Show 1 S r BO Bj ONCE r. r r nS a l tty r GRANVILLE CHURCH y Itt I a I I J ie A S SERA ICE v I g I 1 fe feW T E STORY so FAR R Jeff Curtis and ii g set s wife Lee are are already on their way l Z Tierra Libre when he receives a n note torn om m Zora Zoia Mitchell I them not U ll of Z r come When they arrive In TIerra also alsa they tIley find both Zora and her hus bus and and nd dead It Is 15 Mitchells Mitchell's Job as chief Ineer for lor a fruit company that Jeff Jeffs s been called to fill fiU Later Jens Jen's r. r r lend jend Bill BUI Henderson Is also killed and eff suspects his employer Senor Mon Mon- 0 ya of murdering him and the Mitch Mitch- because they had bad found a clue to the tra e things going gaIn on at the plantation ther then sinister figures are the company Dr and the flyers yd Aden en and Lannestock Jeff and Lee LeeIs Is cover that their housemaid I is spying them and has replaced Jeffs Jeff's car car- ridges with duds A man named Collins Colllns from the Canal Zone to see iMitchell Now Jeff Is going to meet Jerry JerryC JerryJ C J w V 4 4 i r NOW CONTINUE WITH WIT THE TilE STORY t CHAPTER XV f v t Curt left the bedroom door ajar wv fy sightly for better circulation of air airan an he could get from the two foot work fr h WOrk portion of wall walI under ie e e ceiling He stripped showered W ad nd flung himself on the bed under i die Je e mosquito bar Outside Emilio hadn't moved simply went on read- read Irio s rg Jg smoke curling up past his hise e e its left eye ppe Curt had no intention of falling U lU like f. f Sleep he ne on only v wanted to outwait h is Ls shadow But he was so muscle teary reary that he did succumb to a catone cat- cat ad d with ap-with one ear on the alert The he click of the outer door latch etc him to He glanced at the het i vinous inous dial of his wrist watch K rs a slight i Hed He'd been dozing for foran l bpi arly an hour Sen Sead Fr Quietly he left the bed and went o b the door but remained out of a wedge of light coming from the I The door was wider aj ajar ar aror or an hed he'd left it He grinned to Because of the shaped fan-shaped layout if f Curts Curt's bungalow was wasn n plain view of the mess hall used js t is a clubhouse outside of meal amours ours He could see Emilio enter ne Elie lie long screen-front screen building se- se a table where he had good goodView View ew of the lighted porch hed he'd just t th wrt geft eft and settle himself himself- He was wasat tj ined at once by a couple of natives Curt j Curt recognized them as older inder Al Random Random and and a pack of slant ards Tards was produced Curt grinned That should tie up the theof theof theof of hombre ow tI He made quick time of dressing e se surA sesA A. A minute sufficed to pull pulI on shorts shirt and socks but it took longer nger to lace up his high boots He lipped a flashlight into a hip pocket pock- pock et t buckled on his gun belt He HeV V thought of his hat But he couldn't step step onto the open screened porch without the risk of being seen so soe soe soe e did without it I r l He had one further thought Hed He'd like to make sure that no one entered entered entered en en- while he was gone and discovered discovered discovered dis dis- covered his absence Emilio had a key Lauriano Duro had a key Curt skidded a magazine across the floor landing it up against the screen door as though it had so fallen No one could enter without displacing displacing displacing dis- dis placing it nor could anyone enter d 1 1 d 1 1 J. J o. o an save c. c aga again in an rep t ace LUC e I magazine in just that position I Quickly he unhooked the rear window win win- 4 dow dow screen and swung to the Aground ground Some hundred yards' yards up- up 1 river from the dock were a dozen or or more wooden wooden dugouts I belonging to natives in the company's compa- compa ny's nys service Carefully taking advantage advantage ad- ad vantage of every black shadow Curt m made his way to them Of of Jf Y He played his flash briefly selected select select- I 1 ed cd one worked its line over the I stake that held it to avoid trouble in duplicating the knot on his return crawled inI in I I McInnis was waiting for him slapping slapping slap- slap K ping viciously at neck arms thighs He seized the nose of the dugout to tot t pull it onto the bank Cripes Gripes Curt he complained if you'd been any longer you'd have found only bones These mosquitoes n toes hawks are big as Yeh Curt said briefly Been noticing Lets Let's get away from the s1 bank and light up It'll help some s Presently their pipes doing the work of smudge pots Well WelI get the dope i u Yes But remember Mitchell Curt His curiosity got the better of him just before he was bumped off 6 L Mitch made a secret trip over here one night just as youre you're doing now and for the same reason The TheOld TheOld It Old Man told me Now two are areA A better than one pal so I dont don't spill till you cut me in on it I Jerry Curt exclaimed theres theress s something rotten on the griddle over i there I can smell it but I cant can't G identify it Look Youve You've heard heards s i of Zora Mitchells Mitchell's death of course and B Bill ll Hendersons And Mitch's killing wasn't grudge work Mitch knew something something some some- Eh thing that had him in a dither if i you can imagine him getting worked d f up over anything Monahan gives me that much But what was it t Well Mitch is gone Zoras Zora's gone Bills Bill's gone Monahan doesn't know st beans That's why I want the lowdown lowdown low- low t down on There may be bea is a clue there He paused Did you know Mitch had been sabotaging the engineering work Slowing it down to such an extent 0 the whole tract would have been washed out come next rain rainy season That wasn't like Mitch Why'd he 1 do that It tics in somehow i He supplied briefly facts McInnis didn't know About the bodyguard who was more like a jailer the housemaid who spied on his home homel l life e the faulty cartridges About being reprimanded by for hiring Collins But Curt you must have worked up some kind of idea ideal 1 Oh I had a momentary brainstorm brainstorm brainstorm brain brain- storm the other day Curt admitted admitted admitted admit admit- ted when that Army plane made madean an emergency landing at San Alejo You know about that For an instant I figured Mitch had got the wind windup windup windup up over those those two planes we fly They're Junkers He gave a sour laugh Other things Mitch had let drop indicated that perhaps he had the Panama Canal in mind But Mitch was no fool He undoubtedly knew those planes could be used to damage the Canal Canal- Canal if if that's what he had in mindA mind A L L T 0 L Another thing i L figured cu was that tonal inai maybe had political ambi ambi- If he did have plans for a dictatorship unfriendly to the United United United Unit Unit- ed States States- McInnis cut in Old Man Moores Moore's in a position to know Curt and he says positively there are no political political political cal strings to your friend So fars far's known he means exclaimed exclaimed exclaimed ex ex- claimed Curt But no would-be would dictator dictator dictator dic dic- announces himself in ad ad- vance McInnis grunted Ive never known the boss to be wrong Curt I Curt gave a short laugh Well there are other things wrong with that idea Lets Let's have the dope Jerry Yeh Well WelI your pal Apolonio comes from an old family down this way You'll recognize the family name Lara Coffee cattle hides silver cigarettes cerveza His grandmother was Luisa Lara I 1 f 1 t. t t tit 8 y 1 I A 1 s a i I 1 A L 1 1 i i i r I Ir r Or did the stuff come from Germany Germany Germany Ger Ger- many via Vladivostok who married a His mother moth moth- er was the only daughter of that union She married a German settler settler settler set set- name of Kuhlman The Kuhl- Kuhl mans had a number of kids but Apolonio looked so much like Grandfather Grand Grand- father that he became the theold theold theold old ladys lady's favorite She was the chief moneybags of the old Lara clan so you cant can't blame Apolonio for taking the name of to please her He could by custom you know it was his mothers mother's name That's why I didn't know where the money came from for this outfit The fortune was always always always al al- al- al ways associated with the name Lara Well he was educated at Harvard Harvard Harvard Har Har- vard and spent some years in pleasure pleas pleas- ure trips between his own country and the States and Europe but he went home to stay when the old lady died and left him the bulk of everything No one knows exactly how many millions of pesos it ran to but the guesses average fourteen fourteen fourteen four four- teen to sixteen There are some foggy sp spots ts to the story One thing he got hooked up somehow in the Cedillo revolt in Mexico but got out of it with a whole skin Hes never married Had several several several sev sev- eral affairs of the heart though in his salad days Most serious one was with a German countess countess-a a married one McInnis added cally caIly German Yes Germany by the way is his favorite foreign country When there he uses his legal name of Kuhlman Germany Germany Something bothered Curt McInnis slowed down in his re re- re- re cital I suppose that raises the Nazi question in your mind CurtIt Curt It did with me But never been known to have any connections con con- connections with the Nazis nor Nazis nor any trouble with them either if that means anything Germany Curt said again thoughtfully Those two square boxes generators They came from Hamburg via Vladivostok On Ona a Jap freighter Those eight oversize oversize oversize over over- size coffins that had bothered Mitchell Mitch Mitch- ell pump ell pump machinery machinery came came in inon inon inon on a Jap tramp From Japan Did By Jove Jerry What a dope Ive I've been Ive I've known all along that the Dutchman's formula was no excuse excuse excuse ex ex- cuse for all this hush hush-hush all this spying on me these murders And Andall Andall Andall all the time the real answers answer's been staring me in the face What a cluck I turned out to be Heres Here's one of the slickest Nazi tricks tricks- McInnis was rubbing his shin Well let me in on it I III should've seen it before I did ask one question You'll remember it How could he sink so much money money money mon mon- ey here when the cost of handling fruit will mean so much in competition tion with you people Theres one country that'd be darned glad to subsidize him with him with within in in limits this limits this close to the Panama Canal for Canal for favors received The kind of favors hes he's in a swell spot to togi gi give Nazi Germ Germany n Draw me a picture said sala McInnis MCInnis MC- MC Innis dryly A Nazi crew here with in charge Jerry hes he's no more Dutch than I am Overheard him and talking once Assumed it was Dutch Now I know it wa was German and Lannestock they're not Swedes Curt sucked in his breath His voice came in a croak And theres there's the answer to why likes children why he wants a family family- man for his chief engineer Lee And the kids Hostages for my silence si silence silence si- si lence against the time they learn I Ive I've discovered all this Jerry those birds mean busness business business busi bus 1 ness I Curt returned to his side of the I Negro his face the color of old newspaper newspaper newspaper news news- paper yellowed by weather He knew now what kind of spot he was in more in-more more important the terrible terrible ter ter- ible p position si i n of f Lee and d. d the c chil chil- il I dren dren aren But ne he knew Knew That mat was me saving point He knew and could plan against every contingency And he had two major trumps One was a friend across the Negro Unlike Unlike Unlike Un Un- like Mitchell Curt was not going to play playa a lone hand Two Two Two-so so far Mon Mon- taya and his precious crew had no reason to suspect Curts Curt's knowledge First he must get hold of Col Col- lins At once Slipping the cayuca's line over its shore stake exactly as hed he'd found it Curt returned to his office bunga low He must make certain l his s absence absence absence ab ab- ab- ab sence hadn't been discovered Too much now depended on not tipping his hand The magazine hed he'd shied against the front door would tell but he couldn't see this from out side So he listened under his window window window win win- dow then climbed in A glance from the bedroom onto the lighted porch sufficed The magazine magazine magazine mag mag- azine was just as hed he'd left it Well beyond in the mess-hall mess Curt could see Emilio still at cards but now there were four men in the game The watchdog still faced the lighted bungalow Who Vho else was in the mess-hall mess Curt couldn't see from where h he stood He swung himself to the ground again took a position from where he could view the whole long room There were several small groups Curt accounted for young Dr Fisher a few of the of the engineering force most of the trainmen whom trainmen whom he knew by now engineers firemen brakemen But Monahan wasn't there nor Col Col- lins Skirting the pools of yellow cast by the lights taking advantage advantage advantage ad ad- vantage of every shadow Curt made his way to the bachelor quarters reserved for transients It was here Collins would have a room for the night The building was simply a long string of small rooms with a screened porch extending the length of it There was one entrance from the footpath onto the porch Each room had a window in the rear wall another in the front wall beside the thedoor thedoor thedoor door which led onto the porch Soundlessly Curt made his way from window to window along the back of the building Standing on piles as it did Curt could only reach the window sills silIs by stretching and had to jump for a hand grip then chin himself to see inside Enough light came through the front windows windows windows win win- dows to show him each room dimly The first six rooms were not only empty but undisturbed occupancy indicated only by a bag of sorts dumped on a chair or a bottle and glass on a table or a package bought at the branch commissary commissary commissary com com- before it closed The seventh room showed a mussed bed There was no baggage in this room no personal articles on table or dresser just the rumpled bed and the mosquito bar swung aside to show that someone had lain here for a while The eighth and ninth rooms were made up and undisturbed but the tenth and last was occupied Slats Monahan judging from the snore coming from under the mosquito netting Huh That meant that Collins was abroad But where There were only two places where he could be in at this time of night the night the mess hall or his room And he wasn't in either There was no other spot to hang out Mulling this over Curt headed back for his bun bun- galow He still kept under cover Near the river wharf where everything was locked up for the night and only two lights showed showed one one in the dispatchers dispatcher's office one in the dock office office office-he he stiffened into immobility Hed He'd caught sight of another er figure figure figure fig fig- ure likewise hiding itself in shadow TO BE CONTINUED ED |