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Show CARIBBEAN 3SM5I m CONSPIRACY1 ; b"i BRENDA CONRAn rTlfe V, rt-QRT SO FAR: Anne ncywood, "fhf daWer of a wealthy New SrspaP" P"llsner, goes to Puerto asslsnmcnt for her father's rt JJ0 on the island are Pete reporter on her father's paper, D S Army Jntellicence offlcer; i Yilera Puerto Itican educated VnJjcdSUtcs who is a secret U. S. 1 . Blchard Taussig, an engineer C Identity " German accnt 13 S but not yet proved; and RusscU ' a young American engineer, and .it. Sue, who Innocently believes f anisic can help Russell. Knowing : HnJseU is working on an Important J! J. offers to show it to Mr. Taussig . of Russell's ability, i '. j CHAPTER XV Taussig looked at his watch again. "I need about hall an hour. Per-Up3 Per-Up3 1 could take them to my room cd lay them out on the floor. I get them back before I go , dine with the General at Casa Eanca." . , , ge jaw her -hands close quickly. "-But you wouldn't be comforta-with comforta-with them out of the house," he B;d sympathetically. "I can see Ee rolled them up again and hand- j! them back to her. Tn fact, I don't really think you'd 5 xt to live in South" Td live anywhere for Russell!" 5 cried. "Anywhere! It doesn't ytter. Just so he's not slaving jght and day for nothing. I want 53 to do things!" " "He'd certainly be doing them," t. Taussig said. "And just the Elt I've seen here . . ." "Oh, then take them with you edlook at all of them." Sbe thrust them back into his fcdJ." (Half an hour won't hurt cfting, and It'll mean everything ! fc3ursell!) "Oh, please do!" Kr. Taussig got up, still undecid-i undecid-i Tell, all right, then, Mrs. Por-r," Por-r," he said at last. "I'll have . ien back in half an hour." kite lifted herself out of the cool squoise pool at the Country Club - td rtretched out on the brown sun attress beside Barbara French. What time is it?" she asked. , ?re got to go to Sue's." "You've got lots of time," Bar-'iiasaid Bar-'iiasaid lazily. "That's one of the jrtly things about the tropics. Ma-aa Ma-aa land . . . which isn't quite zt, really. It covers up a lot of &, like 'sometime' at home. 'Do T.i and see us sometime, which -y. gas never. It's the same here. m Jsrre just so polite." 3m glanced around. "And you ia't have to worry about getting to i't, because here Sue is. Hi, Sue! Wer us a drink, will you? We'll be ? in a minute." 2j "Okay," Sue Porter called across ? Jool. "Hi, Anne!" She danced gaily up the steps. I !se stood there watching her, a & dull sensation moving into her j oaach. . Barbara got up. , 1 wonder what's happened to our A at?" she remarked. "You wouldn't a se she's just got Russell made J 'ssident of Consolidated? I hope S right." J "My dears, have you heard!" Sue n. iimed, abruptly cutting oft 5 ing she was saying to the girl ! to her. "About Miguel Valera ur friend, Anne. The War De-J De-J toent cancelled his orders." aat for?" someone asked casu- 'i .i, lit t shruSed. "Three guesses, Sng, Everybody knows they're American." tne's fingers tightened on the ' Mother chair. i i3Ve oIten won(3cred why the J wasn't a lot more careful." ' Mid. "it's about time we're ing to wake up." jfl3 more," Barbara French 040 "Is Don Alvaro going to etif vtb El Morro?" J got up. Barbara was look-: look-: witli calm expressionless "js yngi" Bhe asked- t"e nodded. "I've got a date Valera." she said calm- eGeneral's shower room. But ten a soul" Jalla minute. darling," v Sue sr here's the check? This is itler'' my' Bye- everybody." ll Sll0Wed Anne downstairs. Sf' She Eaid when ey were 5 w,RusseU'8 eone to St. n for two or three days. Why TJ 4nu 0me ovcr and stav with 5" Vomes back? I'll nave a 11 1 5. ti in' and some attractive jjj re's my car- rn 13116 yu fl JS?' Sue - yu'r eet," aid. "I think I'd better stay k i 8m' You know i1'8 'f2 1l" mess Packing things any- It j l 1 !ove it." , Cnt for a moment as gS's funny for me ''Y0? you advice," she said K But v 1 ComPelent and I'm ft : Jt een down here lonS-Jte lonS-Jte be- It's aU right for Wo?wfr,ested- and a that. P're being very M - JeJ MlBue! Valera?" Anne C jMtend yU're aIVe' 811 love American eirls. blondes especially. What do you suppose they're being so nice to you for? You'd be a swell catch for anybody, any-body, with the money and position your father's got" "The Valeras have money and position too," Anne remarked. They don't ,need either one. And look, Sue. What I hope about you is that you didn't do anything crazy this afternoon." Sue Porter looked at her sharply. "What do you mean?" she demanded. de-manded. A bright pink spot burned in the cheek next to Anne. "You know what I mean," Anne said quietly. "I told you to be careful care-ful of Mr. Taussig. You don't know anything about him." "OhJ don't be like that, Anne!" She was young and pleading again all of a sudden. "All I'm trying to do is help Russell! Don't you see?" She turned the car into the Granada Gra-nada and stopped under the portico. "Oh, of course I see. It's just that ... oh, well." Anne leaned over and kissed her warmly on the cheek. "Thanks, angel. an-gel. I'll be seeing you." As Anne went through the arcade a girl at the desk talking to the clerk turned around quickly. Her dark eyes met Anne's and held them for a moment, then she hurried hur-ried across the lobby. She was almost al-most running as she reached the ., T! They're just so polite. drive and cut through the garden to the street. Anne went on to the desk. The clerk reached up for her key and handed it to her with a letter. She looked down at it. The handwriting hand-writing was laborious and her name misspelled. It was on the hotel ho-tel stationery, the flap still moist and smeared with dark lipstick. "Did she leave this?" she asked. The room clerk shrugged his shoulders and .looked a little uncomfortable, un-comfortable, she thought. The tele phone operator was watching her curiously. She went up to her room, closed the door and put her hat and bag on the bed. She looked at the envelope en-velope for an instant, tore it in two suddenly and tossed it into the waste basket She didn't want to read it It was also nearly eight o'clock, and she knew that Miguel was coming, com-ing, in spite of what Graciela had said knew it before the operator called to tell her he was there. i He was waiting, pacing nervously up and down the lobby. When he saw her he dropped his cigarette in the jar of sand by the newsstand and came quickly forward. He took her hand and held it a moment tightly, looking at her. "I must go home tomorrow, Anne thought quickly. She smiled. "It's nice to see you," she said. He put her arm in his, pressing It close to his side, and they went out onto the terrace. Without saying say-ing a single word he had said a great deal. "Can't we have dinner out here?" Anne asked. She turned from the balustrade with the cool breeze from the ocean in her hair. "Surely." He called the waiter. Anne stood there watching the waves break white against the reef. He came back and took her arm again. "What happened today?" be asked quietly. She shook her head. "I don't quite know. After I got your message I went, w u Pete Wilcox came out just in time, I think. I got dizzy, or something. I don't know. I was scared stiff, really." .,v,, He held her arm more tightly. He had not sent the message that took her out to the mill. Should he tell her? She might be safer if she didn't know too much. "Hereafter don't go anywhere without mp . . . or Wilcox or some one you know very well," he s. d. "And don't take messages from anybody." "I won't again." She glanced around. They were alone on the terrace. The window of Mr. Taussig's room upstair was dark. "Miguel," she said slowly. "Do you know Russell Porter?" "I low about him. He's doing a good job here." "That's what I wanted to know about Is there anything in his work that would interest . . . well, you know?" "Very much," Miguel Valera said gravely. "Why?" Anne looked up at him. "If I tell you something, will you promise to try to see it -doesn't hurt Russell?" Rus-sell?" "What is it, Anne?" "You haven't promised." "I can't promise anything," he answered an-swered quietly. "Nothing personal counts. You must know that . . . after last night, and today." She hesitated,, and went on. "I'm not sure about this. It's a mixture of fact and guesswork. Bui the other night after dinner Su4 Porter and Mr. Taussig were talking talk-ing about Russell's job. Taussig said if Russell could do that whatever what-ever it was he was a genius; it was every engineer's dream. Sue said he had done it and he was a genius, and she tried to get Russell to go get his specifications to show him. Russell clamped down hard and sent her to see after the kids. I have an idea that Sue showed them to him today. Russell's away, and she's terribly ambitious for him, and thinks because Taussig is a great sanitary engineer he can do something. She wouldn't knowingly" know-ingly" He interrupted her with impatient irony. "People never do. What time today, Anne?" "About four or four-thirty, Td guess. What would he do if he got them?" "He'd make a microscopic photostat photo-stat and return them to Mrs. Porter in an hour. He'd tell her she was right about -her. husband, and to keep absolutely quiet and they'd hear from him. Sort of their secret, se-cret, his and hers. Nobody would know the plans were out, so no changes would be made. And Taussig Taus-sig wouldn't have any large blueprint blue-print to smuggle out. They don't steal plans any more. They just take pictures and enlarge them." "Then there's nothing " He shook his head. "There are the films. "I'm glad you told me." The waiter brushed the crumbs from the cloth and brought their coffee. He poured it, black and fragrant, into the cups and left the terrace. Miguel leaned forward, looking at her in the pale silver glow of the rising moon. "Anne," he said. He hadn't spoken for several moments. "Yes?" "I'm going to ask you to do something. some-thing. Will you?" She smiled. "Depends." "I'm going to ask you ... to go home." His voice sounded a little like silk tearing. She put her cup down and looked out at the reef. A lighted ship was moving far out beyond it . . . going home. She looked back at him. "Do you want me to go?" "No," he said quietly. "I want you to stay here, always." He put his hand out and took hers lying on the table. "I love you, Anne. The knowledge knowl-edge that you will go sometime is very hard. It will be lonelier than you know. But if you go quickly quick-ly .. ." "Is that why . . . you want me to go?" she asked softly. "No. I want to keep you, as long as I can. But it isn't safe for you. If I could only ask you to marry me ..." He stopped. Anne waited, aware of the soft fragrance of the night isolating them for a moment in a small infinitely lovely world all their own, as fragile and tender as the silver glow of the moonpath on the ocean. It was what she wanted . . . what she had lived for. There was no shadow of doubt in her mind. She waited for him to go on. When he didn't she raised her eyes slowly to his. "Can't you, Miguel?" she asked softly. Her heart throbbed with a sudden rich warmth. In his face was passion, pas-sion, muted, saddened even, with a tenderness she had never seen before. be-fore. For a moment they were lost In the electric world that held their eyes together, saying more than their lips could say. Suddenly he lowered his head. He was trembling. trem-bling. Anne could hardly hear him whispering, "Oh. Anne I love you, I can't let you go!" "Then ask me to stay, Miguel . . She got up and moved over to the balustrade. He came after her. "Anne, do you mean it?" He caught her band and held it in both of his. She turned and looked, up into his eyes, her own radiant as stars. "I do mean It Miguel." His voice was strong and clear. WiV yon rnarry m Anne?" "Yes, darling. Yes ... a million mil-lion times." "Oh. my dear ... my dear." tTO BE COriTINIJEDl |