Show OF I 1 THE stony THUS FAR zorie corey I 1 if fa expected by her employers employer wife to deliver some thirty invitations invitation to ft a tea but becomes become discouraged and cries A handsome stranger comes along bears her tory and d destroys destroy the invitations her ifer ban dance 9 ran and dather father admiral nun dun can calls calla on borle and fairly forces her t to accept a job writing his hi memoirs I 1 corles aunt hannah endeavors to keep Z orle with her but admiral duncan wins too the handsome stranger who p r oves to be steve duncan brother ol of paul duncan her swee sweetheart picks up her alt suit cases and deposits them on the steamer samoa the night the steamer pulls pulla away from the san francisco pier for fl hawaii await CHAPTER VI he was talking about uluwehi as if 11 it were a shrine paul had told her very little about Ulu uluwehi wehl he had told her it was a show place and she had somehow got the impression that there was a big red brick house with white columns closely resembling the ellen hadden memorial library but set in vast formal lawns she recalled that the full name of it was uluwehi E kai which meant a profusion of growing things by the sea the house is built in a cove steve was saying with the mountains coming down sheer on each side the front yard is a big lawn shaded by palms beyond them is a reach of golden sand and the pacific which shades off from jade green to bright blue and deep purple behind the house Is a hillside covered with purple bougainvillea at some seasons and yellow trumpet flowers at others yes zorie was really thinking more about steves deep caressing voice than she was about what he was saying it was a rich voice she was seeing him leaning against a palm tree with a guitar and singing old hawaiian songs to her his father she knew had been a united states naval observer with the british fleet he had gone down with the invincible in the battle of jutland fallen on bad ways since grandmothers death he was saying 1 I hope take hold and bring the old place back to life we used to have wonderful times there luaus luaui and dances and big beach parties you know you re mind me of her pictures when she was a girl she had the same serene way about her you have its very comforting to a man we need someone like you zone I 1 hope like us the music had stopped ile he stepped away from her holding his hand lightly under her elbow to balance her against the slight roll of the ship miss lanning saw her stared at her and smiled coolly then she saw steve and her smile promptly became a bright living thing she waved at steve she car Ste viel zories heart was climbing into her throat for a moment she thought she would faint tier her one wish was to be out of this room steve was dancing avei over to them and they were dancing over to meet steve the four of them formed a slowly shuffling huddle in the middle of the floor the man with miss lanning was staring blaring at zone with half lidded eyes his smile made his eyes even more sinister 1 I heard you were aboard miss lanning said and her dark eyes and mid her smile and tier her voice all seemed to sparkle her partner said in in a suave cultured voice its awfully nice to see eee you again stephen miss corey steve was saying miss lanning winthrop lanning 11 we know each other amber lanning said with no enthusiasm we have the same cabin 1 I think we almost met earlier winthrop lunning lanning said lie he was still staring at zorie zone it was his eyes under their partly lowered lids that zorie would remember so cold so knowing so questing that they frightened her with their betrayal of the life he had led their voices hardly reached her brain all that she could cope with just then was the stupendous fact that steve knew these people that he was on the friendliest of terms with them she wondered if she could have been mistaken if this dark faced man with his evil eyes was the man she had seen in the green sedan but it was only a passing doubt she was certain he was and amber lanning was his niece the ship rolled steve and borle were carried away from the lannings zorie felt suffocated steve was looking at her with grave solicitude do you feel the motion will will you take me out of here she answered steve took her firmly by the elbow she glanced up at him as they left the floor he looked as it if nothing nad had happened or was happen happening ing they crossed the deck to the rail and leaned on it steve was studying her face with the tender solicitude of a lover over the breeze was cool on her hot cheeks A moon a little past full was rising off the stern in a moment steve said in his deep musical voice it will lay a silver carpet all the way across the ocean for your especial benefit she wanted to question him about the lannings if she do it now shed never have the courage again but whatever it was that made her so meek held her back as it always did steve was watching her with concern his blue eyes were dark with sympathy the matter zorie ills ilia voice was so tender that for a moment she was almost sure he had said not zorie but darling 1 I she began and faltered who are the lannings really y very pathetic people he said and putting up a very brave front they are sad muddled people refugees he from paris she from martinique homeless and almost broke its really a sad story winthrops father was british but his mother was french and he grew up in france when the germans moved in he lost everything ba barely rely escaped with his life ille steve was speaking with deep feeling as if he sincerely meant what he was saying but zorie did not believe him she did not believe the lannings were pathetic people tz I 1 A SA x it V I 1 4 N 7 44 1 11 1 I 1 t 1 t M k 9 the breeze was cool on her cheeks A moon was rising off the stern amber pathetic she was a selfish cocksure arrogant girl winthrop lanning was suave and cold and dangerous they did not have the look of sad muddled people she wondered who the man was who had been standing outside her stateroom door lighting a cigar cigarette ette the short powerful looking sl sloping op shouldered man she had seen at the bar with mr lanning amber steve was saying has spent most of her life in martinique she wash was driven out when martinique went to vichy 1 I suppose zorie said trying to control the quaver in her voice old friends of yours in a way im awfully sorry for them where did you meet them 1 I met him in lisbon he had been hiding with friends in cannes and hed just got across the border I 1 met amber when we reached new york shed just got out of martinique with tier her skin ashes a charming person she she zorie echoed echoe d the lannings it hard to guess were also nazis why were they on this ship going to hawaii but why most important import int 0 of till all was steve being so solicitous so ad kind so sweet to her amber lanning smiling and beautiful was coming across the deck toward them Stevi Ste vial cl she cried gayly when are you going to ask me for a dance that was the way zorie thought enviously to do things be gay be sure be bold if she lived to be a hundred shed never have the courage to walk up to a man in that cocksure way and ask him for a dance she could if she wished make things difficult for this lovely arrogant young woman she could c 0 uld assert tier her proprietorship and S steve teve would have to decline as gracefully a as s possible to dance with arnber amber lanning if you miss lanning said gayly to zorie dont mind my stealing him for a moment oh no zorie said effusively 1 I have some things to attend to ill see you later steve thank you steve said but he said it hesitantly and he was watching her with tender solicitude almost with reproach as if he regretted her not asserting tier her rights when she wondered bitterly as they walked away would this stop where would it end when would she bestir herself and stop letting everyone use her for a doormat doorman door mat her meekness was nothing but a habit into which she had fallen years ago the people who took advantage of it the professor Fol somes the mrs Fol somes tie aunt hannahs the pauls the admiral duncans had no respect for her her meekness zorie realized was a fault that if not corrected would ruin her life paul treated her as he did only because she invited it he treated her that way at first he had been as solicitous as admiring as steve was now little by little because she never prot protested est paul had acquired this infalt attitude the blame pault pauls if steve knew her long enough ho he too would slip into the same a attitude ati zorie was so furious at herself she was almost crying she did not hear paul coming along the deck she aware of him until he stopped beside her and spoke my god he said look at youl just look at youl ive never seen you so radiant since ive known youl you or your eyes so st starry arryl 1 she started to smile it was the tha first time in ages that paul had said such nice things to her then she saw his expression he was white with rage his green eyes were so dark they looked black and bis s mouth was thin and hard he stared at her 1 I was afraid it might happen but I 1 never dreamed it would happen so fast W what zorie stammered something was terribly wrong but she could not guess what it was no paul said in a brittle voice you cant realize how obvious it is how youve gone overboard for himl him I 1 who zorie wailed who I 1 he mocked her lie he looked angry en enough 0 ugh to strike her all righta h he e snapped let me tell you a couple of things I 1 neglected to mention about this big glamorous humbug youve gone overboard aorl I 1 thought you might take my word for it 1 I thought you might use some discretion 1 youve asked for it and here it is he paused a moment she had never before seen paul really lost his temper he could hardly articulate he was so furious my lovely big brother is nothing bothin 9 less than a nazi spy I 1 it if he now he certainly has been hes been a traitor to his own country coun tryl lie he was kicked out of the united states navy for insubordination he went skulking and sulking off to germany and turned nazil but even they got fed up with himl him why do you suppose they kicked him out of germany paul hesitated zorie saw sweat running down his face because he was having an affair with one of Goe rings girl friend friendel sl paull paul zorie protested it its all truel true and the kind of man you prefer to me mel I 1 he wheeled away and strode down the deck zorie turned and looked ants at the moon which had unrolled a silver carpet all the way across the ocean for her especial benefit how much of what paul had said was true she could not know she want to believe any of it but one of his accusations she realized was true in spite of what she knee knew over the protests of all her instincts s she he had fallen in love with steve zorie returned to her stateroom to find that someone had gone through her trunk she had disarranged things a little when she had dressed but she left them like this things that had been on the bottom were now on the top everything in the trunk was topsy amber lanning was evidently determined ter mined to leave no stone unturned on top of the jumble of the trunks trunk contents was the carbon of a thesis zorie had copied several years ago it was entitled A critical survey of the retooling Re tooling of the fabrik krupp plant for increased wartime production zorie had saved it because she had tl thought ought for a while that she was in love with the young man who had written it he had been an engineering gi exchange student a bavarian blue eyed and flaxen haired who had after his experiences in the new germany loved everything american he was an ardent antinazi the stateroom door seemed to burst open amber lanning came in humming loudly zorie closed her eyes played possum asleep miss lanning cried zorie said nothing and kept her eyen deyeo shut miss lanning slammed the door switched on the light humming occasionally breaking into clear soprano words she undressed hung up her things turned out the light and went to bed while resenting the very presence of this rude selfish girl in the same room zorie fell asleep she was awakened by a persis persistent tent irregular thumping against the foot of her bed A bar of moonlight was shining through each of the portholes port holes the door of the closet at the foot of her bed was open miss lanning laming had evidently left it unlatched latched un and each time the ship rolled the door swung and thumped the end of zories bed she got up and closed it she tried it the latch held she went back to bed and to sleep she wa was 3 awakened sonie sometime firne later by the same thumping it was hard for her to realize that miss lanning ashes a charming person she lots of fun steve had said would d deliberately e libera tely get up and open that d door 0 or to spoil her sleep but zorie zone w was a S rapidly learning that miss lannin lanning 9 as well as being charming and lots of fun was a female fiend of infinite resources and with the unswerving determination of a pie driver TO ato DE BE CONTINUED |