CARIBBEAN ^
^ CONSPIRACY
W BRENDA CONRAD ^
THK BTOEY IO FAB: Amne HeywooA,
i?lifMi tinchtcr of a wealthy Now
Tort newspaper pen Usher, goes oe u
?iIgeioeill to Peer to Rico when Pete
Wllees, e reporter oe her father's pa
per, la etattoeed aa a U. S. Army
toleUigence officer. Oe the beat she
aeeeta a youeg Puerto Rlcan, Miguel
Vetera, and aa eagiaeer named Richard
Taasslg, of whom she to Immediately
sespielous la spite of the (act that he
leaks like a typical tourist. She does not
knew that he to, la tact, a German agent
eedered to destroy Puerto Rico's water
supply. Anne kaows something to wrong
hut doesn't want Taussig to know she
suspects him. As the host decks she and
Miguel Vetera are at the rail together.
CHAPTER II
She looked down again at the peo
ple on the dock. A girl was stand
fag there gazing up along the
crowded ship's rail. She was so
lovely that Anne's heart sank an
other notch in spite of herself. She
was slim and not very tall, with
warm peach-colored skin and dark
sparkling eyes and tawny chestnut
hair. Behind her was an older man,
with the same arresting quality the
girl had, except that hers was an
almost breath-taking loveliness and
his was a rugged and aristocratic
dignity that seemed to hold him
completely apart from the crowd
around him.
Suddenly both faces broke into an
eager smile. The old man raised his
hat, the girl waved her hand. Anne
glanced around. Miguel Valera was
waving back to them, his face light
ed with pleasure.
'That's ray father," he said.
Anne had noticed before the pride
and warmth that came into his voice
when he'd spoken his father's name.
She could understand it now?and
yet for some reason it made him
?uddenly remote from her, as if the
man on the dock had moved in be
tween them there at the rail.
"?And that's my cousin Graciela.
She and her father live with us. Her
mother was killed in Spain in the
civil war."
"She's lovely, isn't she?" Anne
said.
Anne caught a final glimpse of
Graciela's face as they followed the
crowd below. "He doesn't know
rfie's in love with him," she thought.
"Or he doesn't care."
The reflection she caught of her
aelf in the mirror on the landing of
the stairs had a new and sudden
radiance, and the touch of his guid
ing hand on the bare skin of her arm
had a kind of magic she hadn't no
ticed before.
"I'm sorry the trip is over, real
ly," she said.
"I'm glad you're going to be in
San Juan. I hope you'll let me show
you around."
Anne came to a dead stop. At
the bottom of the stairs, coming out
of the purser's office with two of the
sfiip's officers behind him, was Cap
tain Peter Wilcox of the United
States Army. He was in tan tropical
gabardine, with a tan sun helmet
under his arm and an inlaid mahog
any swagger stick in his hand. For
an instant he looked so different she
wasn't sure if it was really he; he
was older and harder and more au
thoritative.
Then he erinned as he used to do.
"?Hello, Annie. I wondered if there
was another Anne Heywood in this
part of the world."
"Oh, Pete?it's swell to see you I".
She ran down the last steps. It
was swell to see him. She would
have kissed him. For an instant she
quite forgot Miguel Valera. But he
held out his hands, so that was
that. She turned back. "?Have you
two met? This is Mr. Valera . . .
Captain Wilcox."
The twa men shook hands. Some
thing curious seemed to happen to
the atmosphere all of a sudden. It
was like a cloud crossing the sun.
"If you'll get your stuff together,
Anne," Pete said, "I'll be along and
help you get it to your hotel."
He grinned again. "?If you'd like
me to, that is."
The passengers from the ship had
already registered. The clerk turned
to Anne.
"Are you Miss Heywood? It's a
good thing you made a reservation.
It's the last room in the house. A
gentleman was just asking for you.
One of the passengers."
She took ud the pen. wrote "Miss
Anne?" and stopped. Her eyes were
fastened on the top card in the stack
the clerk was holding. On it was a
?mail curiously cramped signa
ture: "Mr. Richard Taussig, New
York City."
"You are in Room 110, Miss Hey
wood," the clerk said. "It's a cor
ner room on the ocean side."
Her eyes were still fastened on
the card in his hand. The room
number on it was 108. She wrote,
Heywood, Huntington, Long Is
land, flew York," put the pen down
and turned around.
Pete was waiting, looking at her.
He took her arm. "?What's the
matter?"
"Nothing," she said quickly.-Then
she laughed. "I don't know what's
got into me all of a sudden. I'm
just stupid, I guess."
He gripped her arm a little tight
er. She looked up at him wtth warm
laughing eyes. The idea that Mr.
Richard Taussig could exude any
kind of pitch in room 108 that could
seep through and deAle anything of
hers in room 110 seeme4 suddenly
too fantastic to- her to worry about.
?lad Tm here," she said
softly.
"So am I," Pete said. "Now I'd
like to think you came down be
cause you missed having me under
foot, but I'm still relatively sane.
And you don't look as if the doctor
ordered a rest. What about coming
clean, Miss Heywood?"
Anne crossed the patio and sat
down on the balustrade. "I'm just
down for fun," she said.
He looked at her a moment. "Did
you meet old Don Alvaro?" he
asked.
She looked blank.
"The father of the guy you were
with on the ship?"
"You mean Miguel Valera?"
"I mean his father."
"Yes. I met him?while I was
sitting on my trunk waiting for you.
What were you doing?"
"Checking up on the passenger
list."
"I keep forgetting you're in Mili
tary Intelligence," Anne said. "Do
you catch spies, or what?"
He grinned.
"Public relations is all I do. There
aren't any spies down here, Miss
Heywood. Everything's an open
book. If you want a scale map of
the island and all Its fortifications,
all you do is send ten cents in
stamps to General Headquarters."
He got up. "I've got to push along.
What about lunch? Twelve o'clock.
Officers Club at El Monro. Any taxi
"driver'll get you there."
Anne nodded.
Pete Wilcox waited on the gallery
until he heard the door trundle shut
and the elevator begin its wheezing
progress upward. He tossed his cig
arette into the jar of white sand bv
"I keep forgetting you're in the
Military Intelligence," Anne said.
the pillar and came back into the
lobby. It was empty except for a
man sitting on a wicker sofa between
the center arches, reading a Span
ish newspaper.
Pete went over to the desk. The
clerk pushed the pile of registration
cards across to him. Anne's was on
top, under it Mr. Richard Taussig's.
Pete glanced through the rest of
them quickly and handed them back
to the clerk. He pushed Taussig's
across the desk.
"Phone messages and callers," he
said.
The clerk nodded.
"And Miss Heywood would like a
room on the second floor as soon as
it's possible."
The clerk nodded again. The man
on the wicker sofa folded his news
paper and strolled out into the gal
lery.
"One oh eight," Pete said as he
passed him. He would have liked to
add "One ten," but Military Intelli
gence, once in motion, was like the
mills of the gods, and he didn't want
Anne Heywood ground exceedingly
small. Heaven only knew what she'd
get into before she got out.
He switched on the ignition. Some
thing else was worrying him too, an
old story he'd picked up a long time
ago when he was covering Spanish
speakeasies. Why Don Alvaro's
name stuck in his memory he didn't
know, except that names and dis
jointed facts had a way of sticking
there and were part of his luck as
a newspaperman. He shrugged his
shoulders. The whole thing was fan
tastic, probably all a speakeasy pipe
dream. The idea that Don Alvaro,
or any man alive today, knew the
Conquestadores' secret of San Juan's
water supply, and could choke off El
Morro and her sister fortress San
Cristobal, was absolutely cockeyed.
If he took a story of the sort to
G 2 they'd have him in the nearest
insane asylum in nothing flat. The
water supply was certainly one of
the chief strategic problems of the
Island, but it was a problem in en
gineering, and he wasn't going to
believe that the old Conquistadores
had left a secret the Army engi
neers couldn't figure out.
He stopped abruptly as something
else flashed into his mind. It was
an order he'd seen a couple of weeks
before, from the War Department
m Washington, cancelling Miguel
Valera's previous order to report for
active service with the 85th Infantry
at Fort Buchanan. That was all
there was to it. And now he was
here.
"I wonder what the hell . . ."
Pete thought as he returned the sen
try's salute and hurried inside.
Lieutenant - Colonel Thomas J.
Fletcher looked up from his desk
with a slight frown. He liked Puerto
Rico and he liked Pete, but he had
been Assistant Chief of Staff, G 2,
for only a couple of weeks, and his
predecessor Colonel Mayhew liked
neither Pete nor Puerto Rico.
And he had warned Colonel Fletch
er. "They're all alike. They think
the Army is the city desk of a yel
low journal. You've got to watch
them closer than you do the damn
natives. They go off half-cocked.
Look out for what they call their
private sources of information."
It was not only his predecessor's
warning that disturbed Colonel
Fletcher at the moment. It was the
letter on the desk in front of him.
Fortunately it had come in time. If
it had come a little later there might
have been hell to pay in Washing
ton, and Colonel Fletcher might
have found himself back in the States
teaching K. O. T. C. boys squads
right. ?
He returned Pete's salute.
"Taussig is in room 108 at the
Granada, sir," Pete said. He re
membered the "sir" just in time.
"You can call it off, Captain Wil
cox."
Fletcher spoke evenly and quiet
ly. It was his own fault, of course.
He should have taken Mayhew's ad
vice instead of the offchance that
Wilcox really had something.
"You may read this."
He handed Pete the letter. "Taus
sig is not only a substantial citi
zen?he has a very powerful politi
cal sponsor."
The letter was to Major-General
Dutton, the Commanding Officer of
the Puerto Rican Department. The I
letterhead and the signature be
longed to a United States Senator
whose relations with the Press had
not always been free of virulent
name-calling.
"My dear General," it read. "It
is a very great pleasure for me to
take this opportunity to commend
my old friend Mr. Richard Taussig
to your kind attention. Mr. Taussig
is a sanitary engineer of interna
tional repute. I shall regard any
courtesy you can show him as a
personal favor. I believe he is espe
cially interested in the more do
mestic arrangements of the military
establishment, and I hope you will
see your way clear to allowing
him as much freedom for investiga
tion as is consistent with the best
interests of all concerned. I am
looking forward to his unbiased re
port on the use we are making of
the vast funds pouring into our
Caribbean bases. With warm per
sonal regards, I am, very sincerely
yours . . ."
Across uie oouom me uenerai s
aide had scribbled: "?Is dinner
enough? Have arranged tour. How
long is he staying?"
Pete handed the letter back.
"That's all, Captain. And by the
way." Colonel Fletcher smiled faint
ly. "Are you sure this wasn't cam
ouflage? When you want to meet a
young lady it's best to just say so,
you know. That's all."
Pete sat for a moment at his
desk. "If I were Lindbergh, I could
resign," he thought eardonically. He
unlocked a drawer and took a grimy
sheet of cheap hotel writing paper
out of it.
"Dear Mr. Wilcox," it began. "I
take my pen in hand to say if you
can take this as strictly private
and personal between you and I, go
ahead. If you got to turn it in to
them brass hats you're mixed up
with, stick a match to it. I don't
want the Joint wrecked any more
I want to wake up in the morgue
via the East River as they say.
You and me are on the level. A
so-and-so named Taussig is headed
your way. Something's screwy, I
don't know what. Two guys spilled
it at the bar Tuesday night, and it's
straight dope.?How's the black-eyed
beauties down your way? Signed,?
F. A. Schneider."
The signature was elaborate and
flowing, practiced for state occa
sions, like the signing of liquor re
ceipts. Under it was written "Gus." ?
Pete Wilcox sat looking down at
his hot tip, from the keeper of one
oi uie inosi uisicpuiuuie waienroni
dives in Hoboken. It wasn't the first
one he'd got. Not one of them had
been a phony. The F. B. I. had
profited a number of times and no
questions asked.
He shrugged. "The Army," he
thought, "is different. But I thought
Fletcher was different too. I guess
they grow brass hats young."
He put the letter back in the draw
er. After all, it was just Gus' word
against a guy who evidently had
friends in high places. But if Gus
had gone to the length of writing
a letter . . .
"I guess I've stuck my neck out
enough," he thought sardonically.
What was the Army formula? Keep
your mouth shut, your bowels open
and never volunteer. There was
something in it.
"I'd better call off the pack before
they put me in the guardhouse," he
thought. He picked up the phone
and rang the Granada HoteL
fro aa coxTDftngp)
IMPROVED
UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL
Sunday i
chool Lesson
By HAROLD L. LUNDQUIST. D. D.
Of The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.
Released by Western Newspaper Union.
Luton for October 31
Lcssoo subjects end Scripture texts se
lected sod copyrighted by Inter nstloicsl
Council of Religious Education: used by
permission.
BIBLE? TEACHINGS ON
ABSTINENCE
(Internatlonsl Temperance Sudsy)
LESSON TE rr?Leviticus 10:1. L nil
Proverbs 31:4, S: Luke 1:13-10.
GOLDEN TXXT?Beware. I pray tljee,
and drink no wine nor strong drink.?
Judges 13:4.
Total abstinence from all alcoholic
liquor* is the only sensible and ef
fective policy for Christian people.
Some, who want to use alcohol them
selves, like to stress the Bible'*
teaching of temperance. They point
to the use of wine on the part of peo
ple in biblicul times, although they
fail to note that more often than
not it was non-alcoholic. (See "The
Bible and Wine," published by Loi
zeaux Brothers.)
Another thing they ignore is that
we live in a different day with a
mechanized society, when alcoholic
beverages are offered through high
pressure advertising and in highly
distilled and potent form.
What we are most interested in is
what tke Bible teaches about the
matter. We note that?
Abstinence is Necessary
I. For Spiritual Obedience (Lev.
10:1-2, 8-11).
In the religious life of a nation
one expects the leaders to set the
example for the people to follow.
Two things we may rightly demand
of those who serve the nation in its
religious life: (1) a vision of God
and obed'.ence to that vision in life
and service, and (2) the exercise of
sound, God-guided judgment in the
affairs of the people. -
But note what happens when the
prophet and the priest turn to wine
and strong drink. They err in vision
(Isa. 28:7). That is, they have no
clear concepts of divine truth, and
lead the people into error. Further,
we see that "they stumble in judg
ment."
To every true servant of God
comes repeatedly the opportunity
and the need of rendering judgment,
that is, of advising and counseling
those to whom he ministers. If his
mind is befuddled by the use of al
cohol (or, for that matter, by any
other kind of worldly indulgence) he
will "stumble," and cause his peo
ple to stumble.
A sad incident is related in Leviti
cus 10:1, 2, of the sons of Aaron.
We are not told directly that they
were intoxicated, but it is implied in
the fact that there is an immediate
injunction against the use of wine by
the priests (Lev. 10:8-11).
II. For National Order (Prov. 31:
4, 5).
; It is a notorious fact that the liq
uor interests strongly influence the
I political life of a nation. (See "The
Wrecking of the 18th Amendment,"
! by Ernest Gordon.)
While political leaders may make
sanctimonious protestation that gov
ernment agencies are not influenced
| by the liquor interests, it is common
knowledge even to those who are
slightly informed that the two are
closely associated.
The result of that unholy alliance
j is rightly described in Proverbs 31:5
?"They . . . forget the law, and
pervert the judgment of any of the
afflicted." Much of the sad disorder
in the body politic is traceable di
: rectly to the door of the makers and
sellers of alcoholic beverages.
I It is a depressing and disturbing
; thing when the leaders of a nation
are known to lean on alcoholic stim
ulants?the broken reed on which
t man can only be pierced. The de
| structive influence of their example
can be imagined.
III. For Personal Usefulness
(Luke 11:13-16).
John was to be born into a life of
such blessed usefulness to God and
man that he was to be a "joy and
gladness" to his parents, "great in
the sight of the Lord," and instru
mental in turning "many of the chil
dren of Israel ... to the Lord."
Such a life is worthy of emulation
on the part of every young man and
woman. What is the secret of it?
Undoubtedly, fine Christian parent
age had much to do with it.
Other elements also entered in,
such as rearing and training, but of
great importance was the fact (v.
IS) that he was not to be driven by
the false stimulants of this world,
but by the infilling of the Holy Spirit
of God. No "wine nor strong drink,"
but being "Ailed with the Holy
Ghost"?there, young people, is the
secret of a happy and useful life.
Not* that John was to be "great
in the sight of the Lord" (v. 15)?
nothing finer or more distinctive
could be said about a man. That
greatness simply could not exist
along with indulgence in "wine nor
strong drink." Being filled with the
Spirit precludes the use of intoxi
cants.
Let us bear that in mind when we
are tempted to be led astray by the
smooth arguments of those who talk
"temperance" as a ground for in
dulgence. Our boys and girls?yes,
our men and women?need a con
stant warning against the evils of
alcoholic liquor. (See Alcohol, a De
ceiver, Depraver and Destroyer,
published by 'Moody Press, Chi
cago.)
I
If Bombs Should Fall Here
We have not been bombed by enemy planes?yet. Most of us
believe it will never happen, but some of our best minds still think
that before the Axis gives up it will attempt to strike one desper
ate blow at the country that brought about its downfall. There
is a group of women in this country who refuse to succumb to
over-optimism or complacency. They call themselves the Wom
en's Ambulance and Defense Corps of America. They are adher
ing to a program of preparedness for the worst, and if Axis planes
should succeed in bombing the United
States the WADC will be ready to do the
job of caring for casualties.
...UlUWII?HI-?If 1UIUII.IU, II. g
EMERGENCY CALL?A unit of the WADC rushes to the scene of
a "disaster" during a drill in Los Angeles, Calif. They wear natty uni
forms designed for utility rather than decorativeness.
CASUALTY?The squad hurriqp
to a man who is supposed to have
been struck by a car at night. The
women work blindfolded so that a
blackout would not hamper them.
TOUCH SYSTEM ? Their pa
tient'i injuries are a fractured leg,
bleeding artery, and a fractured rib.
All diagnosis is done by touch.
FIRST AID quickly follows diag
nosis. Still blindfolded, the tcomen
tie bandages, apply splints, and
make tourniquets to stop bleeding.
IMPORTANT to whoever gets the patient next it the time tourniquet
was applied. It mutt be lootened every IS minutes. Time it written an
forehead.
GAS MASK DRILL it part of the
training of the WADC. A member
it pictured testing her mask. She
places her palm over the intake and
? tucks its. If the mask is leak proof,
the eheek pieces collapse inward.
She wears her blindfold over the
mask.
The WADC was organised in 1940
with 200 members. Today it num
bers 35,000 in approximately 130
units throughout the United States.
HOUiEHDLD
HiNTJ?J
4\ vH -
Some chopped oUtci end sweet
or sour pickles added to cole slaw
gives an interesting new flavor.
? ? ?
Three tablespoons of light mo
lasses substituted for three table
spoons of the liquid used in mak
ing bread pudding will add much
to the flavor of the pudding.
? ? ?
Spaghetti, macaroni, needles,
rice, are high in carbohydrates
and should be counted with the ce
reals and breads, not as vegeta
bles, when planning and balancing
your menus.
? o ?
When washing fails to remove
stains on your oven try using am
monia. Saturate a cloth pad, place
it over the stain, and let it stand.
After about two hours, you can
wipe away most or all of the stain.
Wash the oven thoroughly with
soap suds after using ammonia.
? ? ?
Ground fresh meat cannot be
stored successfully for any length
of time after it is brought from
the market. Wrap it in waxed
paper and store in the freezing
rnmnartmpnf of the w^fwiiferaliw i#
necessary, but even so, use it as
quickiy as possible.
? ? ?
When year shoes are wet, crum
ple newspaper and pack in the
shoes. This will absorb the mois
ture and also help keep the shoes
in shape. Do not place too near
the fire.
? ? ?
When removing spent plants
from the garden, as you clean up
your garden for winter, put dis
carded plants, leaves, grass rak
ings and clippings, and other sim
ilar vegetation in a wire enclo
sure to make your compost pile.
You can also add carrot tops, out
er cabbage leaves, potato peelings
and other vegetable trimmings
from the kitchen garbage.
Hawksbill Sea Turtle
Has a Shingled Roof
The hard plates of a certain sew
turtle are laid down nth one lap
ping over another like shingles oo
a roof. Known as the hawksbill, it
supplies the world with the true
"tortoise shell." Its shell is about
two feet long and the plates are
6 inches wide and 12 inches long.
Placed in hot water, the shell
will soften and can be bent into
most any shape. These turtles are
found in the warmer parts of the
Atlantic, Pacific and InHim
oceans.
NO ASPIRIN FASTER
than genuine, pore St. Joseph Aspiria.
Wortd'a largest seOer at KM. None sMn.
Marriageable Daughter
A plate placed over the door at
a house in Egypt is a sign that
the family living there have a
daughter of marriage age.
Relief At Last
For Your Cough
CreamoUon relieves promptly be
cause it goes right to the seat of the
trouble to help loosen and expel
germ laden phlegm, and aid natura
to soothe and heal raw, tender. In
flamed bronchial mucona mem
branes. Tell your druggist to aril yon
a bottle of Creotnulaloo with the un
derstanding you must like the way it
quickly allays the cough or yoa an
to have your money back.
CREOMULSION
for Coughs, Chest Colds, Bttmchrtvs
Chinese Deceive Spirits
To "deceive" the spirits, Chi
nese parents give an only son m
girl's name.
S TOO WOHDI WHO SUFFtl FtM v
HOI FLASHES]
If you suffer from hot
weak, nervous, cranky fedhwa an
a bit blue at times?due to the
functional "middle-age" period
peculiar to women?try Lydia K.
Pinkham's Vegetable Compound
to relieve such symptoms. Taken
regularly?Ptnkham's Compound
helps build up resistance against
such distress. It help* nature!
Also a fine stomachic tonic. Pol
low label directions
LYDU L PMKHAMTS SnS
v
VVNU-4 43?43
CONSTIPATION
SLOW YOU UP
? Wtaao bowels an sluggish sad yoa
(sal irritable, hsodschy, do as wilHaaa
do-chow FKKN-A-lfINT, the modem
chewing-gum laxative. Simply chow
FKKN^-MINT baton you go to bad,
tahjog ooly to occordsnco^with pachy
nSst. balpinf you'fai ma*a^a liy
FlkN-A-htlNT. Tastao good, is heady
FEEN-A-HHKTiZ