Show pw is 1 E v B B i ra k T FA g ai B borrs RELEASE TOE THE STORY STORT THUS FAR borle corey who Is ii la in love with alla paul duncan Is ran into taking a job shel the does not want helping edit the memoirs of his big grandfather rand tather admiral duncan aboard ship chip bound tor for hawaii she Is I 1 thrown overboard hut but Is rese rescued ud alter after idia landl nc paul and ari borle overhear pauls brother steve with whom borle now Is 1 la in love plotting og with winthrop lanning believing steve to be la in danger dancer borle tries to rescue him but Is captured by lanning and driven into the mountains where she Is told she will oot not see the sunrise PI alerre e are who threw borte overboard arrives at the cabin and wants her killed ile be tells of a death struggle with steve and claims that steve Is dead CHAPTER keep away from that giell mr lanning shouted pierre sucked in his breath h through swollen wet lips an and d backed away from her zones hatred had in a curious way renewed her strength her brain was clear again she heard the soft patter of rain on the root and the silver wires again dangled from the eaves then mr stromberg walked into the room he said vigorously what goes on here where is steve duncan he saw zone he said harshly what is this girl doing here pierre started to talk but mr stromberg cut him short hendley he said what is the meaning of this zorie looked about for another man but mr lanning answered 1 I will try to explain he said As he explained mr stromberg grew more and more grim if she could only hold stromberg here it if she could somehow hold them all herel here long before this her disappearance from uluwehi must have attracted attention if the admiral had recalled how I 1 insistent steve had been on having basil stromberg at the dinner party then he would have the key to the mystery the admiral would first look for mr stromberg at his plantation house not finding him there he would logically look tor for him here and it if his reasoning brought him here it was safe to assume that tha t he would bring help mr lanning was still lucidly explaining pla ining why mr stromberg broke in did you leave that car in front of this house ill move it mr lanning said hastily 1 I attended to it you have been very careless hendley savoyard why you on watch an army could have marched in herel you two have placed me in an extremely embarrassing position you will have to get os off this island at once I 1 will give you the address of a japanese agent in waimea waitea ile he will attend to everything come along pierre mr landing said wait a moment said mr stromberg romberg Bt we have something to settle hendley go out there and watch at that window he turned back to zorie he shook his head slowly why he asked her does an innocent little thing like you have to get mixed up in an unholy mess like this she shrugged why not say the fortunes of war she answered what I 1 usually say when I 1 get into these tight corners comers mr stromberg was staring at her what do you mean I 1 you might ask pierre pierre he whirled around she is ah nah bolanda Bo landl landt ridiculous 1 mr stromberg said its he stopped he turned back to zorie she tilted her head a little she was trying to handle the situation as lightly and as boldly as she believed anna boland would have handled it you cant possibly be anna boland basil stromberg declared anna boland was shot by a firing squad in berlin six months agol maybe pierre said and tour four nights ago I 1 threw her off the samoa into the propellers and drowned herl but 1 I was not shot in berlin and if you will look closely mr stromberg zorie said demurely you will wih see that you have bagged rather a rare specimen this girl is lying mr lanning broke in her resemblance to anna boland is what precipitated all this trouble its nothing but an amazing coincidence until the past fortnight she spent her whole life in the little middle western college town of ellerston Ellery ton that I 1 is s really so amusing zor le said with a soft little laugh they radioed berlin mr stromberg what did berlin say mr lanning perhaps it was anna bolands double that we shot they radioed ellerston Ellery ton where ive been more or less hiding since I 1 got out of germany and ellerston Ellery ton reported that I 1 am too smart and a very suspicious character mr Strom bergs steel blue eyes were now very narrow and alert this is most interesting he said s so you really are anna boland yes said zorie zone 1 I really am anna boland ile he pulled a chair toward her and sat down facing her 41 1 I must con confess fess I 1 have always been very curious about you miss boland I 1 am really i shocked and L I 1 zorie zone answered as if she were amused have been rather curious about you mr stromberg I 1 have the greatest respect and admiration mi ration for the work youve been doing here in hawaii you are not on my side but I 1 always admire brilliant work mr stromberg smiled his face became red this girl mr lanning began hendley mr stromberg said impatiently 1 I told you to go out and watch at that window mr lanning shrugged and walked out of the room 1 I 1 am most curious to know how you escaped from the firing squad said mr stromberg but mr stromberg is it customary for you to subject your guests to such indignities am I 1 a wild beast that might spring on you three powerful men and destroy you 1 I am so sorry miss bolanda en el untie miss bolands hands and feet at oncel pierre severed the cords that bound her feet then the cords that bound her wrists her legs were numb to the knees and her arms were numb to her shoulders pierre took her hands from behind her they hung do down wn limp blue white and useless the dawn was growing brighter the prickling sensation had reached her wrists and ankles was begina a V 4 02 r ar I 1 man appeared he came lurching in the doorway ning bing to enter her hands and f feet she tried to lift her hands but she could not will you tell me mr stromberg asked how you got out of oslo in january 1941 there again zorie answered you are embarrassing me to answer that question I 1 would implicate innocent people he studied her the prickling was extending into zories hands and fingers she tried to lift her hands into her lap she succeeded but the pain almost made her cry out ask her mr lannings voice came from the living room any question in german or french mr stromberg anna boland recall spoke nearly every european tongue but this girl ask her I 1 insist this girl is not anna boland mr stromberg I 1 insist she is making a fool of you mr stromberg got up his large handsome face was suddenly red very well he said quietly he spoke rapidly to zorie zone in german lie he said in english please answer that question in either german or french miss boland but this is so childishly zorie cried it was no use in the silence she would have heard a car if it had been a mile away no car was coming it was obvious that paul and the admiral had not followed the line of reasoning she had hoped they would mr stromberg got up and went to the doorway lie he turned and looked at her whoever you are he said 1 I am awfully sorry for you pierre come along and leave her here in this ca cabin b pierre protested come with me the two men went into the other room and joined mr lanning their voices so low she could hardly hear them came to zorie they were of course discussing her deciding her fate she knew that mr lanning was sorry for her and she believed that their better natures would vold have little weight in their decision they dared not keep her a prisoner indefinitely they dared not set her free they must give pierre the order to dispose of her they had no choice I 1 she tried to rub her hands toi gether sensation was returning to them but it took the form of an agonizing agu ache she tried to stand u up p there were sharp cramping pains in her feet now her ankles angles would not support her it if she could stand up she could crawl through the window she could crawl away and hide somewhere it was her only chance she made another effort at getting up her legs gave way when she tried to grasp the seat of the chair and push herself up her hands i slipped off they had no strength lF flashes lashes of pain went through them panting she rested a moment the three men were arguing zorie saw the kitchen door slowly opening she thought it was being blown open by the wind but there was no wind A man appeared he came lurching into the doorway A knifelike pain seemed to twist her heart the man stood swaying with his head sagging r his head his face his clothing were a mass of shining purple red I 1 mud what she could see of his face under the mud was battered almost beyond recognition blood and mud were indistinguishably intermingled ter zorie stopped the scream as it rose in her throat she whispered steve steve he carried in one hand two metal objects so covered with red mud that it was hard to recognize them he stared at her blearily blea rily she realized that he was so groggy he could hardly stand he must have been lying half conscious in mud all this time he must have called ori od superhuman effort to keep this appointment with basil stromberg he stood swaying drunkenly staring at zorie out of bloodshot blurred blue eyes with his head sagging rig his arms limply beside him his whole body caked with mud he was even more frightening than pierre had been steve duncan came lurching toward her he moved as deliberately as stiffly as clumsily as a robot he paused beside her and peered into her shocked white face he dropped one of the revolvers or pistols into her lap in a strange rumbling voice he said use this baby her relief was so great that a spasm of hysteria shot through her he staggered drunkenly past her and into the living room A sense of warmth and strength flowed magically ia ally into her steve duncan was suddenly more than a man that she loved he was man the undefeatable def eatable beaten and battered and left for dead in the red mud he be had made himself get up and come here she thought well probably not get out of this alive but ive seen the most glorious thing in my life ive seen a man who was beaten to death refuse to accept it ive seen a man prove that mankind cant be beaten down the man was in the next room saying in his strange rumbling unearthly voice hands up au all of you there was a sudden short silence it was followed by an outburst of sound A gun went off there were other sounds zorie was trying to pick up the revolver or the pistol in her lap but her hands were useless she thought of what steve had done the agonies he must have gone through to get here she tried to stand up there occurred in the next room a splintering sound and a thump as a door burst open she saw them from the window there were three of them steve pierre and mr La lanning all locked together a straining mass of muddy men their feet slid about in the red mud with a superhuman effort she picked up the gun in her lap it slid out of her hand she reached down for a handful of her sun pleated evening dress she tried to swab the mud off the gun she watched the fighting men she wondered where basil stromberg was the three men were still locked together floundering about in the mud with pierre and mr lanning striking at steve there was a revolver in mr lannings right hand steves hand was closed tightly about mr lannings wrist his hand holding the revolver was above his head and the revolver was pointing to the sky pierre stepped away he r reached up for the revolver and pulled it out of mr lannings hand then he stepped back he started to circle about them mr lanning had one arm about steves neck with the hand that had been holding the revolver he swung repeatedly at steves sieves face they spun about in the mud zorie found herself on an her feet with the automatic pistol in her hand she did not know how she had got to her feet or how her hand had acquired the strength to grasp the pistol she moved with dragging steps toward the living room she passed through the doorway she saw mr stromberg lying near the front door on his back with one arm thrown over his eyes TO ATO BE CONTINUED |