Show 1 1 Jt I l 17 LI r J I P To fl w L C CARIBBEAN 7 r U z C 0 rj L t MW CONSPIRACY 1 I bl- bl BRENDA CONRAD c c t I 1 CHAPTER I II I three o'clock Tuesday after after- t loh on Anne Anno Heywood hurried through t e blinding snow toward a fashion- fashion le e dress shop shod on upper Fifth A Aye Ave vee ve- ve e L. L She pulled her beaver cap tighter over her smooth red- red gold h-gold old hair and drew her beaver r fet It t Closer around her slim legs It med so utterly crazy to be buy- buy 11 summer cottons in the middle of Winter inter blizzard At t the same moment two blocks say jay aY a slow gray spider was silent- silent t spinning pinning its web across a dark Sl ty iier of a cellar wall And eight- eight I floors Boors above in the lemon-and- lemon J 4 LW y French salon of an elegant ten- ten tom om apartment two men raised b kir ir hands in a formal stiff-armed stiff dilute h di te and sat down at a satini satin- satin i i bod d table in front of the window JOne rne ne of them was short and heavy- heavy t Behind his rimless thick t his blue eyes were small d 1 piercing and shrewd The othman othman oth- oth man was tall and blond They re e both in their middle forties Ld d I both had a kind of cynical arro- arro iDee ince that neither made any atto at- at to conceal Your our orders are simple and dict dict dithe di- di ct the tall man said curtly He Hee e ened a worn briefcase in front of inand and took out a sheaf of papers Die rhe island of Puerto Rico can be bet i. it t t out of commission as an e base in half an hour if you do 1 ur job the way youre you're expected a ven n after the millions the Americans have poured into its dee dehe de- de e Vibe he e tall man ignored the question i Puerto Rico is vulnerable at two li ts only its line gas-line supply and supply The first will be beKen been Ken Been en care of Its It's Its It's the second you J concerned with The island is t 1 lie hundred miles long and thirty- thirty F JYe miles wide Out of its half of them and starving to death death it it will J simple to find five hundred mal- mal They are to be pl placed ced ere at a given signal the maery manery ma- ma nery ery of every unit of the water t stem t tem can be completely demol- demol Fied ed and the island destroyed as a base for the defense of Panama W Panama Canal rii itaI I shall need some help the rj rt man said You will have help help conscious conscious unconscious tall man picked up a sheet paper and looked down the list names typed on it This This in fact has been the most plicate licate part of the program tHe He smiled i j Diego is the only man Rico who knows you he helid lid lil id He uHe is there from our party in f t ain in You can trust him He has hasine hase ine ne e the spade work His brother- brother law v-law law Alvaro Valera is the shining ight behind whom ou are to hide i has the old aristocrats' aristocrats dream of empire He is honest and cere ere cere It is those qualities that u will vill have to use cleverly Jt ut as he happens to trust his broth broth- law Diego that will easy There are three possible possible shall shall I Ithem 11 them obstacles obstacles or or es es The small blue eyes across the ta- ta uie narrowed slightly watching Readily waiting walting The itie first is Alvaro Valeras Valera's son He is twenty-eight twenty j at Gilman and Princeton pro- pro merican now Or Or has seemed to toI Here is his dossier He I wor- wor ps s his father At one time he heas heas Jas as an ardent Nationalist He has j J captains captain's commission in the re- re prye corps and was under orders l h the War Department caned can- can P ed last week without apparent if Do you know the reason 1 have an idea But Diego Gon- Gon jarp o. o will know know and and the fewer the- the lies fles you go down with the more Jets Ws you'll pick up This may help U passed two closely closey typed sheets across the table iThe The second is Captain P. P G. G Wilc Wil- Wil jl j- j He c is an American newspaper- newspaper now flow in the Military Intelligence I He is attached to the office ithe Assistant Chief of Staff G Staff G 2 2 Ii Juan He is an ace news- news perman and impatient with what Isan he regards as official red jpe pe For that reason he might wren n be of or use to you e looked across the table intent- intent Ij No uNo he said Youre not notly notto t ly to fool him for very long nt t try Just watch that he doesn't Ol you Heres Here's his dossier jIe He e got up and moved silently back aid f d forth across the room and came camest Yn st stop p by the wind window when w- w Then hen there is a girl whom I 1 vent been able to figure out he heid id slowly Her name is Anne Her father is Bryson Hey- Hey I Cd owner editor of the Heywood She is going to San SanJi Ji nn on Friday in the Santa Isa- Isa eila la That is why your plane res- res were cancelled and you J going by ship We Ve dont don't know till going She has had a an 11 n n her fathers father's paper here in in I 1 New York for the last two years and she worked at it She may be betaking betaking betaking taking a vacation Captain Wilcox was on her fathers father's paper too He may be the reason for her going down He stood rigidly for a moment and sat down Here is her picture He took it out the of-the briefcase It was taken two years ago She is even lovelier now It is her coloring coloring color color- ing as much as anything Her hairis hair is reddish-gold reddish her eyes are almost amber with gold flecks in them I have been watching her the last three days I cant can't make out whether er the way she la laughs when people ask her if she's going down to see Wilcox is because she is or is not At any rate watch her too She is intelligent and keen as well as beau beau- t ul I wish we had lad a few women like her He took a green cloth-bound cloth book bookout bookout bookout out of the rack under the radio And here is a bon voyage present for you It is Puerto Rico A Guide to the Island of B Borinquen kindly put out by the Government of the United States It has all aU the proper information about the history and monuments of the island It also had a map on on the back cover Unfortunately Unfortunately Unfortunately Un Un- fortunately it was not as detailed as we wished so I have taken the liberty of substituting another He riffled the pages until he came cameto cameto cameto to the end of the book It is a scale map that you are to mark A blue circle for major plants in civilian areas a red circle forkey forkey for forkey key stations in military establish establish- ments Green where they supply both civilian and military like the plant at Aguadilla for instance which serves Borinquen Field and the town Use blue and red crosses for minor units Put the number of I I I l Hi r fr IL I 1 She didn't know exactly why ei either either ei- ei ther of them should make her feel the way she did men stationed at each in red figures figures figures fig fig- ures and the number we have at each in blue figures You may even enjoy taking the tours that this book suggests Do so in any event Now if you have any questions the southern southern south south- The deep violet blue on em ern was slowly taking form and substance as ns the ship ploughed steadily forward feathering the cobalt cobalt co co- co- co balt baIt sea Anne Heywood leaned on the damp sticky salt-sticky rail watching it In the east already suffused with pale green and yellow and pink a n single star still shone a precise clean candle lighting the suns sun's way up over the last step into the dawning dawning dawn dawn- dawning ing world She heard a step on the deck behind behind be be- hind her glanced around and smiled II it isn't it She nodded into the opalescent dis dis- dis- dis tance The man beside her stood for an instant gravely intent Yes he said it r U Puerto Rico patria de mis misa a mores amores Jardin de flores fibres H He stopped and turned to her with witha a smile The Isle of Enchantment we used to call it Now they call it The Gibraltar of America And were we're spending how many millions to make it that Anne Heywood asked lightly She glanced around Mr Taussig would know I suppose He seems to be a one oneS man information bureau A short set heavy-set man in a light- light green tropical suit with tennis slippers slippers slippers slip slip- pers and a yachting cap had come out on deck A camera and a pair of binoculars were slung over his shoulders The black sun glasses attached attached attached at at- to his thick spectacles hid his pale blue eyes without making making making mak mak- ing him any more attractive I dont don't know why Mr Taussig reminds reminds reminds re re- re- re minds me of an adder in tourists tourist's clothing Anne said Or why he seems to follow me around Miguel Valeras Valera's dark eyes were fixed on the shore line coming luminously luminously lu lu- lu- lu into view I heard him ask the captain why you were coming to Puerto Rico he said without moving Anne glanced at him quickly There was something a little odd inthe inthe in inthe the even tone of his voice that disturbed disturbed disturbed dis dis- dis- dis her It disturbed her too that Mr Taussig should be wondering wondering wondering wonder wonder- ing about her because she had been wondering a little about Mr Taus Taus- sig She didn't know exactly why cither ei either either ei- ei ther of them should make her feel the way she did It had all seemed plain enough sailing the day Jim Hawley who was managing editor of her fathers father's paper in New York Ci City c called lle her her in sister sister youve youve you've been Deen asKing for a good job and Ive I've got one for you he said cheerfully Theres a astory astory a astory story in Puerto Rico The place is isa isa isa a hotbed and Uncle Sams Sam's pouring half a billion dollars in Its It's got everything old Spain new money moncy money mon mon- ey cy glamour poverty love hatred everything Go get it You can kill kilI killa kilIa a flock of birds with one stone Youcan Youcan You Youcan can get a tropical tan and maybe earn your pay for once You might even do a service for your country country- you cant can't ever tell And as Anne started out hed he'd looked over the moon half-moon of his his' glasses And And while youre you're down there make up your mind about Pete Wilcox Wilcox Wilcox Wil Wil- cox will vilI you And it was funny about Pete Anne Heywood thought He was the only man she knew that shed she'd thought se seriously seriously seriously se- se about marrying even if she hadn't been able to make up her mind not finally Everybody thought that was why she was down here now But it It was pride It was the business of showing them all Jim all Jim Hawley and her father and Pete himself that himself that she could use her own head and stand on her own two feet It had been like a dose of vitamins vitamins vita vita- mins carrying her confidently up to that moment With the yellow masses of the ancient weathered rock of El Morro looming ahead of her now and the gay excited clamor of the people crowding around them I against the rail all the confidence I was seeping out of her She looked up at Miguel Valera There was I something in his dark eyes fixed on the stained and pitted fortress rising sheer from the white pounding pounding pounding pound pound- ing surf that silenced the casual remark remark re re- remark re- re mark she was about to make You You really love Puerto Rico very much dont don't you He looked at her gravely Very much My My father says itis itis it itis is only a country whose people suffer suffer suffer suf suf- fer deeply whose people love it deep deep- ly I dont don't know Its It's true that with all the poverty and squalor and overpopulation overpopulation overpopulation over over- population that your magazines areso areso are areso so full of our people wont won't leave the island And when they do they always return Our country is an emotion with us He smiled But were we're and are arean arean arean an emotional people Youre You're Saxon Our standards our backgrounds our customs differ as much as our lan lan- Next to them along the rail a n fat middle-aged middle woman in stifling ornate ornate ornate or or- nate black was clinging to her husbands husband's husbands husband's hus bus bands band's arm Their faces were streaked with tears as they watched I the narrow entrance of the harbor under the worn time-worn fortress opening opening opening open open- ing its rockbound arms to bring them home But the human heart doesn't d dif differ di- di fer very greatly does it Anne asked For a moment Miguel Valera was silent Then he said quietly If It you have learned that Miss 1 Heywood Heywood Heywood Hey Hey- wood you have learned a great deal It is something most people never learn I should have thought you were one of them Perhaps you will learn even more Without turning her head Anne could hear Mr Taussig His voice was moistly oleaginous his information information tion precise and pedantic in a way that reminded her of the courier- courier guide who had taken them through Notre Dame in Paris A L. L n ft nine panic ot 01 loneliness made Anne catch her breath quick quick- ly I should have told Pete I was coming she thought It had all seemed so simple in New York Facing Facing Facing Fac Fac- ing it now the now the noisy teeming city the babble of a language spoken so rapidly that the little she knew was hopeless she hopeless she had the sudden sense of being an nn outsider with no right to be there at all And underneath it there was a vague chill feeling of apprehension like the sound of a stealthily opening door in an empty midnight house Im being an utter fool she t told ld herself sharply She looked down again at the gay welcoming faces on the dock trying to revive the determination determination determination de de- de- de termination that whatever this turned out to 10 be it was to be her job But I do wish Id I'd cabled him just the same she thought TO eTO BE DE CONTINUED |