Show BOMBS BURST CHURCH THIS STORY SO Jeff Curtis and his are already on their way to Tierra Libre when Jeff receives a note from Zora Mitchell warning not to It Is too late to so Jeff decides not to tell who was opposed to their to the She anally agreed to co only after Jeff had persuaded her that the Job of chief engineer for a newly organized fruit company Is the chance of a They arrive in Tierra Libre to End husband In a conversation with Jerry Jeff learns that Mitchell's death was murder and that there is strange going Jeff and Lee are waiting now for who hired In spite of the fact that his Investigation of the company revealed Jeff is NOW CONTINUE WITH THE STORY CHAPTER III shoved off for Puerto at His launch was built for not and bucking the tides along the coast would slow him down On the It took the combined efforts of both Lee and Curt to keep the boys out of Presently a boat snuggled Into its berth with the case of a It gave a pair of delicate as a French railway as the gangplank was wheeled to the vessel's side and the job of berthing Senor was unmistakable erect of very clearly the gente de the gente principal of these He wore faultless a crisp panama on curly black Straight from the ship to the little group he sincere were his first He spoke with very little though the of his voice betrayed his Spanish He made a deep bow to held out his hand to have been more than busy since Mitchell's unfortunate You have discovered by now the reason I need a new Chief Engl- Lee took the boys In holding their interest with the selection of a gaudy straw hat for each of from stock piled a dozen high on a vendor's while Senor led Curt on a quick survey of the docks and facilities In the two items instantly caught the eye two boxes forty feet ten and quite thin for these Curt cocked a brow at said We have two One of them was tied up for weeks once by a damaged so now we have spares on heard you've had considerable use from your was the monosyllabic make are It was a conversational It would have made no difference one way or another what yet the question brought a quick glance from eyes were beady black here in the gloom of the big receiving shed and a rotund vagueness in One end of the bodega was piled high with barrels bearing the stencil of a well-known chemical Curt paused before looked them over with considerable you treat the soil before he I from centuries of A frown definitely stamped Mon-taya's forehead at but was immediately chased away by a smile that showed white the senor replied a question that would come under the head of chemical We have a chemical from If he likes he may be willing to answer your But I wouldn't count on he with another flash of is quite jealous of his which I expect will produce more and better fruit than Associated across the As Curt was turning this over in his Senor pulled at his lower lip a lip unusually red even for his swarthy expect you to work along with us in this You are responsible for the engineering work assigned to just as is responsible as Agricultural just as Lannestock is responsible for aviation and Ry-den for of our contract employees are These two are I brought them here as But w no longer need two full-time As proved himself capable in transportation I have given him charge of that Curt had a long-established habit of fiddling with his pipe when mull-tag over some point that needed thought He suddenly discovered he'd been stuffing it during this polite Since the senor while talking had been leading the way Into the Curt now lit expelling a huge cloud of before he said with of which is by way of telling me to mind my own that's all right You've hired me lor the engineering end of your and that's where my interest I'll try to curb my wandering Senor eyed Curt a am quite sure we shall get They took a rapid look-see in the port introducing Curt then returned to Lee and the seated on their pile of The boys' leashes were on them much to their audible A pair of quick toots now came from the river steamer that had been loading all even as the Pisces The baggage was hauled the little party As they headed slowly Senor made his guests comfortable under a deck Iced coffee was served as the exhausted from heat and slept on a spread on the each jealously clutching his new big as To Jeff said there's no reason why you shouldn't say who recommended me to admitted his was Though perhaps I Many times I had to warn him about his attitude toward the men under Of I what do you I hounded him to get the work for we have much to do before the rainy and it has not gone too Each jealously clutching his new hat big as certainly I did not want him to antagonize the can drive some others It is a fine point to know how far one can go with When I saw the many enemies Mitchell was I this is I feared an So it was happy for me that I led him into talk of competent You were one he mentioned above You Two hours of fighting the current and they found at another modern with a long floating stage built to allow for the rise of the river in the river at low the wharf towered high above Their baggage was swung upward in a cargo a deckhand riding the hook to avoid the while Curt and the others climbed the long flight of steps from the floating stage to the landing Spread before on the only rise of land for miles along this side of the was a small town built arrowhead-fashion around a fan-shaped railroad terminus of storage pointed out a centrally located There is sleeping accommodation there for There will be nights when you are unable to get back to San led the party to two automobiles with flanged wheels to operate on the narrow-gauge railroad Side windows of the sedan bodies rolled completely into the making all-weather cars for the variable ordered the two motor boys ahead with the while he drove the Curtises in the second Off they sped across the uninteresting Far off on Curt's right was what appeared to be a tremendous salt but he knew it couldn't be went his laid by airplane before San Alejo sat prettily on an out-jutting hump of the range a full thousand feet above the and the railroad took to sharp curves and steep grades in climbing to the Slanting down from a bowl of summits above was a pipe indicating a preened good The whole year thure arc winds that sweep across this face of the mountains in late afternoon- and but never does the wind come up from the old The We are happy to have no malaria here where we This makes the senora more He pointed as the car rounded a curve and the town came into fuller see that low Our Larger than we but It Is more better to be Across the plaza Is our That building of two sto- ries which looks out over the valley from it is our administration The ground floor Is commissary where the senora can get anything she We are very proud of San to grunted 1 we There is nothing to break our In back of the club we have the swimming the tennis also the schools three of For the dif- I ages of the I And now the car took another curve that brought into sight the i farther down-slope of San about a kilometer from the was an exceptionally cleared with a broad well-worn strip down its A branch of the railroad led to it around the base of the sized Curt several buildings besides Just the one that a fence I see around the eyes are the field docs have a Our chief pilot nearly lost his life during his first month here because of a native's mania for We had not thought to properly protect the It Is a serious thing to risk one's life In the so I felt I should put a fence around the Curt saw a flash behind the a small I do all I can to keep the men It is much worth the cost It pays At the far end of the field was a sizeable copse of and Curt wondered that they should be left standing within the Before he could see another switch-back of the climbing railroad lost the field to The laboring up the came out onto a level picked up and at once they were In the heart of the small is was have yet to unpack and get I will take you to your house I that the cook and house servant we furnish you will prove Lee made a vague sound in the turned to Curt you will come to my office at I will spend the day with We shall how do you say buckle down to The sidewalks were not wide enough for the walked carrying the two children whose shoes made smudges on his spotless The boys were silent with this Lee wrinkled her nose in distaste at the se-nor's faultlessly tailored she at the dark Curt tightened his hold on her may have he I don't she muttered how he carries the He likes I deposited the boys carefully before a hedge of opened the wire smiled them through onto the neatly scythed lawn where a a fast-growing already offered some shade to lawn and He was about to turn away with a gallant lift of his when Curt mentioned Mitchell for the first were close friends with the Mitchells a few years It must have been a terrible blow to he think we should express our regrets as soon as Senor pulled at his was a most terrible shock to He cast a glance at had not meant to speak of It before the but to be sure she will have to Mitchell committed suicide only From This morning she was A sad That was what delayed Curt managed a blank face to hide the disturbing but Lee was frankly She reached for Curt's Not until was out of did she Zora Mitchell commit Not She wasn't the she never cared that much for never seemed admitted Curt were a cool enough He turned to the Absently he held Lee's hand as they climbed the But his free in his pocket was crushing Zora Before going to bed that Curt held a lighted match to the But the words were burned into bis BE |