Show over but the ato richa richer powell j sh shooting 0 ot t is g AN SANCTUM MYSTERY STARRING ARAB ANDY blake w rass THE STORY THUS PAR lt LA andy blake lake and ui wife arab b b believed elle 1 ed that a german spy py ring was wai working out ol of her boarding house andy had bad searched arched le jones house nearby and found so lome me evidence which he turned over to FBI later arab had told the girls that she he had given evidence of loose talk to andy and nd that he was wai keeping it in his home to deliver to intelligence knowing they wa would uld be followed they went to andys andy home w whore he re they read and sorted out oat the notta they heard the window open and saw aw renee climb ln 14 she was overpowered and tied and aid taken down to the cellar tor for safekeeping both andy and arab were certain that jones would soon oon it XI not at all it if you have any little errands to do feel free to go ahead with them th I 1 watched her flounce around the cellar un fastening a clothesline she dug into a tool chest found a knife and cut the clothesline into leng lengths thi she came back and began packaging denees wrists with a not to be opened until christmas skill she had finished with the wrists and started to pass the trea free end of the rope around denees waist and kindly move back she said jabbing blabbing her linger finger into my ribs you think im going to tie her to you will it make yau you less playful if I 1 remark that she probably has a few friends waiting outside for her 1 I was trying not to think of that well somebody better she bent down tied denees ankles and sald said bring brig her over to this straight chal chair I 1 lifted renee still keeping my hand over her mouth and carried her to the chair arab used another length of rope to tie her to the chair and it began to look as if renee would be staying with us tor for a while N now 0 w arab said to our package will you be good if we dont gag you renee nodded all right andy you may have your hand band back mrs fielding if you scream ill probably hit you with something I 1 took away my hand and renee said huskily why should I 1 scream when I 1 do not come out they will now something has happened they will come after me what does a naif hour more or less matter that burned me 1 I used to know a swell song I 1 said it was called the marseillaise Marseil Marseill laise alse its funny I 1 never ased to think it sounded like the horst wessel song are they both he sami same how now she looked at me with old sleep ess eyes 1 I have forgotten the une we of the new europe have 10 songs 1 I used to know a swell guy too 1 big kid from dartmouth named hamid bob aab fielding he married the pret arit lest girl who ever walked into eells ell ls he was killed in spain 1 1 I hought bought he was killed fighting gernan everything she ae said in a flat voice olce gets killed fighting the ger nans my husband france everything ery thing this might be a good time to see aw the germans like being kill killed iid for the moment there wai was a bite h a her voice what good is a dead aerman 3 erman to me why should I 1 help ou 7 where were you when bob vas killed in spain where were fou ou when france ads was strangled do ou remember june of 1940 do rou ou remember reynaud crying tor for american planes for clouds of americ american an planes where were they on the drawing boards I 1 muttered but coming now now novi it is too late for me I 1 made my choice two years ago and you chose the germans how would you like to starve tor for four our months how would you like your parents threatened with the concentration camp if you obey orders how would you like to have lost all hope T aliey ley wanted sr aed me to work for them I 1 held out for or almost five months how long would you have held out she Al shivered vered the germans cannot be beaten they would kill me they would kill my people in brittany you know what all this excitement Is about dont you yes landings in north africa its the first step toward bringing france back to life thi the germans will kill your troops has your gang got word out yet not yet we did not see the pattern until today it takes time to arr arrange alige to send a message either there must be a U boat contact or the mias message sage must be sent by short wave direct to germany arab picked up the smith wesson 1 I want to make sure she said ahk crept up the steps and crouched at the locked cellar door then she turned and whispered down to me get the derringer from rom my iny pocketbook I 1 went to the ping pong table dumped the sawed off howitzer from her handbag and picked it up between thumb and forefinger I 1 went back to the bottom bf at the cellar stairs to see what arab wanted with the second gun the stairway was empty I 1 went up the steps three at m a timi time just aai as preached the top lop i a key clicked on the other side the tha door was locked and arab had ou lulled lied a fast one on me arah arab I 1 whispered come back herel spoil everything she replied from the other side of thi the door somebody has hag to make a break tor for it and im the one who can shoot you idiots im going to kick this door down if you dont open it she blew a kiss at me through the keyhole and said the derringer has as a stiff trigger action remember to point the open end away from you goodby good by darling arabi you cant gol when I 1 get hold ot of you arabi arab there was no answer something clicked upstairs shut up I 1 whispered the click might have been from the cellar doorknob I 1 watched it carefully another c lick click it was the knob all right I 1 ha had seen it turn that time somebody had tried it first one way then the other I 1 remembered that there w was as a keyhole and that the cellar wa was dimly lighted I 1 took a step toward the te light bulb joey Ra eders voice chanted jeeringly five ten lieutenant blake and mrs alel dinal I 1 moved slightly to one side out of line with the keyhole come on jack he said we got you cold unlock this door or well do it with a few slugs I 1 answer we got your dame he said id ask her to coax you boutwe but we rk she climbed in slowly had to part her hair with a loaded rubber hose and she wont come to for a while she was heeled with a smith and wesson and one of the boys want to have any words with he her about it look jack are you gonna I 1 yanked both triggers of the derringer and the explosion almost caved in my eardrums my right arm jerked back tingling two black holes sprouted in the cellar door and joey began yelling that he was murdered there was enough rage in his voice to tell me he really hurt and to warn me to get out of the way I 1 jumped asle aside just in time wood began spraying from door and stairs sound blasted into the cellar tremendous stutters of sound that seemed to make the foundations sway one bullet smashed the electric light bulb in the darkened cellar the air became a live vicious thing scorching my lungs and jabbing knives into my ears joey had turned loose a tommy gun I 1 started to dive into a corner and renee screamed I 1 had bad forgotten her she was out in the middle of that traffic jam of bullets tied to in the chair I 1 made a drunken lunge across the black cellar the timing was right my shoulder hit h her e r chair at seat feat level I 1 kept on driving low and hard at thi the chair until the opposite wall smacked me flat for a moment I 1 lay there unable to think of anything except that roper would never have thrown me off the squad if id played defensive end like that anything get you I 1 whispered yes the she chattered in my mi left iet arm above the elbow it feels like fire are aie they going to kill us are P ir take lakeit Ta keit tt easy they cant cani hit fid us here I 1 ran my fingers lightly up her arm A splinter quivered in the flesh above her left elbow she moaned and I 1 snapped keep quiet I 1 they might try some three cushion stuff if they locate us and dont forget that bullets dont ask who youre working tor for 1 iwic I will be quiet A harsh voice called down lieutenant blake I 1 put a hand over denees mouth and alisher alis answer it sounded like plain mr jones he called there Is no us hiding it will merely delay events come up the steps with your hands raised I 1 kept quiet nobody will have heard the shots he went on there are no houses within a mile it is useless to expect help still silence we will give you five minutes he be said I 1 waited quietly and listened feet were pounding through the house he really giving me five minutes because it would take that long for his bis ging gang to search the place when I 1 was vas sure that nobody wa was a trying to sneak down the cellar stairs I 1 whispered to renee remember what I 1 said about bullets not asking whose side youre on im going to fix your arm now its a splinter a pretty big one but I 1 think come out cleanly she choked back a cry the splinter came out easily it seemed to have nicked a vein because her arm was getting wet and sticky I 1 whipped the handkerchief around the spot and began tying it 1 I dont know why you did all this for me she murmured you made too much noise 1 I kept losing count of the slugs going past you really have no chance chanc e have you they may get tired of playing with me if I 1 pat a couple of them with that hatchet you have been very generous to me me I 1 will repay you some way I 1 grunted and went on trying to get the handkerchief just tight enough her tree free hand touched my hair and stroked it I 1 could feel the tips of two of her fingers stroking my cheek and lingering at my right temple and suddenly I 1 realized that she had the hatchet in her hand band I 1 shuddered started to turn the edge of the hatchet drew a chilly line on my forehead and she hissed hold I 1 froze the edge of the hatchet left my head but I 1 knew it was poised there here inches away I 1 tried to guess where her right wrist was when I 1 grabbed I 1 had to connect 1 I am not going to hit you she gasped 1 I just wanted to prove that I 1 could have done it why 1 so that you will trust me my muscles relaxed a notch trust you about what you have no chance fighting they will merely come down with flashlights and shoot you your only chance Is if they think you are dead give me the knife you were using I 1 got it and handed it to her after all there much to lose As she had said she could easily have laid me out with the hatchet maybe this was a chance she fumbled with my blouse and I 1 felt her fingers tugging at the right breast pocket she was using both hands and making small sobbing noises the gash from her splinter must be hurting suddenly the knife blade touched the skin over my heart and I 1 jerked away please she whimpered 1 I am trying to make it look like a bullet hole please let me hurry it if they ever find me doing this 1 I she pulled me back closer cloe and I 1 felt something pressing against my chest it was her left arm the handkerchief had been pulled down from the deep splinter cut the last wisp of control snapped suddenly and she began to scream long shuddering screams I 1 dropped to the floor I 1 had never felt sicker or more seared scared in my life but I 1 had to go through with it now A light fingered the cellar steps probed toward us I 1 squeezed my eyelids shut and then remembered that dead men dont close their eyes and opened them and tried to roll the pupils up as far as possible the light glared into them fiet feet drummed on the stairs and the tat fat man yelled at renee to shut up she babbled 1 I tainted fainted and then when I 1 woke up and got my hands loose and I 1 touched him and it was slippery and he move and andr r clackl that was a hand slapping renee benee she began to sob convulsively I 1 could see vague forms rising up to giant heights beside me and I 1 turned my pupils up still farther to show nothing but the whites of 0 my eyes I 1 tried not to breathe my stomach was solid lead jand and I 1 could feel sweat chilling my face foot was touching my side if he looked closely he would know that dead men dont sweat joey raeder said look here chiefe I 1 got him right in the ticker and he had lust just enough left to crawl here and we will make sure the harsh voice said and then before I 1 could move a parachute flare dare burst inside my head it went drifting down and down and getting smaller and dimmer until it was merely a pinpoint of light and then it flickered out and there here was nothing but a ringing blackness and then quiet renee had done an artistic job on me in the dark over my heart was wa a j rigged ragged tear the cloth was darkened and wet and sticky the I 1 button over the pocket bright gold it was red my fingers were wera I 1 red too and back where I 1 had been lying the floor was splashed with blood it looked as if I 1 ought to find a spade and save somebody the trouble of burying me but the worst any doctor could say was that I 1 needed a bath i TO BE BB CONTINUED |