Show D SLA a installment TWO T it stoer so SO 0 fari FAR karen awater son ion S san an francisco girl convinced ed b by her bet clawy lawyer r john colt that she ibe hai bai a claim to the island estate ol of her grand rand father garrett waterton Wa tenon arrives in uon hon olula tol to attempt to gain aln control of the p property ro party one evening while she he and colt are dining and discussing plaus for or pressing her claims richard wayne or tonga D dick I 1 ek as ai h he Is I 1 known enters enter their dining pi place a a I 1 he t Is I 1 a member ot of the wayne family that hai been la in control ol of her 9 grandfathers randl island alagoa since the old mans d disappearance 11 appearance inasmuch Inas moch as i bar karen a n bell bel levei 0 v that tonga dick does not dot know her identity she ibe suggests lugg efti to colt that th A t she talk to him and learn what she he ca can colt at first brit opposes the idea but begins to change his mind now continue with the story 1 I suppose there any really practical objection he said but this notion just slightly on the silly illy side you can hardly expect he started to say something more but let it pass then bowed with exas exasperating crating courtesy and walked away when he be was gone she sat quietly a little while trying to relax presently she turned her chair a little so that sh she could look into the shadows where tonga dick sat three tables away lone alone in the obscurity of palm shadows she still could not clearly see ace his face but she cussed to upon the coal of his cigarette and waited she let her eyes rest there almost to the limit of endurance then smiled faintly and returned her attention onto to the dance floor tonga dick stood up wo wound u nd his bis way to her table he laid a hand on the back of the chair where john colt had sat may I 1 perhaps it if you wish richard wayne sat down crossed his bis knees comfortably and took his time about lighting a cigarette karen waited determined to make him lead the way but she watched him curiously with a sharp interest that was partly caused by his name alone in the world she knew you could no mori more be called tonga dick in seriousness than you could be called red handed harry or terrible pete had she had n no 0 other relationship to this man than that of a casual tourist she still would have stared just because of the name be was called tonga dick surveyed her so slowly with grave eyes you wanted to see me pe richard ichard wayne watched with ad it alln the perfect serenity of karens poise as she turned a little and coolly met his eye she was much more interesting to look at from across a table he decided than from across a number of them yet he had noticed her in the first moment in which he had stepped upon the lanai that ot of course was the reason he knew who she was he had landed but a few hours before and had no more than shaken hands bands with his brothers there were no means by which he could have identified karen waterson if he had not noticed her and been interested of his own accord from the shadows of his obscure table at the edge of the lanai he had watched her for or some time for or no other reason than thatis that it gave him pleasure leasure p to look at her after a little while he be had signaled a table captain and asked who the girl was and had obtained a correct answer knowing who she was it was odd to be sitting at the same table with her now this was the girl who had come here from the mainland to lay claim to the island of alagoa the little stronghold in n the sea which no one but a wayne head had held for more than two decades it seemed to him that karen waterson did not look the part he understand how anyone with a lacelike face Tac elike like that and eyes like that could get herself hooked up with a shenanigan that differed from a common swindle only in the boldness of its scope i if ifa I 1 walled wanted you here she 0 said a d hardly be here would you and so so nothing I 1 wanted you to come and sit here because I 1 think you look romantic and I 1 think you yon might introduce yourself now my name is richard wayne he said 1 I belong here in the islands more specifically I 1 am connected with a small privately owned island called alagoa he watched tor for her reaction and ws jas tooled fooled again for or no reaction capie came that certainly Is very interesting karen waterson said 1 I wish I 1 were an islander perhaps he suggested you would like to tell me who you are my name karen improvised L is ia katie higgins something a F white girl from about four our miles south mouth of bf dubuque I 1 teach school some place and I 1 think I 1 would like to get in the movies 1 I should have said dick commented yop were from san francisco she glanced at him sharply but he added hawaii Is a kind of A a crossroads people from rom every part of the world come through here sooner or later so that if you live in the islands boti you get to lecog anze inflections of speech oh they raise very good looking girls jil in san francisco dick sa said id it if must be a wonderful thing to own coif own island karen said he laid a hand on the back of the chair where john colt had bad sat eat may 1 I perhaps if you yon wish are many islands privately owned only a few in this part of the pacific Is privately owned andio and BO Is lanai which is the sixth largest in the group p and the waynes have had hadAla koa tor for about twenty years how many waynes are there richard wayne said to himself you know cockeyed well young lady how many waynes there are but aloud he said four my uncle who Is really the owner my two brothers and myself its like owning a little empire of your own it I 1 cant think of anything nicer than that A good many people seem to feel that way dick said what makes an island so hard to hold on to you have trouble holding onto it oh yes indeed just now for example there is an insufferable little snip of a girl trying to get her c laws claws into alagoa by due legal process 11 interesting karen encouraged him and just how does she expect to do that the waynes bought alagoa from net her h grandfather now the girl wishes to prove that the sale was illegal because she says her grandfather was a congenital idiot she says it runs in the family and she can prove it karen studied him for a moment with veiled suspicion but tonga dicks face was innocent what a remarkable person karen said she like well as I 1 told you I 1 have had no chance to get acquainted with her maybe have a chance latr er id rather like to you know dick admitted id like to find out what makes her tick but I 1 would hardly know how to go about it just a simple island boy karen smiled well the circumstances are a little awkward I 1 cant just go up to her and say 11 1 I understand you are the little twerp who is trying to get my island away from me and what are you doing this evening after the store closes or can I 1 V well invite her for or a sail on your boat show her selected views of the coast line show her this island ashes alter after what did you say the name of it was alagoa probably she even seen it ill bet shed be interested and just what said dick would be my idea get to know her you said you wanted to find out what the little fright was like maybe like her and then what and then what karen repeated say wait a minute do I 1 have to map out your entire life they grinned at each other and either cither one of them would have given a good deal to know what the other was thinking then thee its a rotten plan dick criticized now youve hurt my feelings karen said here I 1 practically work up a headache planning a beautiful day for you and what credit do I 1 get you tell me its rotten all that effort wastell wa richard wayne appeared to brighten no it it gives me a much better idea the use of wasting the whole program on a chiseling chi little frump nol no ill take you sailing instead me oh im afraid I 1 tomorrow morning richard wayne prompted her at something like nine something more like ten she answered CHAPTER 11 II it was nearly midnight when richard wayne called upon his bis brothers they had been expecting him earlier in the evening ind and only an objectionable message he had sent them by phone had kept them waiting all tor for him at an hour strictly outside of their habits richards two brothers ernest wayne and willard wayne sat in a large room which in spite of its prim order showed tle the wear of the humid years the whole thing managed a transplanted new england look obviously nothing had been changed here for or a long time the two brothers who here awaited richard wayne seemed to have been bred and raised by the new england furniture both were older than richard and when he looked at them he be was sometimes happy to remember that they were only his half brothers after all it does teem seem to me dick ernest wayne said fretfully that you would show a little interest in what Is happening here ernest tall and thin did not look entirely well he I 1 wore gold rimmed glasses which did not seem to be strong enough for his purpose and when kept up late he be developed a peaked look dick sighed and sat down if I 1 interested I 1 be in honolulu at all he said now please try not to get all excited will you you dont realize the seriousness of the situation dick W illard said heavily without heat this thing Is critical in the extreme perhaps even desperate uncle jim cant seem to understand that he be Is not invulnerable he has delayed and delayed P As I 1 understand it from your letters dick said the complaint is that when our mutual father bought the island of alagoa from garrett waterson he practically cheated the old boy out of his eye teeth is that the story father was an industrious and intelligent man ernest wayne said with annoyance do you know anything much about the original swindle 1 I object to your tone willard wayne said and dick was astonished by the vigor of his brothers resentment garrett waterson was a disreputable old pirate he was a waster and a speculator of the w worst arst sort absolutely typical of a certain kind of riffraff which troubled the islands in the early days it if father saw values in alagoa that waterson did not that certainly was Water sons lookout look out but now comes this girl this grasping piratical little adventuress intent on seizing not only the whole of alagoa but all the development which has cost uncle jim the best years of his life and have you checked the identity of this girl dick interrupted ashes garrett Water sons granddaughter all right willard said well brought up the family has no distinction whatever the girl has been working as a stenographer her relationship to the island of alagoa probably would never have occurred to her as offering any possibilities if it had not been tor for this john colt and who Is this john colt john colt Is thirty six years old and was born in new york he is one of the predatory speculators who came to light in the doom days of the late twenties he acquired a considerable fortune through water developments in california in 1932 his stock juggling activities were investigated vesti gated but without success you seem to have snoot led around to very good effect tonga DI dick ck complimented them I 1 and now willard concluded karen waterson through her attorneys tor and undoubtedly acting on the advice and direction of john colt is bringing suit on the complaint that her grandfathers sale of ala koa was illegal that garrett waterson at the time of the sale was mentally incompetent that shows you the girls unscrupulous type she is willing to discredit her own grandfather prove him to have been virtually insane to gain advantage tor for herself same old story tonga dick murmured but not so easy in the case of garrett waterson I 1 should think willard wayne exploded 1 I tell you it Is easy casyl unless we find a way bayout wa out it Is most certainly going to be donel done this Is what comes of dealing with of garrett Water sons type evidence can be brought in to show that garrett waterson was not only totally irresponsible but eccentric in the extreme I 1 myself am convinced hf he was more or less deranged lei me remind you that weve had nun hun deeds of such cases in the islands mostly successfully success full TOUR CONTINUED |