Show G Q UNDER PRESSURE 0 george agnew chamberlain by y george agnew chamberlain WN service bervice G SYNOPSIS joyce sewell on the eve ol 01 her twe twentieth nileth birthday rebels at her lot dependent on her detested stepmother irma and full fun of tragic memories of 0 her mother a murder twelve years before and her father s death six months ago irma calls in he helm black adder an admirer to help her persuade persuade joyce to marry rich young mchael M chael kirk patrick M ke sent up to joyce by irma and blackadder demands a showdown on his proposal and Is rejected joyce real izes that la barranca a mexican hacienda which her father had owned legally be longs to her later she receives a letter en enclosing c losing a warrant on the un ted states treasury tr masury tor for 10 compensation for her mother a murder at la barranca she con fers with mr bradley a banker and only remain ng friend of her father s she con fides that she wants to make a secret journey to mexico bradley arranges an all details for her she departs by plane un detected D rk van second secre tary of the american embassy in mexico city gives joyce a chilly reception and the she loses her temper she finds a mexican woman lawyer Mar margarida garlda fonseca who takes her to general onelia right hand band man to the mexican minister of war margarida reminds onella that the usurper of la bar ranca aranca is his dangerous enemy general do rado the two make plans to send joyce with a few picked men under pancho buena ventura to drive dorado out adan arnaldo a young man who runs el a inight club knows dorado s present where shouts so they take joyce there that night where she notices D rk general dorado arrives and in the course of sudden gun P play lay the lights go out and joyce is left alone adan aden arnaldo whisks her out and takes her home the folio follo ving m morning orning joyce drives off to toluca w th pancho back in Elsin boro joyce s disappearance has been d sc blackadder upbraids irma but succumbs to her helpless charm and plans to marry her CHAPTER V continued 6 did you or anybody else in your organization loan or give any funds to joyce sewell the answer is no helm de dared mr bradley after a pause blackadder turned from the tele phone with a scowl bradley knows where joyce got the money he announced he s no liar so he didn dian t give or loan it to her but he knows where she got it and he won t tell never since college days had blackadder bowed to authority but he was now momentarily confused conscious he had just made a major capitulation what did it matter how it had come about without the fuss and feathers of formal pro dosal or acceptance he and irma sewell were headed for the altar realization brought him no regret but also no particular exaltation by nine 0 clock that night black adder was in washington and by eleven the next morning already having cashed a telegraphed money order he succeeded in reaching the secretary of state the secretary knew nothing of cutler sewell or la barranca but he had read plenty about joyce As a consequence he succumbed to direct action with the result that a few hours later just as dirk van had finished changing into polo togs a messenger arrived sum moning him to the embassy sorry to break up your game dirk was the ambassador ambassadors s greet ing but you re in charge of the gray code aren t you youa yes sir cast your eye over that said the ambassador tossing him a flim sy I 1 haven t seen a code message for so long I 1 was beginning to think they re obsolete by the same token you must be out of practice do your best and bring me the reading as oon boon as it s done it was almost six 0 clock before van his face drawn either from exhaustion or anxiety reappeared here you are sir read it said the ambassador dirk cleared his throat before obeying confidential miss joyce sewell departmental passport num ber eight nine six seven two five three reported in mexico city stop at request of her prospective stepfather mr helm blackadder of Elsm Elsin boro new york who will meet all expenses you are instructed to locate her with all possible dispatch show every attention including pro vision of funds and guard without annoying her pending his arrival do not employ native police under any circumstances and keep matter se cret especially as regards press quite a mouthful murmured the ambassador what do they think I 1 am a gumshoe expert he frowned by the way isn t that the girl the radio has been talking about for the last three nights the radio exclaimed dirk startled I 1 don t know sir I 1 haven t a radio one of those I 1 id naping scares explained the ambassador excuse me sir may I 1 express an opinion opinions 7 certainly if you re sure you have one I 1 believe we can prick that bub ble in no time said dirk miss sewell was at the chancellery five days ago I 1 know where she s stay ing and the sort of people she s go ing about with good boy boyl exclaimed the am cassador bas dirk you ve bought something get out and go to work take a holiday I 1 leave the entire matter in your hands CHAPTER VI dirk climbed into his sports road ster and drove to the hotel joyce had given as her address only to find she had checked out within half an hour of leaving the chancellery there was no information as to whence she had come or where she had gone the face of the woman who had been with her at el tene broso was unforgettable but anfor tuna tely he had failed to establish her identity at the time general onelia he knew officially as well as by sight and reputation getting his address from the telephone di rectory he drove to his residence and succeeded in penetrating to the patio where he was asked to wait presently he heard the roar of the general s voice say I 1 m not at home I 1 don t care if he can hear me say I 1 im m out dirk sat down on the nearby near by bench between two lounging soldiers and lighted a cigarette when the messenger came back he looked up at him smilingly and spoke loudly in fair spanish I 1 heard but the general is under a misapprehend on if my business were official I 1 would of course have called on him by appointment at the war office but it isn t its it s personal as between one gentleman and another I 1 shall sit here until he sees me unless he wishes to assume the responsibility of having me thrown out onelia came stumping around the angle of the patio well then compadre compayre com padre what is it as one gentle man to another I 1 came to elicit your sympathy I 1 saw you the other night at el 10 11 f t d ti f I 1 oil 5 AN I 1 i V r F 1 A get your hat flat and coat whis adan follow me accompanied by two la dies one blue and the other black eyed please take pity on me would you consider it an unpardonable in discretion if I 1 should inquire as to their identities 7 not at all said onelia prompt ly the black eyed one is the well known lawyer Licen clada marga rida fonseca As for the young girl I 1 haven t the slightest idea who she is she didn dian t come in with you youa P oh no As I 1 remember it mar ganda smiled at her in the lobby and the girl simply tagged along do you happen to know what became of her after the disturb ance ancee I 1 don t I 1 haven t seen her from that moment to this are there any further 7 9 none general I 1 can t thank you too much for your frankness and courtesy the interview at an end dirk could not break away quickly enough perhaps this thing was se rious and what lead had he lefta only one adan arnaldo and that was a thin hope going alone to el Ten eproso was a questionable move but he would have to face it when he arrived he ignored the head waiter and took possession of a small table seldom used because it was too close to the orchestra dirk promptly showed the caliber of his brain by ordering a magnum of vintage champagne A young man at el without a girl gir was an absurdity but a young man seated before a magnum of wine is never an absurdity to a maitre d ho tel and seldom to anybody else in due course the lure worked even on arnaldo during an interlude he approached the table got it bad he asked with a friendly grin the worst in years said dirk mind if I 1 sit down not at all order another nonsense man one glass is all I 1 want sorry said dirk this bottle is mine I 1 have to keep track of what I 1 drink he looked up and smiled no offense arnaldo you can have anything else you want adan ordered a wine you re clever lever you know A vintage wine is the one thing we don t dare fake dirk leaned forward listen arnaldo I 1 m not such a fool as to try any slick business with you some people think the president runs this country but I 1 know bet ter Flat flattery teryl said arnaldo and how I 1 love it I 1 but lets let s be fair to myself rl r run only the town all right leave it at that do you remember the last night I 1 was here the night you had to do your stuff on some sort of a general with a gun sure our last incident but one four nights ago to be exact here s the dirt said dirk with a quick nod general onelia was sitting at the end of this row with a woman called margarida Mar ganda fonseca and a young american girl who t seem to be here tonight I 1 ve got to find that girl and find her quick can you help me during the speech arnaldo s face had gone completely blank now he frowned as if he were doing his best to remember A young girl eh eaf are you sure she was amen ameri can cana why stall asked dirk sharply I 1 in playing straight with you why not try it with mea her name is joyce sewell do you know where she is nowa arnaldo if I 1 don t find her I 1 lose my self respect and per haps my job adan nodded as if he had come to a decision stay here wait for me without her permission tell you nothing he was gone before dirk could protest his heart sank to a new low for the evening as he poured out his sixth glass of wine he looked up to see arnaldo returning from the telephone booth at a pace that seemed slow yet moved with the speed of a stalking cat get your hat and coat whis adan follow me riding along in the night joyce did not think of la barranca as a spot but as a world and she was right her childhood memories would have fallen short of laying out a blueprint but they were quite capable of leading her with acau racy through such a maze as the uninitiated mind can scarcely con ceide in her thoughts her feet hurried through one of two great gates at each end of a narrow court which in times of peace could be an open thoroughfare midway b between e t w e e n them they paused to await the open mg ing of a daguan a massive portal of solid planks flanked on either side by administrative and execl tive offices beyond it they entered the first of the great courts a huge cobbled square surrounded by stalls chapel school general store sheds tack room and granaries a space capable of harboring a thou sand head of livestock in addition to a fair sized threshing floor over the pine clad mountains winding down into the valley of the lerma and then shooting hooting in a bee line across the plain into the city 0 of toluca the road had been excellent but from that point on it was brov ing unbelievably bad the car run ning rang without lights was pitching rearing weaving like a maddened broncho she grasped the struts above her and dangled like a mon key in the zoo hours passed but at last she caught a first glimpse of the white walled cradle of her child hood and cried full voiced la baranca Baran cal yo la veol veo she was so absorbed in watching the approach of the white blot of buildings that she failed to note a figure squatted beneath the can delabra of a monster cactus but pancho saw it and stopped directo euseblo 7 he asked no A peon ghostly in cotton jumper and pants stepped forth siga me obediently the car followed hirr him off the trail and over the smooth prairie necessarily at a snail s s pace presently they swerved left and continued along the edge of ol 01 the barranca that had given the th hacienda its name it was an ir regular cleft a hundred feet deer deep and with almost perpendicular walls which ran for miles along most ol 01 its length it was over 50 yards wide but occasionally it narrowed to 10 and at one point to less here a swinging rope bridge had been thrown across and upon catching a glimpse of it joyce barely man aged to stifle a cry this had been the outermost boundary of her childhood canters euseblo eusebio pointed and stood aside carefully pancho drove the car un til it stalled into a gully so deep the ragged top became one with the surrounding prairie he crawled out and so did joyce noticing he had omitted to do so automatically she turned off the ignition and took the key he carried the lighter petaca pataca and pueblo the heavy su tease when they reached the bridge eu seblo sebio stepped lightly across pancho waited until he reached the other side and then followed watching them joyce s hair began to tingle the steep sag of its own weight was startling enough but under a burden the angles changing at ev ery cry step became preposterous add a sway which resembled that of a trapeze in full swing joyce started cautiously down the incline which promptly dipped so sharply she would have been hurled headlong had she not had a firm grip on the upper ropes after what seemed an age she was across then they moved forward a silent and ghost ly procession the hovels of peons still tightly sealed against the night air began to appear to right and left looking like whitewashed tombs in one corner of a corral commanding a full view of the east ern entrance gate joyce was placed along with her baggage and told not to budge until further orders beside her crouched euseblo eusebio await mg ing the dawn pancho had disappeared but presently he returned he had changed from his well fitted uniform into clothes exactly like eu seblo sebio s a great conical straw hat jumper and pants of white cotton sandals held by a thong between his big toe and the next she failed to not ce cc tt t heavy bulge around his waist under the loose jumper a twin bulge to euseblo eusebio s A pale green light appeared in the heavens and with only a moment s warning the sun rose at their backs to give battle to the setting moon vaguely she realized pancho panch 0 and euseblo were gone from her S side ide she had sensed rather than seen them wriggle over the wall rise to their feet and melt through the morning mist into the passing pro cession she waited with h held e I 1 d breath wondering what was about to happen then pandemonium broke loose half a dozen scattered shots act ing as detonator exploded a volume of shrieks such as she had heard but once before in her life through the gate came a lone individual in nondescript khaki at a dead run eyes bursting from his head in the agony of his fear As she looked his chest opened toward her in a tragic scarlet flower he seemed to stop in mid air then though al ready dead came hurtling and turn bling through the dust to thud against the adobe wall winged by rage she leaped over him and ran toward the gate as fast as her feet could carry her stop she shouted in a voice hoarse with fury oh oh ch don tl don ta t TO BE CONTINUED |