Evening star., 1941-03-15

dancer, tOO-gOOQ enough 10 De Cnt
would be attended by some Of the
best people of London.
| Dancers understood each other.
You talked with your body. Or bet
ter yet, you didn't talk at all, just
scared on the music. Vaslav under
stood that. Dick didn't. He danced
well, but-hke he did everything else
correctly, reasonably.
Vaslav had brought them home in
an utterly luxurious limousine driven
by a silent, efficient chauffeur. He
| had kissed her hand at the door
while Dick stood by silent, furious.
She wasn't in love with Vaslav-
she would never be. But he intrigued
her. And it had been fun to watch
Gladys face. Was Gladys in love
with the Prince? She acted it. Yet
she was going TO marry Dick. What
a greedy girl!-did she think she
could have everything?
The housekeeper knocked at the
door. "A florists parcel, Miss
Brinda." She shifted and departed.
Sitting up in bed, Brinda opened
| the DerlDDOneQ package.
Orchids! Beautiful ones-SplaShed
with green and gold and black. She
had never seen any like them. And
a tiny card with a monarchial crest
/ -Vaslav's-"To my lovely premiere
danseuse"
Brinda held them against her skin.
They complemented it exactly. That
was the kind of thing you could
trust a man like Vaslav to do cor
rectlv. AS to other things-well, she
would find out.
Wants to Convince Sir John.
Meanwhile. there was the task OF
convincing Sir John-of persuadlng
him that she should not leave Eng
land as yet.
Prince Vaslav had told her the
names of the patrons and patron
esses of the benefit for the evacuees.
It was a distinguished roster. II
anything could sway her guardian,
such names would.
It was a brilliant, sunny morning,
and war and peril seemed far away.
After all. even in wartime, there
were people who had to play, VINO
had to make the world forget its
woes. That was probably her func-
ton, after all. Dick and Sir John
were right. She had no business
fooling with the serious side OF the
war. Leave that to others. She
would dance. And Vaslav, who had
no active interest in war either,
would dance with her. In a way that
was helping people-helping them
to forget So.
She made leisurely toilet, linger-
ing in the bath, pausing briefly be-
fore a pier glass for a critical in
spection of herself &. she thought
of Gladys compared herself with
her former schoolmate. But
Gladys was the heiress TO the
Mountwyn millions, while she,
Brinda, was only the adopted ward
of an army officer If Gladys
wanted to, she could get Dick. But
Brinda was sure that if she wanted
to stop Gladys from getting Vaslav,
she could!
Brinda hummed haunting bar
| from a dance melody of the previous
night, executed a swift pirouette.
She was glad Aunt Wick had insisted
on her studying ballet. Even though
that lady thoroughly disapproved of
| dancing as a profession, she had a
theory that only those who studied
ballet as children knew how to walk
"a theory by which Brinda had
profited more than Sir Johns sedate
relative knew.
Discovers Her Notes.
Sir John had not subscribed en-
Enthusiastically to this crochet of his
elderly aunt. He had some prejudice
against dancers.
Brinda paused suddenly in the
act of slipping into flimsy boudoir
robe. She had just remembered her
guardians anger when she had men
| toned Mata Hari. That famous spy
had been a dancer. too.
She wondered again why Sandy
/ had been so disturbed at her inno-
Then Brinda smiled; perhaps Sandy
had once matched wits with Mata
| Hari and lost. But that wasn't prob
able, because Sir John hadn't been
assigned to intelligence during the
previous war.
Well, dancing was more fun than
| spying anyway-and certainly a lot
less dangerous. Poor Mata Hari-
riddled by French firing squad
Ugh!
Her eyes encountered the pearls
she had worn the night before Bet
ter put them back in the jewel
| cabinet.
Kneeling lithely, she opened the
secret drawer. She gasped. There,
before her lay the tiny, fimsy,
hastily scrawled note she had writ
ten in the house on the moor.
Somehow. 1t had become entangled
in the clasp of the other necklace
the string of carved jade she had
discarded in favor of the pearls.
She snatched up the precious
memorandum. 1t was clear enough
now-considering the circumstances
under which it had been written.
Latitude, longitude, degrees, min
utes. Dick Maiden would know
what they meant. But still there
was the question of the identity of
the ship. Well, perhaps Dick would
know that, too.
A Fateful Friday.
She forgot all her recent resolu-
tions. This was a question of help
ing Sir John-of recovering the
stolen list of agents from England's
enemies.
Fastening to the phone. she called
Dicks laboratory. A strange voice
answered.
LIT. Maiden? Not here, miss.
Perhaps you can find him at Lord
Mountwyns."
Brinda bit her lip. So Dick was
with Gladys. She lifted the receiver
again, then changed her mind. She
did not know why-some impulse
restrained her from communicating
with him at the Mountwyn home.
As she returned to her room, she
again noted the strange perfume
emanating from the secret drawer.