Evening star., 1940-08-13

over and over again. One name
kept rising in her thoughts, time
after time. Tom CantweL.
He had told Hugo Blake that she
was working in the Office under an
assumed name He had told Hugo
Blake that story about her fathers
failure, making it appear that John
Bristow had been directly tao blame.
But that wasn't all.
Tom had walked down the cor
ridor with her that day at the fac
tory, trying to look as though he
were Just getting acquainted with
a new girl at the office. He had
told her, in that low, insistent whiS-
per, Whatever Hugo Blake wants
you to do, you do it. Keep it a dead
secret at the office"
For that matter, what was Tom
doing, working as machinist in
the Bristow plant.
Whichever way her mind turned,
she could come to only one answer:
Tom was in this thing too. He was
working with Hugo Blake in this
terrible work that she was just be-
ginning to understand.
Her first plan, after Blake had
explained that he wanted her to
obtain certain information for him
from the office, had been to go to
John Bristow in the morning and
tell him the whole story. Then as
Blake had gone on with his expla-
nation, it had occurred to her that
she had not one shred of proof.
She realized at last that she must
pretend to cooperate with Hugo
Blage, and must at least seem to do
whatever he demanded. Only in
that way could she obtain some
proof that would render him harm
less in the future. and only in that
way was there chance of learning
the identity Of his fellow conspira-
tors. Already she knew the identity
of one of them-Tom CantWell!
Finally Drops Asleep.
Near dawn she dropped off into
a restless sleep, waking to find the
sunlight pouring through the dingy
window.
She rose. bathed and dressed, her
mind holding a new resolve. At
least she didn't have to face the
problem alone There was still one
person she could ask for advice,
even for help. Her brother. Pat
A telephone call revealed that
Pat Thorne was at the airport
due for a flying lesson He would
be back late in the afternoon.
She pulled on little soft felt
hat, took her purse and gloves, and
went out. Waiting till late after
noon would be unbearable now.
The airport was buzzing with ac-
tivity. A training ship circled in
the blue overhead; Nancy recog-
nized Iris Bristow'S roadster
among the cars in the parking lot
and wondered if that might be Iris,
halfway to the clouds. For a mo-
ment she paused, admiring the
graceful movements of the tiny
plane. If only she could be up there
instead Then she remembered her
errand.
A mechanic told her that Pat was
In the operations building, and she
headed toward it, picking her way
carefully through the dust. BY the
door she paused for a moments
thought.
What was she going to tell Pat
when she found him? How was
she going to make it clear to him?
For all she knew, he might laugh
at her, tell her it was all nonsense.
Well, she'd have to find a way to
make him believe her, that was ALL
As she stood there deciding what
to say, two men came out of the
operations Office, talking in low
tones. One of them, tall thin and
red-haired, was Pat. She started
forward joyously, then checked her
self suddenly. The other man was
Tom Cantwell.
The open door of the building
hid her from their view and they
stood talking for a moment, oblivi-
Gus of her presence, while frag-
ments of their conversation drifted
to her stunned ears.
Il know I can't back out now"
Pat was saying in half Whisper.
But it's risky. If" The rest was
lost in the roar of a plane over
head.
When it had passed, Tom was
saying certainly worth the risk.
Right now there's big drive to
bring more student pilots out. If
there should suddenly be lot of