Show 47 CARIBBEAN 1 i conspiracy BRENDA CONRAD THE STOUT STORY SO 50 PAR FAR anne ann heywood beautiful danch ter ot of a wealthy new york newspaper new paper pe beisber goes to to to rico on in n assignment for or her fathers paper also on en the th island are pete pet wu wil tox coir a reporter on her br titter fathers paper now a V U S army intelligence officer miguel valera a puerto rican educated to in the united states state who li Is it secret ecret U S agent richard taussig tansill Tans sll in an engineer whose whole identity as ai a german brent agent Is 1 inspected pecked but not dot yet proved and rn itus sell eu porter a young american engineer and hit his wife sue who hat has liven given mr Taus tansill tome some valuable plant plans realizing ter her mistake sue has bat come to anne tor for help anne agrees agree to meet mr taussig ho be the she has them CHAPTER the little hills along the horizon were like small conical dips ot of green and brick red ice cream dotted over the landscape the narrow road winding and curving between the sweeping lanes of flambo was lovely it must be very beautiful anne thought when the trees were scarlet with bloom where are we going she asked mr taussig turned back with a smile 1 I think we might tell her or shall we surprise her we are going to a coffee plantation miss heywood diego gon garo said the road was full ot of army trucks now low she kept thinking how easy it would be to call out to one of the lond blond b boys at the wheel but she do it then they were climbing the tires shrieking as they went around hairpin curves with steep banks on one side and scarred bare cuts on the other in the face ace of the hill where widened the road below them was a river and a power plant mr taussig opened his guide book and unfolded the map on the back cover anne saw him take a pencil out of his pocket make a circle on the map and fold it again she straightened up a little a sudden idea dawning in her mind the map was not like the one in her book the island in the center of it was not the same size or the same color it was more elaborate and detailed and took up most of the page while hers was a small rectangle in the middle of a lot of ocean she settled back in the corner feeling diego Gon garos eyes on her face ace it was in the car again the thing shed felt on the way to the sugar mill it was danger on the left the bank sloped across a field of cane to a narrow valley of df pasture land she could see seb a few cows grazing and as they rou rounded ded a sharp curve she saw a yellow and black airplane sprawled in the pasture like a great grounded wasp she sat quietly wait waiting ing the road curved again and they came up to a faded blue stucco wall with a broad archway in the center they drove through open iron gates and pulled up at the house blue stucco also with dark balconies at the upstairs windows closed tight and heavily shuttered here we are bongaro said he na banded her out onto the marble slab in front of the door then reached into the car and picked up her handkerchief t Is this yours senorita thanks she said im always doing that 1 I know diego bongaro said she understood that the remark had some meaning but not knowing what let it go the house is yours as the spanish say miss heywood taussig said he followed her into the cool foyer the irony in his voice tapped out a sharp warning in the back of her head upstairs please miss heywood diego bongaro said he opened a double door at the top of the stairs there is your story miss heywood taussig said he pointed to the plane lying in the field anne waited she was not afraid now it was Qs as if the alert had sounded and she was ready every nerve poised and keen please sit down miss hey wood his whole intonation and the rigid posture of his body made it sound exactly as if hed said bitte sie sich fraulein I 1 she thought of him that way before she sat down bongaro moved to the gallery and stood there his hands behind his back twitching impatiently through the spindles of the balustrade anne could see a man c crossing the field to the plane it was their chauffeur she could tell by his cap and the outline of his head she looked back at taussig he was ivas pulling open the fastener of his brief case she watched calmly as he tool out a small blue steel automatic and put it on the desk beside him she frightened it came to her with a burst of something like joy that she t I 1 go on mr taussig she said airplanes themselves are no longer news perhaps you know that that plane is news miss heywood W he said curtly As you will soon see the khaki colored field car mounted the steep road above cabay two long fingers of light reached out in the dark the sharp empty curves sprang into relief and vanished in the blackness as the powerful motor skirted high naked banks below hem the valleys were heavily blan feted with mist as dense as white snow pete wilcox sat behind the driver and the soldier with him perched up tip in the topless vehicle built for speed over rough terrain and not for or looks he hung on with one hand and held the ear phone of the two way radio to his ears the me first message had come through as he be passed the barracks at cabay calling calling then the code their car was leaving the granada he was waiting impatiently acting on information received as they put it in G 2 it the first time since hed he d left belt san ban juan at that the ghastly doubt had come to him that information received might have been cooked up especially to get him out here he waited calling calling the soft monotonous voice said in his ear their car was passing fort buchanan he looked at the spot on his map that was supposed to be their destination and settled back grim faced and hard eyed they had begun to descend the other side ot of cordillera the scout car swayed arc from m side to side around the hairpin curves the soldier in front of him was pale green but not actively sick yet this about it sir he called back over his shoulder the bank dropped down below them in a tropical jungle lush and green and dense we want an iron gate on the right pete said okay sir they made another sharp turn that it sir pete saw it at the same time set in a ten toot foot hedge of A bi B i go on mr taussig tv she said of hibiscus and roses it was a high ornamental grille barred bolted and tied with a chain A sign in spanish said private property beware of the dogs 11 the driver grinned 1 I guess they dont want anybody to come see em captain around the first half circle of the winding road beyond the gate the driver pulled into the bank okay sir he said him and a nd me are surveying this ro road ad that the idea sir pete nodded be careful you dont get run over they got out instruments and set them up pete waited with the earphone on his head he was getting jumpy again he had recognized the voice on the phone its owner was to meet him here if and when he thought he lighted a cigarette the hands on the clock 0 on ri the dash and the hands of his w watch a ich moved together in a slow consa conspiracy iracy finally it came low an and d monotonous calling calling their car was going through gh may anuez borinquen was signing off the rest was up to him he took the phones off and jumped out of the car get going boys he said A mans com coming ing hell ask for me ill be u up P that mule track keep your eye on the road below A black car will go in the gate give it half an hour and then park across in front so so nobody can get out and sit tight oh boyl boy the driver said he saluted with a broad grin yes sir dont shoot unless somebody pulls a gun shoot hell out of any body who does he made his way up the mule track through the coffee trees it was cool and green un under der the ferny branches covering them with shade he kept climbing trying to to get the idea out of his head that he might be walking into some kind of a trap laid for himself as well as anne aline at last he came out into a clear flat patch of ground and looked down he could see a valley below and the red tiled roof of the ho house use beyond it he caught the alea gleam in of the sun on the shiny of nose a t ri plane Y A 1 1 I 1 I 1 N suddenly he straightened up apata upata at a new sound in the stillness of the green mountain top dropped his cigarette put his foot on it and waited his face grim and his jaw tight miguel valera was coming up the mule track he came into the clearing and stopped for a moment the two of 01 them stood looking at each other with steady appraisal miguel valera came forward were going to start down he be said we can get there before they th do if 11 you dont mind doing as I 1 teu tell you there ought not to be any trouble we have plenty of time before we go pete said quietly p id like to know where you sta stand nd in this business 1 at the moment my chief interest is miss heywood valera answered evenly the rest of it is up to you id like to keep out of sight if possible for reasons of my own if I 1 I 1 cant okay are you ready pete looked at him for an instant all set he said they crossed a ravine and started up a rounding slope what about your people pe pete te asked the peons geons yes all right the common people have an idea what democracy means even out here the road ahead of them was lined dried with royal palms A man came riding out of an archway in the blue stucco wall he nodded at miguel and set off down the road they crossed the dirt compound and entered the house upstairs miguel said 1 I dont get your part in all this pete said whose side are you gnip on my peoples 11 miguel said calmly that depends on your point ol of view it 1 I think not be quiet coming pete looked at him in the halt half dark it could still be a trap it is a story miss heywood mr taussig said that I 1 should not have told you it if you d minded your own business perhaps I 1 should be as concise as possible because time is precious anne crossed her knees an and d leaned back in her chair there is not much point in your taking notes since unfortunately you will not be able to write the stor story im telling it to you to keep my end of the bargain and because there is a little writing im going to ask you to do and please miss heywood dont be so detached its annoying if you think this is a joke you are quite wrong im just interested mr taussig she spoke calmly it was the fatalism of the end of the road it was even a pleasure to be able to make him angry ile he recovered from his annoyance you may remember the five gentlemen you spied on under the courtyard stairs night before last he said if you had not left your handkerchief there we might not have realized how stupid you were being in he know miguel was there anne thought it was stupid she said the gentlemen three of w whom h om are with you today feel that so something me must be done to save t their heir work for your story our work is simply to render the gibraltar of america hors de combat when the signal is given he tapped his brief case the plans are simple and very carefully organized I 1 regret there time to go into them in detail I 1 think I 1 hear the motor of our plane being tuned up we have a skeleton organization however that will function the plane you see out there for instance serves a dual purpose it brings money and it brings ammunition both are downstairs in the storage rooms we passed under a couple of feet of coffee beans which ethe market is so bad don alvaro wisely refuses to sell does don alvaro know about it anne asked slowly don alvaro said mr taussig has the old fashioned idea that wars are fought and won or lost on the field of honor how very quaint of him A cobra glint shone in il the concentric circles of his s spectacles for an instant his brother in law however h has a s the modern notion of the bloodless bloode ss war when the time comes for instance your panama canal will tall fall with very little loss of life and quite intact 1 I count on it too heavily anne said As you wont be here to see it miss heywood you can take my word that it will there are a great many sue porters in the world he reached under his coat brought a tiny camera out of the concealed pocket in his sleeve and put it on the table 1 I was able to microphotograph micro photograph the charts before you stole them fortunately one of the notes I 1 will require you to write will be to mrs porter telling her where you yo u put them so it if you will just t take ake this pen miss heywood and write as I 1 dictate we will get under der way TO UE BE CONTINUED |