CARIBBEAN ?
. CONSPIRACY
K BRENDA CONRAD ^
THK btoki bu far: Anne neywood,
toUW daughter ol a wealthy New
Twk newspaper publisher, goes on u
?atpant to Puerto Rico where Pete
WOcoz, a reporter oa her father's pa
per, Is stattooed as a U. B. Army intelli
gence officer. On the boat she meets
a young Puerto Rlean, Miguel Valera,
aad aa eaglaeer aamed Richard Taus
sAg* of whom she Is Immediately suspi
cions to spite of the fact that he looks
?he a typical tourist. 8he does not know
Chat he is, In fact, a German agent or
dered to destroy Puerto Rico's water
sappiy. Pete meets the boat, but does
?at ton Anne that he has reason to sus
pect Taussig. Later Anne discovers that
her hags have been searched.
CHAPTER IV
Anne put her key in the lock and
opened the door. There was a fun
ny taste in her mouth, as if she'd
bit into ? sweet orange and found
it was a sour one.
*Tm glad Pete's in San Juan aft
er all," she thought, with a sudden
twinge of conscience. "I wonder
what he's doing?"
Pete Wilcox, if she'd known it,
was at that moment two floors be
low her in the Granada bar. He'd
watched her all through dinner,
seen her gay and charming and ra
diant as a sunbeam, talking to three
men.
The other girl Pete didn't even
see. He watched Anne and Miguel
leave the dining room.
"They're going to dance," he
thought. He looked at himself in
the mirror over the bar. The faint
green cast of his face couldn't all
be mildew, he thought with a twist
ed grin. "Take it easy. Captain
Wilcox," he said to himself.
Anne put her hand out to put out
the light, and changed her mind.
The room glowed with a faint silver
phosphorescence from the rising
moon. It was the moon she and
Miguel had watched growing round
er and whiter the last three nights,
she thought with a little ache inside
her.
She shook that off impatiently,
crossed the room and loked down
into the patio. Don Diego Gongaro
had just finished lighting Richard
Taussig's cigar and was lighting his
own. Then Anne's heart beat a lit
tle more quickly. She glanced back
at the door, her cheeks flushed a
little. The idea that popped into her
mind, she knew, was one that should
never have occurred to a well
brought-up young woman. She dis
missed it sharply.
Her hand shook a little as she
opened the door. There was a light
over the transom in Room 108. It
was not the ceiling light; it was not
bright enough. It must be the one
on the table or beside the bed. She
started trying to remember whether
it had been there before. ShCTiadn't
looked, she had been do intent on
the conflict in her mind as she went
into her own room. It might be the
maid, she thought, listening. Or Mr.
Taussig might have left his light on.
nMoaail 4ka nf4o* o
uiic Liuoocu uic passage aiici a
moment and tapped lightly on the
door. There was no answer and no
sound from inside. Her heart was
pounding in her throat. She had
either to do it or not to do it, she
told herself?but she had to be quick
about it in any case.
She put her key in the lock and
turned the knob. Mr. Taussig had
not locked his door. She opened it
slowly, glancing back behind her
down the hall, and slipped inside.
She had taken two quick steps along
the passage between the wall and
the closet when the dimmed light
went off, leaving her in sudden ab
solute darkness. Somebody inside
the room moved with swift catlike
silence. She stood rooted to the
?oor in terror, her voice frozen in
her throat. A man's hand strong as
steel closed over her mouth, stifling
the cry that sprang to her lips.
She was whirled around and moved
back to the door so quickly and
easily that she didn't have time to
struggle. The door opened, she was
in the hall again; the door closed.
She ran, breathless with terror,
across the passage into her own
room and stood gripping the door
knob, her heart beating violently.
Very slowly then she raised her
hand to her face and touched it
with trembling fingers. In the dim
light above the open transom she
had caught one flashing glimpse of
the man in the room. It was Mig
uel Valera.
A chill stabbing awareness that
she was for the first time in her life
up against stark reality that thrust
friendship aside, as Miguel had done
with her, made her hand relax slow
ly from her doorknob. She reached
out to switch on the light, changed
her mind and stood there listening
warily. He was coming out. She
heard the door across the passage
close quietly, the key turn softly in
the lock, and his footsteps retreating
quickly along the hall. Still with
out turning on the light she went
qw'etly through the narrow passage
between the closet and the wall
into her room. She stopped at the
foot of her bed, shrouded in white
kiosquito netting, and glanced back
at the door.
"I wonder . . she thought
"?I Just wonder."
What if Miguel Valera had real
ized there was something odd about
Richard Taussig too? That could
explain it. He could have left Gra
ciela for a minute Just to come up
and see, while his uncle and Taus
sig were talking.
She slipped to the window and
looked down into the patio. Don
Diego Gongaro and Taussig were
still sitting there, their cigars still
quite long. That came as a little
shock to her. What had seemed
an eternity could have been only
two or three minutes at the most.
Then she started. Miguel Valera
was coming through the arcade,
alone. Graciela must have been
sent home, or something. He
strolled across the patio, drew up a
chair and sat down with the othef
two.
Anne stood watching them, her
heart rising. Whatever it was," if
Miguel was on her side . . . and
then she caught her breath sharply.
He had said something to Taussig,
who turned quickly and looked up
at her window. Don Diego turned
slowly in his chair and looked up.
Miguel was telling them. And she
hadn't thought of that. She hadn't
really thought about that at all, but
in some way she had just taken it
for granted he wouldn't tell.
"I wonder where Pete is," she
thought miserably. It was the same
old pattern. It always came back
when she was in trouble. If only
she knew where to find Pete!
She looked down into the patio
again. Mr. Taussig was getting up.
Anne's eyes moved across the
grass. A man was sitting alone at
the table in the corner, where Don
Diego had sat reading his paper
that morning. She looked away,
and then looked back sharply. It
was Pete.
Pete went through the lobby and
started across the gallery under
The door opened, she was in the
hall again.
the portico. The juke box blared
from the bar behind him, and with
the orchestra out on the terrace a
wailing tenor was singing "Perfidia"
... "I found you, the love of my
life, in somebody else's arms ..."
He tossed the cigarette he'd just
lighted into a palm tub and turned
back again. His orders were to lay
off, and in the Army orders were
orders. In the newspaper business
an editor might not run a story, but
he never tried to keep you from get
ting it if you could. And just now
Pete's training and instinct?the old
nose-for-news sort of thing?told him
not to leave, to go back and the
hell with G 2.
He went through the lobby out into
the patio. The ocean pounding on
the reef and breaking again on the
rocks just across the balustrade
softened the strident scream of mu
sic from the bar. The place was
empty except for Taussig and Di
ego Gongaro sitting by the fountain
smoking their cigars. They stopped
talking for an instant when he came
out, and started again, obviously on
another subject. They couldn't have
been talking about the beauty of
Puerto Hico all that time, he
thought He sat down at a table in
the corner and ordered a Scotch and
soda. The window of Anne's room
was darK. mere was a ugm ui
the hali window, and one in Taus
sig'* near the angle of the wall. He
saw it go out abruptly. Probably
the maid, he thought.
He saw Taussig look up, and move
slightly. Then the light went on
again. Taussig moved again, glanc
ing up at Anne's window. Or Pete
thought he did. He wasn't sure.
It was still dark.
"You must make a visit to my
brother-in-law's Central," Diego
Gongaro was saying affably. "I
shall ask him to arrange it. They
are cutting and grinding the sugar
cane now, and I'm sure it would in
terest you. And to his coffee plan
tation in the mountains. That would
interest you very much too. The
trees are beginning to blossom now,
and they are very beautiful. Per
haps Miss Heywood would be inter
ested too. She is a very intelligent
young lady. Perhaps she is too in
! telligent. It can be a dangerous
quality in a woman. I mean, of
course, that no man wants a worn
anawho?" J
He broke oil abruptly. Pete Wil
cox, trying to look casual and re
laxed in a wrought-iron chair that
was not designed (or either, was i
listening intently. There was some- J
thing in Diego Gongaro's tone that
implied a meaning underlying the
superficial conversational one. He
was watching the center arch, and
Pete, glancing around, saw Miguel
Valera come out into the patio and
pull up a chair beside them.
"I was just saying how intelli
gent your (riend Miss Heywood is,
Miguel," his uncle remarked easily.
Miguel shrugged. "I don't know
about that. She's very charming,
certainly."
There was no reason to get hot
under the collar, Pete told himself.
Maybe Anne was deliberately con
cealing her intelligence. Sometimes
she did it without deliberation. Fur
thermore, there was nothing offen
sive in preferring a girl's charm to
her intelligence. Latins weren't the
only ones who did that.
"What have you done with the
young ladies, by the way?" Taussig
inquired.
"My cousin is with some o( my
other cousins. Miss Heywood has
had a tiring day. She's gone up
stairs."
"I hope you'll remember your sug- i
gestion about the sugar plantation. ]
I'm sure Miss Heywood would en- j
joy it too."
"I'm sure we can arrange it, Mr. i
Taussig. I'll speak to my father, i
Are you engaged tomorrow?"
"I'm afraid I am," Taussig said, i
"The Army is taking me on a tour ]
of the island, stopping at Borinquen
Field for lunch."
Mr. Taussig bowed to both of
them. "Goodnight," he said.
Miguel Valera turned to his uncle ,
and spoke again rapidly. Pete
caught Graciela's name and "casa,"
and decided that Miguel was telling
his uncle to take the girl home. At
any rate Gongaro left. Miguel and
Pete were alone in the patio, and
the light in Anne's window was still
on. Pete, watching with a kind of
forlorn hope for one brief glimpse of
even her shadow on the screen, try
ing to make up his mind not to go
and call her up just to hear her
voice and know she was there, start
ed to get up. As he did Valera rose
and came across the grass.
"Good evening. Captain," he said.
"If you aren't in a hurry I wonder
if you'd join me in a nightcap?"
For a moment the two of Jhem
stood facing each other, the Latin
tall and slender with gray eyes and
black hair, the Saxon tall, learXand
rangy with hazel eyes and \un
bleached, tow-colored hair, each
taking the other's measure. V
"Thanks," Pete said. "Glad to."
They sat down. Miguel called the
waiter.
"You're at Headquarters, I under
stand," he said when he had or
dered.
"That's right," Pete said. "And
you?"
"I was ordered to Buchanan. But
my orders were cancelled. I was
ready, and thought I might as well
come home. It was too cold in New
York for me anyway. I'd been up
for several months on business for
my father."
"You're a lawyer, aren't yon?"
Pete asked. It sounded as if being
a lawyer in a time like this was a
little like being a snake in the grass,
which was not what he had meant.
Miguel laughed.
"A sort of lawyer. You have to
know law to manage a sugar Cen
tral, these days of government regu
lation. I don't practice."
"Politics?"
"Politics is in Latin blood," Mig
uel answered. "Red corpuscles,
white corpuscles and politics. It
means everything down here."
"What about your father? Has he
been in political office?"
"No. My father isn't a United
States citizen. After the American
occupation we were given the choice
of accepting citizenship or remain
ing Spanish. My father chose to
retain his own citizenship. A good
many people did. What do you call
them?diehards, isn't it?"
"Are they the ones who don't like
the United States?" Pete asked.
Valera hesitated.
"Would they like to see Spain
back?"
Miguel Valera shrugged. "I sup
pose there's the dreapi of seeing the
scarlet and gold of Spain flying from
El Morro. It's natural enough for
the people who are predominantly
Spanish. If the United States were
conquered, you would just wait the
chance to kick your conquerors out.
"And what about the National
ists?" Pete asked.
Miguel shook his head. "The ca
cique, or leader of the party in pow
er, has said Nationalism is not an
issue at the present. I don't think
there's any important organized Na
tionalist opinion here now. The Fa
langists and the Nationalists are the
two extremes?in between you have
the moderates.?But I didn't meanj
to give you a lecture on insular poli
tics. I-"
"One thing before you get off it,"
Pete said. "Where do you stand in
aU this?"
"Me?" Miguel Valera laughed.
"You'd be surprised," he said. "But
as I started to say, this isn't what
I wanted to talk to you about. It
was Miss Heywood."
(TO K CONTINUED)
IMPROVED * Jl
UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL
Sunday i
chool Lesson
By HAROLD L. LUNDQUIST, D. D.
Of The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.
Released by Western Newspaper Union.
Lesion for November 14
Lesson subjects and Scripture texts se
eded and copyrighted by International
Council of Religious Education; used by
permission.
THE SANCTITY OF THE HOME
LESSON TEXT?Exodus 20:14; Matthew
1:27-30; Mark 10:2-12.
GOLDEN TEXT?Blessed are the pure In
Heart: for they shall see God.?Matthew 8:2.
As the divinely appointed center
pf man's life, the home holds a
place of such importance that it is
the special target of Satan's offen
sive. That has always been true,
Put it seems that in recent years the
onslaught against the home has been
intensified.
Books, plays, movies, magazines,
ill contribute their filthy efforts to
break down all sense of moral re
sponsibility. Sex is magnified, and
iot in any useful or normal sense,
but rather for the stimulating of un
holy desires and purposes, the
breaking down of Christian stand
ards of living, and the ultimate pros
titution of the most sacred of all
human relationships to the lowest
level of which animals might well
be ashamed.
All this means that this lesson
should be taught with a holy bold
ness and plainness which will make
it effective for God in our homes.
We do not like to talk about adul
tery and related sins. We must
speak with care and tact, but per
haps the time has come for some
straightforward dealing with an un
pleasant situation.
I. Proteet the Purity of the Home
(Exod. 20:14; Matt. 5:27-30).
Any violation of the divine plan
for the marriage of one man and
one woman, in loving communion
for the founding and maintenance of
the home, is a direct violation of
the law of God.
It is also a violation of the law of
man. It brings serious results in
the destruction of the home, and in
the ruin of individual life?physical,
moral and spiritual.
The words of Jesus broaden the !
interpretation of the commandment
to cover all sexual impurity in
thouvht. word, or Heed.
We are to be firm and definite in
our deahr.hf^th this temptation to
moral uncleanness even though it be
as painful as tearing out an eye or
losing a hand. The command here
is not necessarily to be interpreted
literally. Tearing out an eye will
not help if there is lust in the heart.
The point is, go to the root of the
matter, and get rid of it even if it
hurts. Most of us are far too easy
on our sinful impulses. We dally
with them when we should destroy
them.
n. Recognize Marriage as a Di
vine Institution (Mark 10:2-8).
The Pharisees, who had devised
some ingenious schemes for getting
rid of an undesired wife, wanted to
get Jesus involved in the question.
They put him up against Moses who
had allowed divorce.
Jesus made it clear that this was
not in accord with God's plan and
only took place because of their sin
ful hardheartedness.
As a proper background for the
discussion of divorce He set up the
divine origin of marriage. He made
it clear that marriage was ordained
by God, and that it involves a holy
union of two individuals which
makes them one.
All those who look forward to mar
riage should realize that it is not a
casual thing, or a merely temporary
legal contract. It is a union for
life?be it for better or worse, in
sickness or health, in prosperity or
adversity. All who are married
should highly regard their sacred
vows.
The high place of marriage in
Christian teaching dignifies that re
lationship and denies the mislead
ing and destructive theories of men.
III. Follow God's Law on Divorce
(Mark 10:9-12).
Failure to observe God's law in
these matters may involve a person
in the guilt of gross 'sin. This pas
sage and others teach that divorce
is to be permitted on the one ground
of adultery (Matt. 5:32).
Divorce and remarriage other
than on grounds permitted by God
involves the parties in the sin of
adultery. Men may make laws
based on the civil contract of mar
riage which provide differently, but
man cannot remove marriage from
its place as a divine institution, nor
can he add to or take away from
God's law concerning it.
Aware, as we are, of the laxness
of some branches of the church in
such matters, and the almost entire
lack of standards in the world, we
cannot but present the plain teach
ings of our Lord and urge every
reader to follow the commandment
of God's Word.
There can be no question that di
vorce is a major evil in our day.
Statistics are positively shocking,
but they are coljl and quickly for
gotten. But who caa fail to see, and
who can forget, the awful woe
brought into American home life by
divorce.
Bad as it is, the awful effect an
parents is nothing compared to the
nervous, moral and spiritual shock
which comes to children in broken
homes. And that problem is every
where.
Juvenile Fliers Learn Tricks
Of Air Currents on Ground
Schoolboys may be too young to fly real airplanes for their
country, but they want to learn the principles of aviation in a
manner which approaches the thrill of the real thing. A Cali
fornia glider company and Aeronautical Engineer Volmar Jen
sen have created a preflight glider which brings youngsters
plenty of thrills and a basic flying technique without risking their
necks. With the glider, schoolboys learn to keep a steady course
through rushing air currents. They do tt on the ground towed by
cm auiuuiuuiie traveling ju mues
an hour. I
Breezing along behind the tow
ear, the cadet above tries to prevent
the glider's wing tips from scraping
the ground. Perfectly controlled,
the glider will roll smoothly with
tail up and wings level.
Right: Use of these jigs simpli
fies construction of the glider. Wood
parts are fitted in, nailed and glued.
The glider is made of non-priority
materials and can be assembled by
school manual training classes. A
tingle control stick is connected to
wings and tail.
Ready to match his technique against air currents, the student, above,
informs the automobile driver that he is ready. Tore car putts ascay and
the 100 foot line is jerked taut.
The glider zooms past an assembly of feUosc students. Despite rushing
sir, it is level. The operator is controlling its balance, something that assy
pilot must master before he takes to the air.
Below: I olmmr Jensen attaches
the rudder to the tail. He built sev
eral safety devices into I he troft to
eliminate the usual risks of prelim
inary glider instruction. Any ideas
that the non-ascending gliders icere
"sisstfteiT were soon dispelled. It
iraa quite difficult to keep a level
course at a speed of 30 miles an
hour. But most of them soon mas
tered this technique and are on the
way to becoming pilots later on.
Wings and rudder are removable for transportation purposes.
? ? , ' V . ?' . . .... ' v..
"TPHIS bag was planned as a gift
* for someone who was finding
days in bed difficult enough with
out having books, magazines and
writing materials scattered about.
If you like to take an assortment
of reading matter to bed, sick or
well, you will enjoy a bag like
this. Its hanger hook may be
sewed to box springs and there you
are with everything handy.
The bag shown here was made
of a remnant of heavy cotton up
holstery materials in tones ad
green with a touch of red in the
pattern. The red was repeated in
the sateen lining. The sketch gives
all the dimensions and shows boar
the lining and the outside part
were made. A coat hanger was
cut down to measure 13 inches
from end to end and was placed
between the lining and the out
side; these being stitched together
around the top, as illustrated.
? ? ?
NOTE?This bedside bag is but ooe mi
thirty-two useful things to make for CW
home, that are Illustrated with defatted
dim this in BOOK ? ad the series pre
pared for readers. The price ot BOOK ?
is IS cents. Send your order fie:
m im m id stubs
Drawer If
Enclose IS cents far Book Be. K
Name
Address
For the Preservation it
Of the American ? it
Way of Life it it it
BUY U. S. WAR BONDS!
ATFWSr ^ mm
?;0^B
Oziw
TASET5. MM MM MOT
Gas on Stomach
There are IS gor-Jlas in the Unit
ed States.
sYN?a?MlMTaFMv
fHOTFUSIK)
mt nervous, craitky feelings. are
s bit bine ss times?due to the
pecoitor to wnrnm^ST*LiStoY
Ptrrfdtos^Yefeg^
WNU?4 45-4J
Ikfawr Acti?
I M*4n MB vtt th harry ??IJI
te?ifeNvi l?Ty atrmia ? tfce week
e# ike ti4wy?. TWy ere apt t? b*ew
w lewd ?e4 Ufl u> ftltar >ma *d<
(SmSS
"T^'|D~.'. fNli ta'i UpjJ
S?SFtS^U^W4M!? tSZTkdl a
SH^gjTS^^Sr
iH;