| Show 0 0 0 dim 0 MIT 0 PR G glis 0 0 0 0 0 amow chamberlain by george agnew chamberlain service G 0 joyce sewell on the eve of her twentieth birthday rebels at her lot dependent on her detested stepmother irma and full of tragic memories of her mothers murder twelve years year s before and her fathers death six months 0 s ago irma calls in helm blackadder an admirers admirer to help her persuade joyce to marry rich young michael kirk patrick mike sent up to joyce by irma and blackadder ferrands der rands a showdown on his proposal and is rejected joyce realizes that la barranca a mexican hacienda which her father had owned legally be HF longs to her she receives a warrant on the united states treasury for compensation for her mothers murder at la bar ranca aranca she confers with mr bradley a banker and only remaining friend of her fathers she confides that she wants to make a secret journey to mexico bradley arranges all details for her she departs by plane undetected dirk van Sut tart second secretary of the american embassy la in mexico city gives joyce a chilly reception and she loses her temper she finds a mexican woman lawyer margarida Mar ganda fonseca who abo takes her to general onelia right hand man to the mexican minister of war margarida Mar ganda reminds onelia that the usurper of la barranca is his dangerous enemy general dorado the two make plans to send joyce with a few picked men under pancho buenaventura to drive do rado out adan arnaldo a young man who runs el a night club knows do rados present whereabouts hereabouts so they take joyce there that night where she notices dirk general dorado arrives and in the course of sudden gunplay the lights go out and joyce is left adan arnaldo whisks ter out and takes her home the lol fol loping loing morning joyce drives oil off to to luca with pancho back in Elsin boio joicey disappearance has been discovered blackadder upbraids up braids irma rma but succumbs to her helpless charm and plans to marry her blackadder pets gets the secretary of state to wire the embassy at mexico city to locate joyce dirk is delegated for foi the search he goes to el and interviews arnaldo arnaldo bids dirk follow him mean meanwhile hile joi joice ce and pancho reach la barranca pancho and eusebio one of his band leave her and at dawn dain climb the wall suddenly shots ring out and at sight of a sorely wounded man joce rune run inside and finds the dread dorado there tormented by pancho and euseblo eusebio dorado escapes running out again joyce is caught by a murderous hand and cries out luz dirk and arnaldo go to margaritas Marg andas aridas apartment where they are told joyces joycea destination and dirk makes ready to follow alone meanwhile at al la barranca joyces joycea cry brings luz and the other old servants of her childhood led by don jorge maximilian now blind CHAPTER VII continued 8 then the thing becomes simple said don jorge slowly 1 I dont mean I 1 can fathom the thought back of conelias On elias action but at least I 1 know where we stand you and 1 I and all our people youre here luz si senor call leonardo what are you going to do asked joyce as luz slipped from the room ill tell you chica said don jorge sitting very straight with his hands clasped over the head of his staff im told five or six of do rados followers lie dead owing to the suddenness of the attack no doubt his private arsenal is still intact that gives us plenty of rifles and ammunition and all the rest becomes easy leonardo entered the room senor al heusted we stand a siege leonardo s said aid don jorge certainly for weeks perhaps for months call in all our people corral the stock close the gates and man the towers with your best shots you will find the necessary rifles and ammunition where they lie at present the moon is at the full shoot anabo anybody y who comes within range by night or by day whether its friend or foe 41 oh maxie interrupted joyce why 41 since we ourselves are our only fr friends bends said don jorge whoever comes from without must be a foe CHAPTER VIII years of peace and months of inaction had caused routine to lay its grip on the american embassy routine decreed that the second secre waking duty was to e epitomize pit the local papers and lay before his chief by ten all s uch such items as were worthy of his attention but fate ordained that on this morning corning at the said hour dirk van buttari should be contemplating with astonishment one bullet hole t through h rough his radiator still another through g a front tire and a third that had shattered his non windshield fortunately on the side away from the driver coincidentally the embassy butler murmured mm aured in the ambassadorial ear the minister of war on the telephone el ephone sir the minister in 1 I son minutes later the ambassador dor was being shown into the most private room of the very y private ro residence evidence esi dence of the minister of war it was strictly an unofficial visit so unofficial that the minister had done the necessary telephoning without bothering to mention mention the e matter to his secretary furthermore the invitation was for desaye no a meal without food certainly the last word in informality excellency how can I 1 express my gratitude that you should condescend to come to my humble abode for a mere sip of coffee mr minister I 1 am delighted to be here ive already had my coffee but ill gladly accept another 1 cup permit me to help you to it myself since our privacy is such that no servant is in attendance the ambassador though a diplomat of the first water felt enough time had been wasted on preliminaries 1 I take note of the privacy mr minister and see no reason why you should postpone telling me what is troubling you the ministers eyebrows went up it trouble you also excellency 1 I must know what were talking about said the ambassador startled forgive me mr minister T ak P 0 pat al 1 4 her attention was riveted on something else but it happens I 1 done my usual reading of the news this morning I 1 ah said the minister and pushed forward a newspaper folded and marked raid at la barranca he read we give space to an extraordinary rumor from our correspondent in toluca not by reason of its fantastic interest but because should I 1 it t prove true it may develop into an event of colossal import some years ago general dorado whose services to the republic require no epitome took possession of the abandoned hacienda of la barranca and has been doing his best not only to restore it to usefulness but to put into effect the fundamentals of agrarianism on which the future happiness of our people depends now word has come to us from a reliable source that a certain joyce sewell said to be the daughter of the de camping former owner of la barranca suddenly appeared on the scene accompanied by 18 of her fellow countrymen popularly known as gringos cringos gri ngos disguised to look like our own by artifice these men introduced themselves into the innermost recesses lecesse s of the hacienda opening fire without warning they are reported to have massacred the few istas on guard and driven the general himself into the nearby hills that he should have escaped is only one the astuteness and more mol e proof of bravery with which the ambassador read no more A bad business he murmured 1 I 1 can see various complications said the innumerable they are minister in a tone of exasperation no sooner do I 1 es estimate dimate them from one angle than another slant presents an entire new ne w crop I 1 doubt whether you gan can mention any aspe aspect ct we should consider before all othi ers 1 certainly can said the ambassador oi 4 the rhe matter of bas promptly to have I 1 supposed the 18 americans accompanied the girl I 1 dont believe it I 1 dont believe there was even one american with her the minister threw out his hands and let them fall in a despairing gesture excellency please it is of no consequence whatever whether they were americans or not personally strictly as between friends im inclined to agree with you but the public has been led to believe there were americans 18 of them and as long as it continues in that conviction its exactly as if there had been 1 1 admit it said the ambassador grimly nevertheless I 1 intend sending a declaration to the papers that no american accompanied miss joyce sewell her disappearance has been causing considerable commotion not only in my country but throughout the english aspea speaking k ing world it was thought she was penniless consequently her parents were mystified as well as worried her parents are you speaking in the spanish or the english sense of the word the english she has a stepmother and a prospective stepfather who is expected to arrive here today ah breathed the minister one more aspect but perhaps encouraging what is his mission im not sure but I 1 gather he is determined to take the girl home at once good if she still lives we must help him by every means in our power mr minister said the ambassador gravely 1 I wish to assure you that if disaster overtakes miss sewell it will shake the present pleasant relations between our two countries to their very foundations dont misunderstand me im not implying that miss sewells life is of greater importance than that of any other american living abroad im merely taking into account that for the last ten days every man woman woma a and nd child in the united states has been reading about her and in my country such a flood of publicity automatically transforms her into a colossal bomb at last murmured the minister dinki sinking ng back in his chair now we can talk in my opinion she should be rescued at once an excellent idea but how by sending a government force to do what bring her back to mexico city hand her over to her stepfather and bid them both fa farewell and good riddance excellency have you ever visited any of our major haciendas especially ally la barranca no my duties began the ambassador bas vaguely of course interrupted the minister la barranca happens to be a fortress more easily defended than any castle existing in scotland today at this season it has stored within its walls enough provisions to keep a small army for five years to say nothing of unlimited water with six high powered rifles and plenty of ammunition I 1 would guar antee to hold it indefinitely against a force of a hundred regulars the only answer to la barranca on its guard is artillery now lets see what your dream amounts to you suggest that the mexican government send a battalion against a young girl in whom your whole people happens to be particularly interested te in order to kick her off her own proper property tyl 1 I withdraw the suggestion said the ambassador gloomily 1 I admit I 1 spoke too hastily but the possibility lity of resistance had not occurred to me the whole thing is fantastic are you convinced all this has really happened remember the papers speak of it as a rumor 1 I happen to know it a rumor at all said the minister promptly my source of information is unimpeachable there are certain elements of mystery which threaten my official neck but the facts themselves are unalterable the story is so true I 1 regret I 1 happen to be minister of war at the present juncture strange murmured the ambassador with a wan smile 1 I was thinking th the e same thing about my ambassadorship what is your plan mr minister I 1 listen subterfuge and cash I 1 have no illusions about the senorita joyce sewell I 1 consider her as a fortress the question now arises how shall she be taken the answer is is so simple its classic by an emis emissary bearing gifts preferably a sack of gold well find the gold you find the emissary 1 I have it exclaimed the ambassador my second secretary of the embassy the ambassador reached for the telephone called his own chancellery and a moment later was asking the counselor of embassy what explanation van had given for his late arrival none sir he arrived what cried the ambassador telephone him at once send around to his house tell him interrupted in the midst of his instructions in he leaned forward gripping the apparatus tighter and tighter when the murmuring voice at the other end finally ceased he hung up and turned to face the minister 1 I regret the young gentleman I 1 had in mind is not available since we dont know what has become of him no clue asked the minister frowning unfortunately there is said the ambassador and im ashamed to be obliged to mention it he was last seen at about two in the morning in the most questionable night club in town seated alone before a magnum of champagne Nee needless lIess to say my first action upon returning to the embassy will be to recommend his immediate dismissal from the service the minister who had knotted his fingers together began to crack his knuckles one by one be patient excellency theres still this blackadder fellow the ambassador muttered hopelessly the minister was thinking of certain matters he had not voiced somebody was out to get him perhaps had already got him A phrase used casually by the ambassador hovered in his thoughts what was the most questionable night club in town el A gleam lit in his eyes ah he half sighed with relief you can put your trust in step fathers mr ambassador ill send a young friend of mine who his name is arnaldo adan arnaldo the shots which had so astonished dirk van stirred joyce sewell to swift action she rushed down into the patio ascertained they had been fired from the two eastern towers I 1 dispatched luz to the northern one with a categorical order to lay off and hurried herself up the spiral stone steps of the bastion overlooking the southeastern gate there she found leonardo with head and shoulders thrust into an embrasure looking out we stopped a car in its tracks he announced and its almost a kilometer away fine leonardo said joyce her face white but well have no more shooting until I 1 say the word let me look please almost at once she discovered the distant car a shining mark under the rays of the morning sun it was a roadster and presently she saw emerge from its single seat a huge bear like figure instantly helm blackadder came to mind for who else could it be well she was ready for him what could he do besides talk let him come and t the he sooner the better the man stood for a moment as stul still as a pillar staring at his car then he opened the rumble dragged out a duffle bag and what looked like a gun threw them over his shoulders and started to walk toward the hacienda he had gone less than a hundred yards when he came to the barranca and the rope bridge and he h hastened as his steps at that juncture her attention was diverted to a cloud of dust moving across the prairie far to the east she saw it had been caused by a troop of horsemen and the next instant she realized they had dismounted and were emitting strange puffs of smoke what could they be shooting at at her she was about to draw back instinctively when she saw the figure leap into the air come down on all fours and scurry fa for cover leonardo wedged himself I 1 into the embrasure next to hers dorador Do he yelled dorado y y su gentel tto TO BE CONTINUED |
