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Show INSTALLMENT SEVENTEEN parvd for this sudden attack, and could only retreat In the face of overwhelming force. Posing as a fellow agent, U. S. Intelligence Officer Benning accompanied accompa-nied foreign spies bound for the Panama Canal. He learned that their ship car-ried car-ried dynamite which would be exploded when they entered the canal, but was Mexico City, reposed the camouflaged camou-flaged observation plane that was to pick him up on the second night thereafter at a secret rendezvous south of Chapultepec. These final plans, as he checked them over, seemed coldly academic in detail, like the laying of a field gun for indirect fire upon an unseen human target. But Benning did not minimize mini-mize the dangerous complications that lay ahead. Midnight brought the lights of Mexico City into view. From the observer's cockpit Benning caught the toss of the pilot's arm in signal and bon voyage. His heart was pumping as he lifted himself erect and climbed out of the cockpit. Into the starlit void he plunged, falling in a backward arc and tolling toll-ing off three seconds before his hand tore at the ripcord handle of his vV fa v i ! THE STORY SO FAR: More than 200,000 foreign troops secretly assembled in Muxico by Van Hassek suddenly Invaded In-vaded the United States, vastly superior supe-rior In numbers and equipment to the American forces which opposed them, Van Hassek's troops pushed relenUessly forward. The U. S. army was not pre- CHAPTER XVII Continued Benning gave a groan and, as a brooding silence settled back over tie night, hurried on. He knew now that the worst must have happened. On reaching Mindi, Benning got a speeder to take him to Cristobal. He got a military car to spin him to Col. Cove. Reports were coming in to Naval Intelligence. The damage dam-age at Gatun Locks was undetermined. undeter-mined. Miraflores Locks had been dynamited by an American steamer that had put in past Balboa from San Francisco. Dynamite had cascaded cas-caded huge slides of rock and earth into Culebra Cut in the region of Gold Hill. Alhajuela Dam, at the storage lake on the upper Chagres, I had been crippled. When he reached Panama Department Depart-ment headquarters, Benning found Cove feverishly taking reports from half a dozen assistants whose, ears were glued to telephones. "What's the latest Information on damage to the Canal, Colonel?" Benning inquired. Cove tragically shook his head. "Pretty bad from all reports. My men make the . guess it will take months to make any kind of repairs." Benning asked, "May I get a code message through to Washington tonight, to-night, Colonel?" "The wires are swamped," Cove said dubiously. "The War Department Depart-ment is pounding the C.G. for all details of the attack on the CanaL I'll sandwich your dispatch in at the very first chance." Benning borrowed the .Department code book and prepared a brief report re-port of eventualities for Colonel Flagwill. Reports from over the Canal Zone kept pouring in. Suspects Sus-pects were being arrested in growing grow-ing numbers. It was after 3 A. M. before Cove was able to put Benning's report on the wires. He offered Benning a cot in a near-by office and sent Grimes to the barracks. Benning fretted himself to sleep at dawn and woke to a hot sun. Cove was standing over him, tense with excitement. "Did any of our fleet get through from the Pacific yet?" Benning inquired. in-quired. The question brought an agonized grimace from the G-2 chief. "Part of our Pacific fleet was due through the-Canal -next- week, Benning. Ben-ning. Now check this over for yourself. your-self. In the Atlantic, four old battleships, bat-tleships, a few destroyer divisions, and some submarines. Proud names those battleships New York Arkansas Ar-kansas Texas Wyoming. But they've seen their day for fighting purposes, and it'll take weeks to get some squadrons of our Pacific fleet around the Horn." "While the matter is in my mind," Benning changed the subject, "I want to know if you'll enlist for me a man named Grimes. He was turned down in New York for flat feet, but otherwise he's really a fine physical specimen. I'm under obligations ob-ligations to him, since there wouldn't be a finger-nail left of me except for Grimes." "Glad to fix him up," Cove agreed promptly. The morning summary came in over the wires from the United States. President Tannard was closeted clos-eted with Army and Navy chiefs. The country was in 'a fresh panic over destruction of the Canal. Eastern East-ern centers of population were in an uproar, demanding naval protection for the Atlantic coast. War census of males of military age was instituted. insti-tuted. First draft of a million men was being planned. Volunteer enlistments, en-listments, after passing the 400,000 mark, had slowed down. Another thirty days needed to fill volunteer quota of 500,000. On the Texas front the Third Army had finally halted Van Has-sek's Has-sek's advance after five days of desperate des-perate fighting in which American casualties were estimated at twelve thousand men. An aide-de-camp came into the room and spoke to Cove. Cove jumped to his feet and went over to Benning. "The commanding general wishes you to report to him immediately," he said. Benning followed the aide to a spacious spa-cious office at one end of which a grave, weary little man sat over a litter of reports and complications. As the aide announced Benning, the general looked sharply up and delivered de-livered himself in a crisp, official voice. "I have instructions from the War Department, Major, to drop you into Mexico City. Colonel Flagwill wishes you to find out what you can about the enemy's Guaymas troops and the trouble in the Orient. You are to report to Flagwill as quickly as possible. Arrangements will be made for a plane to pick you up at a point designated by you in the vicinity vi-cinity of Mexico City. Your plane will take off from Albright Field in one hour. That is all." CHAPTER XVIII Behind him, as Benning took off from the Guatemala terminal airport air-port on the last leg of his flight into imprisoned below deck when caught trying try-ing to send a warning. He escaped, but too late to save the canal. It was destroyed de-stroyed by a terrific explosion which trapped the U. S. fleet In the Pacific Ocean and left the Atlantic sea coast unguarded. Now continue with the story. movement he released his hold and caught Bromlitz' knife hand, twisted it suddenly, and tripped the fellow to the floor. There was a howl of pain from Bromlitz' throat as the sharp blade crept through his shirt into the flesh of his breast. Benning cast the weight of his body into the lunge. There followed the rasping cry of a mortal wound. Bromlitz' strength relaxed. Benning stood up. The French operative's face was chalky white, but her blue eyes were cold and unmoved as she observed Bromlitz in the convulsions of his last breath. "I'm sorry this had to happen here, mademoiselle," Benning told her. She said with calm, indifference: "You've only done me a service, monsieur. Bromlitz has been very difficult of late and I did not dare let him show himself at the palace. Of course, you'll dispose of his body as soon as he is dead." "Is Bravot now in Mexico City?" Benning interrupted. "That needn't matter to you. You are leaving Mexico City immediately." immediate-ly." "Of course, as soon as I get the information in-formation I came here to get." "Impossible! I can't play the danger dan-ger of having you here now. In a few days I hope to be ready to leave for France. Nothing must interfere with my success now." "I'll make a bargain with you, mademoiselle. I'll leave at once if you can find out when Van Hassek attacks from Guaymas. Also anything any-thing you can learn about what is going to happen in the Orient." Her face lighted up and she gave a gasp of relief. "If that is what you want to know, I can tell you, monsieur. Van Hassek's Guaymas force will move up the Gulf within the present week to attack north with his mechanized and motorized regiments through California. Their objective is to freeze your fleet out of its great bases on the Pacific coast." Benning's brows knotted. "But such an attack doesn't make sense unless Van Hassek is to have prompt reinforcements." '.'To be .sure, monsieur. But Van Hassek's whole plan is working out right close to pattern. Denied its bases, a heavy part of your Navy will have to sail at once around the Horn to protect your Atlantic coast from the Mediterranean fleet. At the same time with Van Hassek's attack at-tack will come the invasion from the Orient, which is already moving east." Benning gasped, "Do you know those things for fact?" "I know that Van Hassek expects me in San Francisco within the next few weeks when he is to take supreme su-preme command over your Pacific coast. But by then I will be in France if only I can learn when the attack upon my own country is to launch itself. In a few days I am to meet Van Hassek at San Antonio An-tonio in the meantime, I gather what straws I can from his man Boggio." "Boggio, you say!" The words drove fiercely from Benning's throat. He felt the bristling bris-tling of his hair under the surge of feeling aroused by that name, for the Instant lost the thread of portentous por-tentous disclosure that Mile. Ducos made. Promptly he recovered his composure and attempted to cover his show with a smile. He said, in an easier voice, "So Boggio is here in Mexico City?" "You should learn, in this business, busi-ness, to conceal your feelings," Mile. Ducos said with a thin smile, and added: "But I can very well understand just how you feel on the subject of Boggio. Boggio has done nothing but boast of the bombing of the White House, ever since " "Mademoiselle, I can't leave Mexico Mex-ico until I've seen Boggio. A minute min-ute alone with him will be enough and I'll promise to be very discreet as far as your interests are concerned." con-cerned." "If your Government doesn't know already what I've just told you," she countered, "you should waste no time on Boggio now." "I have no possible means of leaving leav-ing Mexico until tomorrow night," Benning confessed. "My Government Govern-ment and I will be eternally grateful grate-ful to you if you will add this last little service. I promise the greatest great-est discretion in handling Boggio." The French girl pondered his proposal, pro-posal, testing its play against the risks to her own obligations. Presently Pres-ently a smile played at the corners of her mouth and a cold glitter shone in her eyes. "At four o'clock tomorrow afternoon, after-noon, monsieur," she decided, "Boggio "Bog-gio and I will drive together south from Chapultepec on the highway to Tacubaya. Boggio will be at the wheel and we will be alone." She extended her hand and added, "I will say good-bye to you now, monsieur, and bon voyage." (TO BE COTlXUED) "It was Bromlitz." parachute. Shortly the straps gripped at armpits and legs to tell him the parachute had fed safely out. Above the rush of air he could hear the"plane roaring on its way. There came to him a moment's envy of the pilot who would flash back along the friendly route to a safe landing at Albright Field. The moon had not yet risen, but the capital's masses were outlined in myriad lightclusters, which told Benning the American air service was still too busy at home to strike at Mexico City. Through the starlight star-light he presently caught the black earth toward which he was rushing. rush-ing. He freed himself of straps, and rolled and secreted the silken chute. Half an hour's brisk walk brought him to the dark little Calle del No-gal, No-gal, which told him he had landed to the north of Chapultepec. He found a sleepy cabman to drive him direct to Jesus Maria. Benning's plan was set as he reached the street on which, he had lived with Mile. Ducos. There was a light in the little Ducos Du-cos apartment when he reached there shortly after one o'clock. He walked resolutely up to the door and knocked. The immutable law of averages, he argued hopefully as he waited, dictated an occasional bit of luck in his operations. In a moment the door opened and Benning saw the French girl's diminutive di-minutive figure framed against the lighted room. But at recognizing Benning, terror flashed into her eyes and she stepped quickly back. "But no, senor!" she exclaimed. "No such person as you mentioned lives here." Before she could close the door, a figure strode up from behind her, a gaunt man with shaggy, unkempt beard and bloodshot, haunted eyes in which there was now the gleam of mingled terror and jealous suspicion. sus-picion. The man's disheveled aspect and wasted face did not rob Benning of instant recognition. It was Bromlitz, Brom-litz, the American renegade and murderer, the man in whose shoes Benning had masqueraded in Mexico. Mex-ico. A snarl told Benning that Bromlitz Brom-litz had recognized him. Benning sprang past the French girl to the attack, reaching Bromlitz before the man from Luxembourg could extricate ex-tricate himself from the shock of surprise. Benning drove his fist against the Bromlitz jaw, but did not floor him. A knife flashed from Bromlitz' belt, Benning dove in and I pinned his antagonist's arms to hi? sides. Bromlitz shook himself with a frenzied strength. Benning ciung through one spasm of resistance after aft-er another until he felt that his own endurance could not last much longer. long-er. With a carefully co-ordinated |