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Show mM eety Sylvia Taylor zm THE STORY SO FAR: Joan Leland, gecretary, in love with handsome Karl MU1 ex, night club owner. Is horrified and disillusioned, when he shoots his business partner, Eric Strom, and threat ens to implicate her unless she continues her wotk and remains silent. He confesses con-fesses he has a wife In Germany and Is part of a Nazi spy ring. Paul Sherman, Sher-man, his-manager, reveals to Joan that he really Is Paul O'Malley, an FBI agent, trying to trap the spy-ring higher-ups higher-ups and Joan agrees to help him. Joan's sister, Sybil, Is missing and Paul be-Heves. be-Heves. Karl Is holding her as a hostage. Pat Hines, a new singer for Karl, Is really Paul's young run-away sister, Patricia, Pa-tricia, and she innocently betrays Paul's identity to Karl, who captures Paul and Joan as they discover incriminating evidence. He spirits them away on a boat and tb'ey find they are in love. A submarine appears to pick up bomber plans stolen by Karl.. Thomas, a victim vic-tim of Karl's, slips a gun to Joan, who shoots Karl as he is about to shoot Paul. Then Paul sends Thomas to recover the evidence from the ship's safe. They escape in a lifeboat. Now continue with the story. CHAPTER XVI Someone was tapping gently at her door. She sat up in bed. "Who's there?" she demanded. Paul looked from Joan to Thomas. "Now listen, both of you. This may be something of a shock but Karl was not dead. He had a nasty wound but he's probably still very much alive." Thomas looked terror-stricken. "Then he'll find us." "We were allowed to escape from that ship for a purpose. We will doubtless be picked up by other members of the ring as soon as we land. We're off the coast of Mexico now. About Mazatlan, if my calculations calcu-lations are correct." And less than an hour later they were picked up by a fishing boat and landed at a Mazatlan hotel. The hotel proved to be old and magnificent, with beautiful tiled floors and high-beamed ceilings and ramps instead of stairways. It appeared ap-peared practically deserted except for the yawning clerk who assigned them to rooms. Joan was surprised that Paul spoke Spanish. "Is there anything you can't do?" she asked. "I specialized in languages in college col-lege and it comes in handy with my Job. I never know where I'll be next." Joan felt better after a hot bath. Joan enjoyed her first taste of papaya pa-paya and the oversize cups of coffee cof-fee served with hot milk and huge lumps of unrefined sugar. "No wonder won-der everyone seems so lazy. Nothing Noth-ing to do but eat and sleep and you to leave alone. Believe me, it wouldn't work." Thomas sighed. "Okay, if you say so . . . Bartender!" he yelled, "bring me another bottle of beer." The bartender shook his head, muttered, "Si, senor," and hurried over with the beer.. But at the sight of Joan he paused. "You are Miss Joan Leland? Yes?" "Why?" Paul asked flatly. The bartender broke into Spanish. Span-ish. There was a torrent of words and gestures. "What does he say?" Joan asked. "It seems there was a man looking look-ing for you here. An American. He gave him ten pesos to get some information in-formation about you. He doesn't know what his name was though." "Karl?" "Not a chance. Karl wouldn't be apt to row all the way to shore. And the ship isn't in sight. I've been watching to see." "But who in the world could it have been?" The bartender, feet on the bar, had returned to his siesta. "What a country!" Thomas muttered. mut-tered. "If someone wanted Joan, why didn't they telephone the hotel? ho-tel? We're all registered under our own names." Paul laughed. "This is what is knnwn as the subtle aDDroach." up in bed. "Who's there?" she demanded. de-manded. No one replied. She drew on the colorful Mexican robe and slippers she had bought and tiptoed to the door. "Who's there?" she repeated. Thomas' voice came to her. "It's me, miss. I've something to tell you." Quickly she unbolted the door and snapped on the light. "What's the trouble?" she asked, annoyed. "Why don't you tell Mr. O'Malley whatever what-ever it is?" "I can't," Thomas whispered, looking over his shoulder. "I've found a way to get out of here." Joan eyed him coldly. "Have you been drinking?" "Only a few," Thomas insisted. "Listen, Miss Leland, I met a man tonight who will take us back to the States. He's an American and he's flying back home tomorrow. He has his own plane and when I told him! we were stranded ..." "You shouldn't have done that!" "Maybe not, but I'm scared, Miss Leland. This guy is okay so I took a chance. He was swell about it. Said he'd be glad to help us. I told him I thought you'd be willing to go too and he wants to see you. He's downstairs right now." "Paul will never consent to leave," Joan said slowly, "and I can't leave him. I don't blame you, Thomas, but you know Mr. O'Malley said it breathe this heavenly air." Thomas looked up in disgust. "Sometimes I think you two are nuts. You sit there and wait for Karl's gang to come after you as If the whole thing is a joke. I don't get it. Why don't we get out of here right now while we still have a chance?" "If you tried it, you'd find out how much chance you have." "Where are they then?" Thomas demanded. "Don't be impatient. They'll be with us soon enough." "Paul! Be serious!" Joan insisted. "Okay," Paul said, leaning forward for-ward and surveying her with his kind brown eyes. "It's probably one of Karl's men. They want to get the idea across that they're around, and this is their way of doing it. They may want to make further contact with you. I don't know. They're probably picking on you instead in-stead of me as a gentle warning that if anything goes wrong, you'll be the one to pay for it However, that's looking at it in the worst pos-oiKio pos-oiKio lioht" Hb tnnk her hand. wasn't safe. However, if you want to go, I suppose it's all right." "Now look, Miss Leland," Thomas Thom-as begged. "At least go down and talk to this man. He's waiting for you. After all, he's been pretty decent de-cent about this whole thing. If you don't see him, he'll think there's something phony about it and he won't even take me." Joan considered for a minute. "All right, for your sake I'll see him. But I'm not going to leave. No one can persuade me." "Okav." Thomas said hurriedlv. "Don't worry, honey. I'll do all I can." "Maybe Karl has some Mexicans Mexi-cans working for him," Thomas suggested. sug-gested. "I don't think so. Besides, this man spoke English, and if he had been able to speak Spanish he certainly cer-tainly would have done so, because the bartender was barely able to understand him." "So now we start waiting all over again?" Thomas asked. "That's about it." She shivered. "Let's go," she urged. They visited the cathedral, the park, and finally took in a movie. They walked leisurely back to the hotel. Dinner was never served until un-til nine o'clock. As they turned on to the long avendia which bordered the sea, one of the few automobiles they had seen turned the corner sharply. "That man!" Joan cried. "I have the strangest feeling I know him! "Just back me up on my story. That's all I ask." He departed and Joan dressed quickly, thinking how strange it was that now that she had a chance to escape she could not take it. It was impossible to consider leaving Paul. Even so, she could not blame Thomas. And if corroborating his story . would help, she would be glad to do it. After all, he had given them all the aid possible on the ship. She walked down the stone ramp to the dimly lit lobby. A man was waiting for her, a man who was at once familiar to her. It was the same man she had glimpsed in the car that afternoon from the street. "Mr. Mulford!" she cried in surprise sur-prise as she realized that it was in truth her former employer who now rose smilingly to greet her. "Joan! This is a surprise!" Arthur Ar-thur Mulford said. "It is to me," she admitted. "I heard you were here. I even went so far as to ask the bartender But when Thomas had gone back to his room and Joan and Paul walked in the tropical garden patio of the hotel, she said seriously, "Thomas is right, Paul. Why don't we leave before it's too late?" "This is the end of the trail, honey. hon-ey. Even if they let us get away, which they won't, what would we have gained? Their next move will ' lead to the heart of this affair. It's 'what I've been waiting for all these months." ' They strolled through the garden where every variety of tropical fruit and flower was exhibited by nature's lavish hand. "It's so beautiful and so peaceful," peace-ful," Joan whispered. Paul held her hand tightly. "Be patient, dear. . Just a little while longer and everything will be cleared up, and when we're married mar-ried 1 promise you I'll take a vacation vaca-tion and there won't be a single mystery to solve." "Darling, I don't care where we go just so we aren't being followed, 'or," she added laughing, "following someone else." "Not a single person," Paul promised, prom-ised, "I'll guarantee to be under foot every hour. You'll probably be tired of seeing me around so much." During the next three days Joan's fortitude began to waver. She understood un-derstood Paul's devotion to duty, but in her heart she longed to escape, to ' go home, to be married, to give up the chase which seemed to grow more dangerous and futile all the time. "I don't know why I'm sticking around here," Thomas complained as the three of them sat in the deserted de-serted hotel bar watching the shafts of sunshine faU through grilled iron windows. "You're staying because you're afraid to leave," Paul said, "and you're smart enough to realize it" Thomas stared at him. "This place is driving me crazy." He looked around the empty bar in disgust dis-gust The bartender dozed. The warm sweet air was heavy and languorous. "Where is everybody?" "Didn't you ever hear of a siesta?" si-esta?" Paul inquired. "I've heard of it" Thomas said, "But people who have Karl Miller's gang after them aren't apt to waste time taking siestas. "Nothing doing. I'm sorry you ! two have to stay but it isn't safe for I I couldn't see him very well, Dul I'm sure of it." "Maybe it's the man who was trying try-ing to get in touch with you," Thomas Thom-as said. "Maybe it's one of Karl's men that you used to see around the club in San Francisco." "That could easily be possible," Paul said. "But I don't connect him with anyone at the club," Joan said puzzled. puz-zled. "It gives me the queerest feeling." She was still worrying about it after dinner when Thomas announced an-nounced that he was going U. "do the town." "Watch your step," Paul advised. "Don't get absent-minded and try to escape." "Don't worry about it Mr. O'Malley! O'Mal-ley! You've got me buffaloed. I'll stick around and watch the fireworks." fire-works." Joan retired early but she lay awake in the huge four-poster bed wondering about the man she had seen. Who was he? Why couldn't she place him? The roar of the sea and sweet night air filled the room. Moonbeams flitted across the stone floor like shimmering mist. She looked uneasily towards the old-fashioned old-fashioned door. She had locked and bolted it but it rattled in the wind. She was almost asleep when a sound disturbed her. Someone was tapping gently at her door. She sat for information about you, but I didn't connect you with Thomas." "Possible. Now tell me, what is this all about?" They both sat down in the deep leather chairs. "I suppose Thomas has explained the situation?" Thomas was standing on the veranda ve-randa smoking a cigarette, apparently appar-ently preferring to let Joan do the talking. "Yes," Mulford said with concern. "He tells me you are in danger of being recaptured by some gang. I must say it sounded a little fantastic." fan-tastic." "It's the truth," Joan said gravely. grave-ly. "After you discharged me I went to work at a night club, the Club Elite, owned by a Karl Miller. I learned later that he is head of a spy ring in this country. I also met Paul O'Malley, of the FBI, who is trying to get evidence against Karl. "And why don't you leave Mazatlan?" Mazat-lan?" Mulford inquired. "Paul, that is, Mr. O'Malley, is still trying to run down the rest of the gang. And he believes they are keeping tabs on us. He is determined deter-mined not to give up." "Thomas seems quite willing to leave." "Yes. He worked for Karl in return re-turn for Karl's promise to save his wile from a Nazi concentration camp," Joan said bitterly. (TO BE CONTINL EDJ |