The Wilmington morning star., 1944-01-04
CHAPTER ELEVEN

stopped Mallory's words as if sh
4 had laryngitis For a moment sh,
thought her heart had stopped al
so.
The desk clerk coaxed, "Yo,
were saying, Miss Baker," He re
garded her sudden lockjaW will
perplexity. What was it you want
ed to ask me, Miss Baker?'
Ooh" This was no time, he
mind decreed, to ask about the
police station. Not with the white
scarfed man waiting beside her t.
register. 1.-The room she gasp
ed, does it have private BATH?
Naturally, Miss Baker, natural
ly." The smile still rested on the
clerks lips, but it chastised.
That's fine-uh, thank you -
I'll go up"
"And lock myself in,'' she add
ed, when she had tipped the bell
boy and was alone. The sturdy
chest of drawers would make a
nice barrier across her door. But
that was impossible. It would take
two of the Metropolitans strongest
scenery movers to tackle that.
Besides" she scolded while re.
moving her beret and veil with
shaking fingers, I'm being very
silly There must be a thousand
white scarves worn by perfectly
innocent men," And those two in
the lobby hadn't seemed like those
on the road. Instead, they were
quiet and rather colorless. The alb
surdity of her thinking they were
the two who had pounded mans
head against the pavement made
ner impatient with herself.
All the same, she decided to
send word to Prism the next day
and wait in Monterrey for her ar
rival. Contrary to her first desire,
she now wanted company for the
trip. Company with big muscles.
But tonight she would have a
good dinner and some wine with
it. The wine would make her
sleep so she couldn't lie awake
and ponder over the scene she had
unwillingly witnessed.
III 60 out for dinner" she de-
cided. Mallory never quite knew
how she forced herself to leave
her room. A strange compulsion
controlled her, as if she must
make herself afraid to prove she
wasn't afraid 1t really didn't
make sense when she tried to ana
lyze it, SO she gave up trying
For few seconds she listened
carefully at her unopened door.
Then she opened it and peered
through the slit. A bit Drawer, she
poked her face out, then her head
and body, and raced downstairs.
The desk clerk was again unctu-
Gus, eager to help her, without a
grudge because she had question
ed the moderlity Of his favorite
hotel.
He answered her queries about
a place to dine with genuine inter-
est. Perhaps" he invited, you
would care to go to one of our
clubs?"
Visions Of a smoke-filled night
spot made the girl quickly reject
the idea. Some other time per-
haps. Not tonight"
I do hope that means you are
going to visit Monterrey for a
while?"
Eyes. I'm going to wait here for
my maid to join me-"
II see. Did you make a deposit
for her at the border?'
What? Again Aloud, Mallory
said, 'Is that necessary"
"Oh, yes, for personal servants
of course it is refunded to YOU
when you return
I'm certainly going to have
plenty of pesos waiting for me
when 1 go back" thought NAL
lory. She reminded the desk clerk
that she still wanted her dinner.
Il don't want to go to a night
club. I'd prefer quiet restaurant
where I can get something unusu-
al to eat.''
"Oh, Miss Baker, I didn't mean
night club" A horror-stricken
gaze was on the mans face. II
was speaking Of private club,
like a private club in your coun-
try. The hotel would arrange for
a card for you, and any club would
feel honored to have Miss NAL
lory Baker as a guest
THANK you," murmured NAL
lory. There I go again" she
thought. Tod was always warning
her to be more diplomatic And it
was so necessary in Mexico. Ev-
eryone, with the exception of
Pope, was eager to please.
you're very kind" she said, and
added the special smile she used
at the end of certain songs. Plain
tive gypsy melodies, lullabies, that
sort Of thing. Thank you again. :"
perhaps tomorrow" the man
suggested.
Perhaps" concluded Mallory,
with another lullaby smile. There
wouldn't be any tomorrow. She'd
made up her mind to that. At the
moment the desk clerk mentioned
another deposit for Prism, she'd
made up her mind. Not that the
actual money was a nuisance. The
nuisance was in waiting for
Prism, especially if she should be
delayed at the customs, a likely
situation if Prism made up her