The Ely miner., 1943-11-18

He looked at his watch. The Of
ficers had thinned out, leaving the
women sitting around. "Tll see you
tonight. What about dinner?"
Anne shook her head. "I'm din
ing with somebody else."
''Not Miguel Valera?"
She smiled. "Why not? Don't
tell me you're like Sue Porter?"
He looked at her soberly.
Look, Annie. You haven't fallen
in love with that guy, have you?"
Her gaze wandered out across the
rolling green lawn to the ocean.
She had asked herself that all the
way from the Granada. The note
she'd found in her mail box-"You
have caller, so I won't disturb
you, but I'll be around at six and
if you aren't engaged may ! take
you to dinner?"-had set her heart
dancing and her eyes sparkling as
she stuffed it into her bag and ran
out to the taxi. Maybe that was
what it was. She hadn't been in
love often enough to be very sure
about it. But it was something
something new and different and ex-
citing.
Miguel Valera waited for Anne to
sit down. It hadn't occurred to her
that they wouldn't have dinner
alone, or that she could be suddenly
dashed as she was when she stepped
out of the elevator and saw his un-
Gle Diego Gongaro and his cousin
Graciela there in the lobby with
him.
81 understand you are a news
paper writer, Miss Haywood" Don
Diego said. His smile was quick
and warm.
Anne was instantly aware of two
things. The first was that he thought
it amusing that such an attractive
young woman should be anything of
the sort. The second was that it
was odd he should have known it.
She had carefully concealed it from
Miguel. Pete Wilcox was the only
other person on the Island who knew
it. Unless She thought about
the letters in her suitcaseS. There
was one to the correspondent Of
the press syndicate her fathers pa
pers used in Puerto Rico. And that
meant that Diego Gongaro must
have talked to Richard Taussig dur
ing the afternoon-and that they'd
talked about her. It was all very
curious.
"I've worked on my fathers pa
per, if that's what you mean," she
said. 81 wasn't much good"
81 am pleased to hear that, Sc
norita. We believe woman has
higher place in society. She should
let her husband take care of her."
''But if she hasn't a husband?"
Anne said.
THAT surely wouldn't be difficult
for you, Miss Haywood.
Graciela put her untasted cock
tail on the table. Her cheeks were
flushed.
At no time would Anne ever have
believed that the appearance of Mr..
Richard Taussig could effect any
thing but distaste. Just then she
was distinctly relieved. She actu-
ally found herself smiling and say
ing Good evening" with the ut
most cordiality to the man she OBJ
jected to more than any other man
she knew.
Good evening, Miss Haywood"
Mr.. Taussig said. He turned to
Miguel. tYou must be delighted to
be back home again. It's so per-
feet here"
Anne found herself blinking lit
tie. Mr.. Taussig, dressed in inn
maculate white linen, was as courte-
GUS as Don Diego himself.
"This is my uncle, Mr.. Gongaro-
Mr.. Taussig," Miguel said.
They shook hands. "This is
great pleasure, Mr.. Gongaro," Mr..
Taussig said. There was nothing
to indicate that they had ever seen
or heard of each other before.
1t was the same when they all
went into dinner together. Only once
did she have the quick sense of fear
that she'd had the afternoon in the
ships library. That was when Mr..
Taussig started to put his green
guide book on the floor beside hiS
chair. She held out her hand, not
because she wanted to see it but
because it was something they could
talk about that perhaps Graciela
could talk about too. She hadn't
said word since he came. Anne
tried to analyze what had happened
just then. What he said was, "Now,
now, Miss Haywood, this is my
book" It was bland and playful,
but there had been something else
in it.
Mr.. Taussig put the book down
on the other side of his chair. "Of
course when the bases here are fin
ished, I imagine your unemployment
| problem will be bad," he said. ST
understand the five-hundred
law will work an additional hard
ship on your economy. Does it af-
feet your father, Mr.. Valera?"
"My father is not a corporation,
fortunately" Miguel Valera said.
1t was the longest meal Anne ever
sat through. If her own voice had
been victrola record and her smile
on motion-picture screen across
the room they couldn't have been
more detached from her. It seemed
hours before the coconut sherbet
served in polished half coconut shells
came and went and they had cof-
fee. At least, she thought as they
finally got up to go, she was sure
of a number of things she hadn't
been sure of before. One was that
Miguel had asked her to dinner just
because he was Latin and polite to
visiting firemen. Another was that
L Cr,niola ryoC not hx; a,1,,ol, L.,