Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-08-21

call to be put through he read the
telegram from his father over anG
over again.
please come quickly" it read
Just those three, cryptic, unex-
planned words, followed by the name
Steve"
Vaguely Tom tried to associate
the words with the brusque, flash
| ing-eyed forceful man he knew
Steve to be. Take next plane fol
Frisco" or Come out here right
away" would have sounded more
like the Steve he knew. PLEASE
come quickly" was specially ominous
and disconcerting, because it asked
for haste in a way totally tncom-
patible with Steve's nature.
Twisting uncomfortably because Of
the way his height and the width
of his shoulders cramped him in the
booth, Tom tried in vain to figure
the thing out. He recalled the mild
heart attack Steve had had a little
over year ago, and he wondered
II perhaps
Chicago calling Mr.. Steve Cal
lahan :" That was the barely
audible voice of the operator at the
other end, in San Francisco.
There was a moments static
silence then, followed by a distinct
click. Tom frowned, waited another
moment, then signaled impatiently
with the receiver hook.
zone moment. please"
Operator, did some one answer
and then hang up?"
With nasal formality the girl re-
piled again, Zone moment, please.
I'm trying to get your party"
Tom waited again. He could hear
the buzzing at the far end as Stoves
number was rung. At last the op-
orator broke in: They do not
answer, sir. Shall I keep on ring
ing?"
mo. don't bother. But tell me
this: Did they answer once and then
hang up?"
"One moment, please San
Francisco says the connection was
made, then Immediately broken"
"Okay. Thanks"
Arrange for Plane.
The cords of muscle in Tom CAL
lahan's jaws were tight and the
lines around his straight lips were
deep etched as he slowly put the
receiver back on the hook. His gray
eyes narrowed and for an instance
his nostrils widened as he took a
quick, deep breath. He glanced at
his wrist watch, it was TAO. There
was a west-bound plane leaving the
airport at sos.
He put the call through to the
airline offices. Callahan calling"
he said. Can I get place on the
sos plane, or are they all taken?
Okay, thanks. Who's flying
tonight? Grant? Tell him I'm
going with him, will you? &.
Okay."
Twenty-Five minutes to get to the
airport. 1t could be done if he got
any breaks in traffic. And maybe
Grant would hold up minute or
two If he wasn't there He
stepped from the booth, crossed the
lobby as fast as his game leg would
permit, pushed through the revolv-
ing door and hurried across the
street to his car. If he had time
he'd call Chris from the airport.
-. Dirty trick running out like
this without a word, but there
wasn't anything else to do. Steve
was in some kind Of trouble.
X X \ \
After Tom had been gone about
Is minutes Chris began watching
the door to the cocktail room ner-
vouSly. She had been somewhat
when he pocketed the
telegram without giving any clue
to its contents and hurried away in
obviously deep concern. But she
had thought it probably some new
development in connection with his
job, and assumed that he didn't
want to discuss 1t before Rolfe and
Sylvia. Now the possibility that 1t
was something more serious &C.
CURED to her. Role noticed her
Shall I go look for him, Christ"
he said, reaching over and patting
her hand. The gesture didn't sur
prise Chris, nor did it seem at all
familiar, coming from Role. He had
adopted q paternal attitude toward
her from the start, and he could call
her my dear" or honey" in q way
that permitted no resentment. She
smiled up at him.
I'm being silly, I guess" she said,
releasing her hand and slipping her
drink. Hell be back In q minute.
F.. How long are you going to be
In town, Rolfe?"
II don't know, Chris. There's no
good reason for my being any place
right at the moment. Thought I
might 60 on down to New York in q
few days, or maybe run up to Que
bee and see how the war is affect
ing the Canadians. Now that I've
seen your smiling face again, I've
half a mind to just stay here in
and bask in your beauty
until the wedding"
Rolfe Is Flirtati0us.
Say, what is this anyway?"
Sylvia broke in. She was looking
rom Chris to Role, with . half
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