The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1943-12-31

chance and let Gongaro bring him to
their meeting that night. Gongaro
was positive his nephew was in conn
plete agreement with them. His de-
votion to his father would make him
ready to put Don Alvaro's passive
ideas into action If he could be
shown the way.
But Mr.. Taussig wasn't so sure.
It was the emotional equation CONF
ing in again. He'd seen him with
Anne Haywood on the ship and seen
them together in San Juan. He'd
seen the look in Miguel's face. He'd
seen 1t in other mems faces and
knew what it meant.
Mr.. Taussig bought newspaper
and made his way across the lobby
to the desk to get his key.
It was extraordinary, he was
thinking, how Anne Haywood got in
the way. Not only tangibly with
Miguel and little Mrs. Porter, but
intangibly too. The fact that she
was at all serious about him was in
effect a potential surveillance that
he couldn't afford to risk.
He stopped in front Of the counter.
The clerk put his hand up in the
pigeon-hole numbered ITO, and
turned back. ''No, she hasn't come
in"
The girl standing there hesitated,
apparently reluctant to 60. Mr..
Taussig glanced her over with an
appraising eye, wondering what she
wanted with Miss Haywood. She
was Puerto Rican, dark and full
blown at that brief attractive stage
before avoirdupois and middle age
set in at thirty. She was expensive
1y dressed, almost too much so, and
obviously nervous and i'll at ease.
She was also obviously determined.
The clerk handed Mr.. Taussig his
key and two call slips, said "Good
evening, SIR" in English and turned
back to the girl. His attitude was
interesting, Mr.. Taussig thought. It
was as if he had to be polite to her
but nevertheless wanted to get her
out as quickly as possible.
"You can leave a message for
her." he said. "She's usually very
late"
The girl moved away without am
swering, wandered over to the ar
cade and sat down, looking around
with kind of moody defiance in her
set face. She apparently had made
up her mind to see the American
girl and was not going to be stopped.
''Who is that young LADY," Mr..
Taussig inquired, with a slight frown
as if he knew her very well but
couldn't quite place her at the mo-
ment.
The clerk looked at him politely
but blankly. 81 don't know her
name," he said, with exactly the eff
feet of saying ''It's none Of your
business, SIR"
Mr.. Taussig looked at the slips in
his hand. Mrs. Russell Porter had
called him at six-thirty. Mrs. r.
Porter had called at eight-thirty
and left her telephone number.
AHCIS WCAC tWO AlOAC sips III
calls in his room that had been left
earlier. It was working out very
nicely, on the whole. Mr.. Taussig
glanced back at the girl by the door.
She was sitting tight. He looked at
his watch. It was not quite ten, and
this might be interesting. The girl
obviously had something on her mind
she intended getting off before she
went away. On the other hand, time
seemed to be important. She kept
looking nervously at the clock and
comparing it with the gold watch
pinned on her dress.
Then she got up abruptly and
went to the writing desk. Mr.. Taus-
sig watched her chewing the end
Of the pen, writing, crumpling up
what she wrote and stufing the pa
per into her bag. Suddenly, in some
thing like despair, she threw the pen
down and hurried out without hav-
ing written anything.
Mr. Taussig went slowly over to
the arcade. She was going quickly
down the drive. He saw, indistinct-
ly because of his short-range vision,
that car stopped for her to get in
and went off toward Santurce, not
San Juan.
He went over to the elevator.
There was something about the Incl
dent that disturbed him without his
being able to say exactly what it
was. 1t was another Of the intangi-
bles that seemed to make action
imperative, before they became tan
gibles to disrupt his plans. He
walked slowly down the hall to his
room. A letter that he had been
writing in his head from time to
time since he talked to Gongaro in
the morning was going through his
mind again. It was very clear to
him. Tomorrow night he would put
it on paper for the morning Clipper.
my dear friend" the letter would
say. 'Thank you for the Guide
Book to this beautiful and historic
island. It has been interesting and
invaluable.
sgr1a~,a xxo,, hoard ~ fha ere o;r