Show t 0 THE story PAR FAR borle corey who hates hate herself for or being bebb and thy shy agrees to deliver sora some invitations tor for her employers employer w wife ife it li Is mining a ana n 4 ab the bursts into tears A handsome str atran ter eer tops stops and ana gets her story from rom her he be tears tear up the invitations and depo deposits sits them in a bearby trash basket borle unable to mert assert herself Is railroaded into it a job she want by admiral duncan grandfather father of ct her fiance paul dune duncan an aboard the steamer tt eamer samoa en route rout to hawaii borle dances with steve pauls brother steve la Is the baad handsome some shrift ter eer oho ho had befriended her paul Is ii furious at borle and refers to steve stev as a nazi spy the admiral dictates some of his memoirs to borle CHAPTER VIII she looked at them both with dismay III 1 I think were doing nicely she said in in a voice therel cried the admiral with a triumphant chortle Zo zorie riel 1 steve said in a shocked voice ile he was looking at her as if he believe it 1 I never thought let me down he said softly then he arl grinned ed very slowly oh well it its only p a book 1 I c cant an t think any more mor i e the ad miral said you might as well go zorie with a half hour to spare zorie went up to A deck she hoped she might see steve all she wanted was to tell him why she backed him up in his argument with the admiral she wanted to explain that she considered it a family matter in which she had no voice she walked aft the bar door was open A smart looking gray haired woman was at the bar alone having a 2 cocktail borle hesitated if it was customary for unescorted women to drink at the bar why she A drink might steady her she walked to the bar sat down on astoor a stool and ordered a martini she told herself she really needed it she needed courage no matter what happened this evening she would need courage alcohol gave you false courage but false courage was better than none zorie zone had bad done very little drinking the martini the bartender stirred and placed before her was different from any cocktail she had ever tasted it was delicious the icy spicy liquid was soothing to her aching throat it was almost six thirty she paid for her drinks walked once around the deck to enjoy her glowing feeling then went down to the admirals ini rals suite when she opened the door her stateroom was dark she switched anthe on the light the room was filled with a pale fog of smoke but it cigarette smoke it wa was cigar 1 jc smoke she supposed that winthrop lanning had been her here e with amber and had smoked a cigar she sat down on ambers bed and waited for the phone to ring she was facing ker her own bed under which her trunk was visible she looked at it for some time without actually seeing it thinking of steve and hoping he would phone zorie was suddenly aware that something was wrong when she had come in here after work this afternoon she had pulled out the trunk put her notebook in it locked it and pushed it back under th the e bed but she had pushed it under the bed with the lock facing out the lock was now facing the wall and the hinged side was facing out she got up amber no doubt had been up to more of her diabolical vicks zorie pulled the trunk out and unlocked and opened it the stenographers book was not where she had placed it she searched the trunk hurriedly but she could not find the notebook the notebook was gonel it now occurred to zorie as she kneeled there with chills prancing over her that something else was rn missing issing it was the young engineering students treatise A critical survey of the re tooling of the fabrik krupp plant for increased wartime production she was trying to think calmly her first ns assumption had been that amber had stolen the notebook and treatise treatis e in a final effort to force her to move out of this stateroom T then hen she recalled the cigar smoke she had bad sm belled when she first came in amber would not be likely to have a key that would fit this lock or th the e skill necessary to pick it she mustio must do soi something but she did not know what to do when the admiral learned that his days dictation was lost he would be furious ile he would blame her if she went to paul he might spoil everything by doing the wrong thing the logi cal person to consult was steve but she did not trust t steve whatever was happening steve was in it her earlier suspicions return returned steve had lived in germany and turned naz The Lannings in spite of his defense 0 of f them were doubtless nazis too and the powerful looking nian man with scrubby red ha hair ir who had several times stared at berso her so searchingly he 14 was obviously us in with them and that made him a nati too she recalled how he amber and her uncle had each in turn stared at her why it had been obvious t that at amber had mistaken her tor for someone else one of them had stolen the n notebook ote and the engineering treatise thoy they must suspect that she was in some way involved but in what it was puzzling and alarming she would she decided talk to steve about it but not yet she wanted to think things over she wanted first of all another martini zorie went to the bar she was drinking a martini when a suave familiar voice said belll 1 I was beginning to think you were being kept packed away in jewelers cotton she looked around into winthrop lannings dark handsome saturnine face his lids were partly lowered and she noticed the little star shaped scar under his left eye only one corner of his mouth was smiling it gave him a sinister air she wondered it if he had gone into her stateroom opened her trunk and taken the notebook and treatise she wondered who he thought she was and what he thought she was doing 1 you know he said im awfully curious about you why zone asked her voice sounded squeaky to her she was frightened she was afraid of this man and what he represented but she was trying to keep it out of her expression lets sit down and have a drink he said and ill tell you there is something about you that baffles me zorie wondered what this really meant ile he had certainly seen her Z A 6 IM I 1 1 A I 1 pierre savoyard said nothing ile he stared in Ellery ellerston ton talking with steve beside the telephone pole in the rain he must know now what was in the notebook and he must have read the treatise instinct warned her to be very careful to say little or nothing she wished that steve would come along why mr air lanning she said in a small voice voice well he said youre a beautiful woman you have beautiful hair you have heavenly eyes a and nd an exquisite nose and a delicious mouth why why zorie echoed yes why why are you doing everything you can to conceal the facts why do you wear your hair as you do why do you go without makeup why do you dress so deliberately libera tely to hide the fact that you are beautiful zories zones cheeks were burning she said as calmly as she could 1 I happen to be engaged to a man who disapproves of makeup and frivolous clothes his eyes and his smile were knowing ahl he said softly but it goes deeper than that miss corey the chinese have a saying the flower of love does not thrive on tears something of the kind also applies to loveliness loveliness does not thrive on neglect or on a determination to be unlovely do you see my point zorie wanted to say that he was being rude an and d prying that how sh she d did ia her hair and what she did about her f face ce and her body was none of his business not quite she said meekly the waiter brought their drinks do it again mr air lanning said then to zo zoric ric with you I 1 believe its a state of mind you are arc inherently a great actress you become whatever you wish to be its amazing it and a great talent lie ile was S staring at her hard now she felt a familiar fluttering in her heart so now mr lanning said you are fiancee how did you like 1 11 I hated at it zorie sa said ld impulsively ahl yes but you would why would I 1 but why not he laughed consider ellerston Ellery ton zorie borle drank her martini the waiter took her glass glaes awa away y and put do down wn a full one in its place mr lanning said carelessly ido do it again ile he looked rather pleased borle thought and she wondered why my niece tells me youre doing secretarial work zories heart gave a sickening thump yes she said she hesitated then went on im helping admiral duncan with his autobiography Re really 1 mr lanning said that must be very interesting his smile was mocking ilia his eyes were narrow and knowing zorie had a sense of something mysterious and threatening and ugly happening just under the surface he spoke rapidly in french she looked at him blankly ohl dont you understand french he said no mr lanning odd he said very odd why zorie gasped you might have a command of so many tongues cut but tell me why well he said laughing mystery is always intriguing someone has stopped beside the table miss corey mr lanning said in his graceful way this is my friend my companion pierre savoyard how do you do zorie said faintly pierre savoyard said nothing ile he stared miss corey mr lanning said is helping admiral duncan write his autobiography she says it is very interesting work truly pierre savoyard said I 1 he e had a soft low voice zorie felt that she was on trial she wished steve or paul would come along she was frightened beyond mr savoyard she suddenly saw amber lanning lannin amber was sleek tind and beautiful in midnight blue she was walking slowly past her eyes were narrowed she nodded slightly and walked on the nod zorie realized was meant for her uncle ile he had evidently given her some kind of signal zorie felt a chill dart along her spine iler her mouth was so dry she could hardly swallow the waiter had replaced her empty cocktail glass with still another full one she sha drank it hastily and glanced at mr lanning then at pierre savoyard for an instant she saw in his face determination it made him more sinister than ever he said in his deep voice it has been so nice meeting you miss corey 11 ile he walked on ile he disappeared amber had disappeared too zorie felt dizzy the room had started to revolve she squeezed her eyes shut and gave her head a little shake she opened her eyes she still felt dizzy mr lanning she said 1 I have a date have to excuse me her voice sounded thick the words fuzzy those martinis Martini sl ilow how many had she had three four five her face felt cold and damp mr lanning was rising she could coul d not see his face too clearly she stood up hoping she could still walk she made her way uncertainly to the door and went on deck the cool strong sea breeze felt wonderful on her face she went to the rail the phrase walk it off went through her mind there was nothing to do but walk it oft off she started up the deck everything had a glassy look A man in m a white coat and black trousers was slowly coming along the deck toward her she was sure it was pa paul aul lie he stopped a few feet away from her she could not see his face very clearly but she saw the anger in his clear gray green eyes will you please explain this he said grimly what zorie asked look at youl you can hardly stand up better take a good long walk with you zorie zone asked wrong he sald said savagely with mr lanning did you see us yes I 1 saw you iles hes a horrible man mant but the type you evidently prefer ile he walked rapidly awa away zone stood looking after him hurt and resentful sent ful but lie ho was right she have had those drinks with mr lanning she would never do i such a thing again she loved paul and she wanted to please him ile he carried himself so well she thought lie had such rine fine shoulders such a beautiful head she con continued linued along her uncertain course she felt confused and frightened the things mr lanning had said the questions he had asked had been mean meaningless ingle is yet full of 0 i dark significance it was evident that he suspected d her of being someone else that his niece and mr savoyard also suspected it t why was it odd that she speak french why had he said you become becom e you wish to be its amazing it and a great talent why had h ad they stolen the notebook and the treatise if they were nazi agents and she was sure they were of what wha t did they suspect her or the girl sh she e resembled TO BE CONTINUED |