them back to the clerk he pushed Taus sigs across the desk phone messages and callers be said the clerk nodded and miss heywood would me like a room on the second floor boor as soon as its possible the clerk nodded again the man on the wicker sofa folded his newspaper pa P er and strolled out into the gallery one oh eight pete said as he passed him he would have liked to add one ten but military intelligence once in motion was like the mills of the gods and he want anne heywood ground exceedingly small heaven only knew what shed get into before she got out He switched on the ignition something else was worrying him too an old story held hed picked up a long time 11 ago go w when hen he be was covering spanish speake speakeasies asies why don alvaro alvarda Al a name stuck in his memory he know except that names and disjointed facts had a way of sticking there and were part of his luck as a newspaperman he shrugged his shoulders the whole thing was fantastic probably all a speakeasy pipe dream the idea that don alvaro or any man alive today knew the con quest adores secret ot of san juans juan water supply and could choke off el morro and her sister bister fortress for san cristobal wa absolutely cockeyed if lie he jcck so a story of the sort to G 2 have him in tho nearest insane asylum in nothing IDO thing flat the water supply was certainly one of the chief strategic problems of the island but it wits was a problem aroble in in engineering gi and he going to believe that the old conquistadores had bad left a secret the army engineers figure out he stopped abruptly as something else flashed tato into hit his mind it was wag an order hed seen a couple of weeks before from rom the war department in washington canci cancelling elling miguel valeras previous order to report lor for active service with the infantry at fort buchanan that thae was all there was to it and noi now he was here 1 I wonder what the he bejil 1 pete thought as he deturi the e son arys salute and hurried inside side lieutenant colonel tb thoomas mas J fletcher looked up from Us desk with a slight frown hi he liked puerto rico and he liked pete but he had been assistant chief of hafl G 2 for only a couple of weeks and his predecessor Col colonel ofiel mayhew liked neither pete nor puerto rico and he had warned colonel fletcher all alike they think the army Is the city desk j of a 4 yellow journal youve got to 0 watch them closer than you do the damn natives they go off hay half cocked look out tor for what they tall call their private source of information 11 it was not only his predecessors predecessor i warning that disturbed colonel fletcher at the moment it it w was L the letter on the desk in hon front 0 ot il urn fortunately it had come afif arf time 11 I 1 it had come a little later thyre might have been hell bell to pay in washington and colonel fletcher might have found himself back in the states teaching R 0 T C boys squads right he returned petes salute taussig lg Is in room JOB at the granada sir pete said lie he remembered the sir air lust just in time you can call it off captain WU wil cox I 1 fletcher spoke evenly and quietly it was his own fault of course lie he should have taken mayhewg May hews advice vice instead of the off chance that wilcox really had ha d something you may read this he handed pete the letter taussig is not only a substantial citizen he has a very powerful political sponsor the letter was to malor major general dutton the commanding officer of the puerto rican department the letterhead and the signature belonged to a united states senator whose relations with the press had not always been free of virulent name calling a my dear beneral general jt it read it to la a very great pleasure for me to take this opportunity to commend my old friend mr richard taussig to your kind attention mr taussig Is a sanitary engineer of international repute I 1 shall regard any courtesy you can show him as a personal bayor I 1 elleve believe jie he ls Is especially inter interested isted in the afore more domestic arrangements of the military establishment and I 1 hope you will see sea your way clear to allowing him as much freedom for or investigation as is consistent with the best interests of all concerned I 1 am looking forward to his unbiased report on the use we are making of the vast funds pouring into our caribbean bases with warm personal rega regards ads I 1 am very sincerely yours across the bottom the generals aide had scribbled Is dinner enough have arranged tour how long is he staying pete handed the letter back all captain and by the way colonel fletcher smiled faintly are you sure this camouflage ou flage when you want to meet a young lady its best to just say gay so ED yott know all pete sat eat tor for a moment at his desk it I 1 were lindbergh I 1 could resign he thought sardonically he unlocked a drawer and took a grimy 6 sheet beet of cheap hotel writing paper out ol of it dear mr wilcox it began 1 I take my pen in hand to say if you can take this as strictly private and personal between you and 1 I go ahead it if you got to turn it in to them brass hats youre mixed up with stick a match to it t I 1 dont want the joint wrecked any more I 1 want to wake up in the tha morgue via the east river as they say you and me are on the le leyel rel A so and so named taussig Is headed your way Some things screwy I 1 dont know what two guys spilled it at we the bar tuesday night and its straight dope hows howa the black eyed beauties down your way signed F A schneider the signature was elaborate and towing flowing practiced tor for state occasions like thi the signing of liquor re receipts under it was written gus pete wilcox sat looking down at his hot up tip from the keeper of one of the most disreputable waterfront dives in hoboken it the first one hed got not one of them had bed been a phony the F 13 1 I had bad profited a number of times and no questions asked aska he shrugged the army e he thought Is different buti thought fletcher was different too I 1 guess they grow brass bats young he put the letter back la in the drawer after all it was just juit gus word against a guy who eyed evidently antly had friends in high places but jagus IT gus hadiat to the length of writing a letter 1 I guess ive ive stuck my neck out enough he thought sardonically what was the army formula keep your mouth shut your you bowels open and never volunteer there was wa something la in it id better call off the pack before they put rile me in the guardhouse 1 he thought lie he picked up the phone and rang the granada hotel TO HO BE CONTINUED |