Show 4 6 BURST B nal ift Arl ONCE AL iffe CHURCH THE STORY SO FAR jeff curtis and his M wife vite le IT are alieda on their way a to tierra lifite y n hen he receives a abote te irom from zora era Alit choll warning them not mano to hi to ionic en w lien they arrive in tierra libre 1 abr th cy find both zota and tier husband fload it Is i job as chief eno end neer w tor or a fruit company that jeff haq hai beers been tailed called to fill an bater i sr jews jeff stend friend bill ll enderson Is killed and jelt sus its ichta his employer senor cenor Alon alontaga taya ol of murdering blin and tie ha because they aticy lad had found a clue clie to the strause strafe things going colne on at tho ali plantation other sinister ister figures are the company che chan ast 1st dr br md and thi the flyers riden and Lann estach A man named collins arrives arries from rum tile canal zone to ses MS aid jeff fees him without arv asing NIon s suspicions coans liter later reveals his identify as a naval in officer mien they discover hidden german bombers jeff arra arranges aces to send sead lee and the children away now jelt colllns collins jerry and slats Alo monahan nahan are carrying carryl nt out a carefully laid plan to destroy the planes and stop the narl activities in which mon lia who is part cerman Is engard enga td they are at the airfield now NO IV CO WITH THE STOUT STORY CHAPTER MX collins job ob was to assemble the bombs and release all mechanical mechanic al restraints so that impact on the noses would explode them he st started arte to wind the vines vanes meanwhile curt and mcinnis put saws to use they cut half through rill all the ground supports which held the heavy wall firm then sheered through the ceiling ties so much necessary perhaps but it helped thus an explosion of dynamite outside this wall would force it back against the noses of the bombs T they li ey then planted the dynamite dragged the two motors to the spot measured the fuse against the chance that collins might not probably set the bombs for they were after a all foreign to him a can of black powder was planted in in the coe cockpit kait of each machine at length tile the three charges were set with f fuses uses that would allow collins time to get away curt grumbled collins wants pictures but we cant risk lighting up the window strip by the flash so early eaily hell have to take them when hes ready to light the fuses they looked in in on collins in the he dead air air of the tight closed room hed sweated through all his clothes his face was shiny wet no picnic this ile he knew what his chances were if he guessed wrong on these bombs okay he told them im about set only three noses noes left to screw in then all pins to remove its late worried curt close to ane ne thirty 1 took us longer than wed ave d expected slats will be phoning them any minute now yeh you two get going well but curt was reluctant then youve no watch collins take mine mine its it s synchronized with monahans Mon Alona ahans lians curt and mcinnis snatched up bunches of tinder dry grass from sheltered spots as they ran to the front of the hangars curt was getting anxious anxious his worry was short livell curt and mcinnis were brought up short as they rounded the end of the hangars the tennis court at the other end of the field was now ablaze with lights even as they stared a small band of men was emerging from behind the office building headed this way six of them jerry jarr I 1 the two of us cant count on holding off that gang with pistol firel blaze the grass curtt all the way to the fence and around the other side of the hangars to the rear fence V 1 curt and mcinnis raced across the black fields stumbling constantly but making ground there were shouts behind them then came the furious chugging of a motorcar headed from the upper end cf the field they expect to get behind us jerry head us ofaf well have to stop that before they reach our carl car they were close to the airfield branch they turned running at top op speed toward the car which Y yet et rounded the curve of mountainside sl de there were half rotted logs left from clearing the f field curt and mcinnis had perhaps a minute and a half a minute they tugged and hauled at one of the logs rains had sunk it into the ground set it they pried it loose and slung it across the tracks the driver would see it but not in time to stop the than n come came the car around the curve of mountainside it sped it hit the log bounced from the ra rails s turned over but not before a figure had snapped open the door and shot from it A man rolled ver over and over ove r then scrambled to his feet shouted curt joyfully themes boeni e s it was a wild man in in tile the flare of the cars headlights which still worked curiously enough one of them wanting slanting sayin ard he had a in his hand but was helpless gun from both the glare of lights and the loss inca 0 of f his glasses coolly bullet into the curt urt coolly put a shoulder should cr explain that mana man my fine friend he grunted away when the hinves investigation breaks between them curt and mcinnis seized the raging helpless man and I 1 bcd hustled him along the tracks toward their car they kept glancing up toward the adio bation high hgr above no lights showed it was a black mountainside they reached the car bound hands behind him gagged him im to get rid of his insane bering threats and tossed him in the back another glance upward and a light popped on and oft off several times under and between th the two shafts A rectangle it showed a window man alan is that a re relief liell 1 exclaimed M send no messages tonight ill they looked back the black bulk of the hangars showed up within a solid thick wall of fire the waist high grass blazed fiercely throwing haines high into the air they were licking at the trees overhead spread beyond the fence against that sheet of light they saw collins come stumbling their way he reached them out of breath tossed the camera into the car gasped out that things were ready to pop and collapsed on the back seat there he discovered traveling companion we picked up to keep you company said curt covered half a kilometer when mcinnis eyes on his wrist said half a minute curti curt stopped the car all three got out they stared back guessed wrong on the fuses muttered curt or you light them on the riot then before anymore could speak again there came a dull muffled explosion in the light of the fire the straight lines of the hangar buckled the roof mushroomed on one end but the walls held together one of the planes curt gritted gritter out from between set teeth T the he completed one added mcinnis at least we got the sentence was lost in another muffled explosion which merged instantly into a mighty pulsating roar that made their ear drums ache M 1 V k the seu sentence tence was lost in another muffled explosion and the aerial bombs exploded by two and threes a split second apart they turned to the car only to find it had been bounced from the rails they hauled and tugged and lifted scarcely was it on the rails again than there came another explosion closer at hand but lighter they jumped apart the charge j tt dwir set under the bridge behind them had done its work no motorcar would be lifted across the drainage channel tonight cripes id forgotten that one exclaimed mcinnis III H laughed so did curt and collins and it eased the tension there was now no need for secrecy they used the car lights and stepped on the gas but thoughts ot of possible trouble ahead tightened their nerves again collins began to take some interest in his fellow passenger he played his flash on an and turned the mans head this way and that was beginning to suffer considerably from pain in his shoulder but his eyes were murderous A slow unbelieving smile spread over collins face he ripped open shirt and pulled it away from the wounded shoulder he found a puckered scar there an old one not three inches from the bleeding hole curt had made tonight and then he began to laugh he laughed and he laughed until tears rolled down liis his face the men in the front seat turned for an explanation it came in jerks on a silver platter cried collins mr curtis youve made one of the neatest hauls this year dr I 1 seen him before you know this is herr albrecht werner fisch no less red handed one of the biggest slipperiest slipper iest agents the nazis have in latin america and then it was tomorrow the sun slanted down hotly on the after deck of the san timoteo the associated socia ted vessel was pushing her way north over a smooth sea there was a cooling breeze and cumulus clouds moved serenely across the sky buddy chuck and sylvia mitchell all in sun suits were playing under the watchful eyes of the ship ships s nurse the boys were m making a king clownish efforts to balance 0 on n their heads their huge straw sombreros sombre ros curt and lee were standing by his arm about her waist they were silent and lee felt curts curls arm tighten as the childrens vo voices ices rose shrilly hilariously she looked up and saw the look in his eyes the beads of sweat above his brows and on his upper lip and she knew what he was thinking dont dearest she whispered lie he looked donnat down at her and his eyes slowly cleared he kissed her lightly on the temple and they sauntered oil off his arm tight about her at the entrance to the central staircase he paused and yawned dawned prodigiously 1 I could do with another nap he said on snapping his mouth shut you we slept all morn morning I 1 she exclaimed we wont sleep we can sit on deck tonight hopefully no arf moon on therell be stars and theres no charge tor for just sitting lee laughed all right silly well go down again the door to the pursers office opened and there was movement in the corridor A steward was tacking a paper on the bulletin board said curt with lee he crossed the corridor eagerly to stare at the typewritten sheet puerto soledad tierra libre read the radio dispatch in a raid raid by army troops on the headquarters of the compania campania Com pania agricola tropical at san alejo this morning what appears to have been a direct nazi plot against the sovereignty of tierra libre was disclosed with the arrest of senor apolonio and twenty four persons of doubtful nationality THE END |