Show A I 1 WN U RELEASE THE STORY THUS FAR FAH borle corey Is railroaded into taking a job the she does docs not want helping admiral duncan write Us his memoirs she Is in love with paul duncan cancan the admirals grandson while aboard tho the samoa tit n route to hawaii the she Is thrown overboard but Is rescued pearl harbor Is bombed while they art are steaming towards cawall and two destroyers st escort them to the isle of oahu bahu after landing borle ind and paul overhear pauls paoli handsome brother steve bilth whom borle Is infatuated plotting with winthrop lanning to deliver some radar equipment to the axis believing steve Is to in danger borle rushes rashes into the night to sire save him and discovers the body of beautiful amber Lan altic on a the round ground CHAPTER XIV 1 I didenti zorie zone wailed pierre did ill just this minute he must have strangled herl mr lanning held the light not too steadily on her face miss corey he said this is tragic T this his is very very tragic the next thing his hand was cl clamped over her mouth and he was holding her tight against his body with his other hand and arm she could not move in the silence she heard footfalls on the other path and the sound so und of mens voices she identified them as pierres and steves they were going to the garage she struggled she tried to free herself but mr lanning was prepared for it he held her so tightly that she could not move he held her until the sound came of a car starting then the soft low whine of its gears the crisp sound of its exhaust retreated and faded holding her securely mr lanning shook out a folded handkerchief it was she discovered later a large one he forced the thick center part into her mouth and tied the ends tight behind her head so that she could not cry out he seemed to have recovered his composure he was once again the calm urbane gentleman she had known on the samoa he was meeting an emergency a serious crisis as men of his sort always do with finesse and sureness im so sorry miss corey he said but this is really necessary this is a very critical time I 1 assure you and you have stumbled upon something that is very embarrassing to me he carried her along the path to where it joined the other path he carried her into the garage with his flashlight he found some short pieces of rope he tied zories feet together and he tied her hands securely behind her 1 I am really so sorry about this miss corey he said but I 1 cant leave you here I 1 assure you you are most embarrassing to me I 1 have to keep an appointment and I 1 dare not leave you here he found some soft cushions and placed them on the floor of a sedan he arranged zorie on these cushions and he was extremely gentle about it he closed the door then got into the drivers seat backed the car out and started zorie zone knew when they were climbing the hill out of tle the cove to the cliff and she wondered if he intended throwing her off the cliff the car stopped presently and mr lanning got out and opened the rear door it was now raining hard he removed the gag from her mouth but he did not remove the cord from her wrists or ankles zories lips were numb and there was a bitter taste in her mouth he took off his coat and drakef draped it about her shoulders he gathered her into his arms and started at a trot through the rain in the light of his pocket torch which danced as he ran she saw the house a large cabin painted a dull green now shining wet with rain mr lanning carried her up on a porch unlocked a door and carried her inside he directed his light about the room it was a cozy nicely furnished room typically a mans idea of what a comfortable living room in a m mountain cabin should be he carried her through this room and into the one beyond a smaller room at the back of the house it was a combined study and breakfast room and beyond it through an open door she caught a glimpse of the kitchen mr lanning gently set zorie in a 2 chair beside a window he closed the living room door and lighted a kerosene lamp on the table he sat down in a 0 chair facing her he looked her over with anxious solicitude licit ude her lovely sun pleated star sapphire eapp hire gown was spattered with purple red mud As she stared at him all her cortage cou tage the fortitude that had been sustaining her threatened to leave her she had a quick appalling glimpse of the girl she had once been the girl who had changed so miraculously she felt herself slipping back irresistibly into that perpetually petua lly meek timid frightened girl then her wavering eyes returned to mr lannings flushed face and steadied strength and courage came back in a flood she told herself she would not revert to her old she had won that fight she afraid no matter what happened she would not let her old meekness ret return urril 1 I am very sorry mr lagging lanning said aid to have to keep your hands adi and feet tied miss corey butchis but this is an extremely dangerous situ situation atlon I 1 may be occupied with other things and you must realize that under the circumstances I 1 cannot entirely trust you he took a flat quart bottle out ot of his hip pocket he undid the foil about the neck of it and unscrewed the cap brandy he said is always so comforting in a crisis will you join oin me no zone said huskily the precautions he had taken were alarming if he merely intended to detain her a while to question her he would have untied her hands and feet and something in his manner in in his eyes was alarming too for the first time since he had discovered her bending over ambers body she felt thoroughly frightened during most of the ride she had been too occupied with thoughts of steve to give much thought to herself she had reasoned that he and pierre would probably not go to bokee pierre would doubtless shoot him as they drove along she was sure that pierre intended to kill steve he might be dead now her thoughts returned briefly to paul she could recall so clearly his vindictive expression as he said those things that he should have known might sentence steve to death A man of pauls type was I 1 i 0 J I 1 lie ile gathered her in his arms and at a trot not to be trusted in a situation calling for honest thinking at this moment her feeling for paul was one of sheer loathing because of his vindictiveness and his unpredictable nature his brother was possibly dead and slie she was in a position of the utmost atmo st gravity what are you going to do with me she asked winthrop lanning tilted the bottle to his mouth and drank his hand was shaking a little he put the bottle back on the table he looked at her the steadiness of her stare seemed to disconcert him he glanced away he made a grimace nothing he answered charils the matter is no longer in my hands whose cabin is this mr lannings dark eyes were vague the gray flesh under them looked more puffy than usual he bent forward miss corey you have in your possession an extremely dangerous piece of information I 1 regret exceedingly cee that it happens to be ii in your possession I 1 am very much afraid that the outlook for you is very serious I 1 am very much afraid that there is no hope at all for you he sighed heavily you are entirely innocent I 1 admire you very much and I 1 do wish there was some way out of this for you I 1 will gladly help you in any way zories zones mouth was very dry do you mean I 1 wont leave this cabin alive mr lanning avoided her eyes he seemed to be genuinely upset the gentleman to whom this cabin belongs will be here presently ile he will have to decide meanwhile since things are so completely hop hopeless for you is there anything I 1 can do what is happening to steve he lifted his shoulders slowly and let them fau fall 1 I do not know miss corey I 1 the faintest idea I 1 will gladly answer any question you care to ask 1 I think im beginning to understand zorie said its either your life or mine that true only partly miss corey it is really a little more comprehensive than that II if you should be set free you can say so many dangerous things not only about me but about other people but if I 1 disappear how will that be explained many people disappear and it is never explained how will ambers death be explained pla ined his eyebrows went up but my dear miss corey I 1 thought that was quite obvious to you you vou are such a clever young lady I 1 sometimes forget youve had no experience with this sort of thing are you saying zorie zone gasped that her death will be blamed on me but it is already blamed on you he said as if he were greatly surprised where do you suppose your compact is where do you suppose your handkerchief is by her bodyl zorie zone cried but of course miss careyl zorie zone took a deep breath mr lanning was gazing at her sadly men in your profession do things so thoroughly she said id forgotten As you say im not used to this sort of thing when amber is found with those simple proofs that I 1 killed her the authorities ww will assume that in grief or panic I 1 went off and perhaps threw myself off a cliff I 1 suppose very obvious he was nodding his attitude remained one of mild amazement it was all so obvious so logical to him youre sorry she said quietly youre awfully sorry that 1 I must be liquidated but youve arranged it so that I 1 a chance mr lanning shook his head no I 1 miss corey I 1 dont say quite that there may be an alternative Is there any alternative to my being killed in cold blood 1 I do not say that there is he answered 1 I only say there may be where did steve and pierre savoyard go I 1 1 I dont know miss corey but dont you assume that pierre will kill him 1 1 I think that pierre will try but steve is very clever if he was aware that your flance fiance said the things he did he would be better prepared to cope with pierre but he aware therefore pierre has a slight advantage but only a slight advantage it may not be enough I 1 am speaking very frankly pierre is not clever he is relentless lent less but his intelligence is no not always alert and in this profession cleverness counts more than relentlessness therefore steve has an even chance of coming out of it alive v zorie believed he was being honest if steve had a chance of coming out of it alive he might come to this cabin it would improve steves chances and her own if she could persuade mr lanning that paul had been lying maliciously and that steve had been honest in his dealings with these people it if steve reached this cabin alive she was certain he would not let them kill her provided he was given a ein the matter it came down to that very ironical basis her only chance to get out of this cabin alive was to convince mr lanning and anyone else who came in that steve was what he actually was a true blue nazil nazi and if she could somehow save her own life she would have a chance of trapping them all she suspected that mr lanning in his present frame of mind would be an awfully hard man to convince first she must secure all the information he would part with who owns this cabin one of your dinner guests basil stromberg you are surprised and mr stromberg will have the final say whether im to live or not yes miss corey when will he be here mr lanning looked at his wat watch ch 1 I told him two thirty it is is now twelve forty he is usually very punctual but he had certain arrangements range ments to make and he may be a little late zone supposed that these a arrangements had to do with getting the precious cabinet containing JY off this island mr stromberg was doubtless contacting a japanese agent who would arrange to have JY delivered to a japanese submarine are we in bokee yes on the edge of waimea waitea canyon the most beautiful canyon in the world more beautiful in my opinion than the grand canyon C a nyon of the colorado I 1 sincerely h hope ope you will live to see a waimea waitea su sunrise arise i if this rain will 0 only stop yo you u will see it from this window the edge of the canyon is only a hundred feet away from this window the view is superb he went around the table and opened the window we dont have to blackout here mr lanning said there is nothing across the canyon but swampy wilderness of all the dreary restrictions strict ions of modem warfare the one I 1 detest the most is the blackout he returned to his chair he had another drink the level in the bottle bottie had already gone down amazingly zorie recalled the seven or eight cocktails he had had before dinner his eyes were as clear his hands and anahis his voice and evidently his brain were as steady as it if he a drop TO BE CONTI CONTINUED NUEn |