Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1944-12-01
CHAPTER XII

exchanged more than a few words
with any of them since the night one
of them had thrown her off the "Sa-
moa's" stern.
She became aware that all of them
were under a strain. Mr.. Lanning
drank his cocktails as fast as Steve
would make them for him. By the
time dinner was announced, he must
have had seven or eight. Amber was
nervous. Once, when she lit ciga-
rette, Zorie saw her hands shaking.
Something, Zorie guessed, was in
the wind, and only Paul was I'M
aware of it. He was aware only of
her. Whenever she glanced at him,
he was looking at her with that puz-
zled expression in his eyes. He
did not drink at all. When she had
her second cocktail, she glanced at
him. The old familiar expression of
stern disapproval was about his
mouth.
Why, Zorie wondered, did he dis
approve of everything that was real
ly fun? She suddenly felt hopeless
about Paul. She wondered if they
could ever work things out. She
saw Paul suddenly as one of the un-
fortunates he was always talking
about-the maladjusted people, the
problem children grown up.
Eight of the admiral's guests were
attractive couples from various
parts of the island. The ninth to
arrive was a big man with iron
gray hair and square ruddy face.
His name. Basil Stromberg, meant
nothing to Zorie at first Then she
recalled the fragment of converse
ton she had overheard between
Steve and the admiral in the garden
that morning, with Steve saying. 81
don't care a damn who comes-as
long as you get Basil Stromberg."
Zorie sat down beside Paul and
asked him who Stromberg was.
Hes the manager of one of the big
gest plantations on the island. sup
pose he's just another Nazi. although
/ never suspected it before"
"Why?"
Paul shrugged. "Well, Steve
seems to prefer Nazis. 1t looks to
me as if he's turning Uluwehi into
Nazi hotbed"
: "Are these other people Nazis?"
II don't know. I'm a stranger
mere myself. Basil is an American
citizen. He was born on Kauai-of
German parents. He was educated
in Germany and he spends long va
cations there. l believe he's been
there quite recently. Shall I ask
him?"
"Paul-please!"
"But you asked question and,
with me, the inquiry of a beautiful
lady Is a ringing command"
Zorie realized that Paul was furi-
Gus about something, and suppress
ing it only with an effort. She had
looked forward to this dinner party,
to pretending she was the princess
of Uluwehi: but now that it was
here, she was miserable. Paul's dis
approval and the tension she sensed
in Steve were spelling everything
1t was pity, because it might
have been delightful dinner party.
Dinner was served by four pretty
Japanese girls who wore beautiful
kimonas and obs and resembied
Japanese dolls. She watched them
curiously and observed how mask
like their young Oriental faces were.
Paul had said if she knew what
these young Japanese were thinking
these days, she would run for her
life. 1t was hard to believe.
There were flowers in the center of
the long koa table that made it diff.
cult for her to see Paul She could
see all of Steve's face. He was be-
ing amusing and charming, but he
wasn't fooling Zorie. Something was
happening under the surface and he
was taking the most elaborate pains
to prove that nothing was happen
ing.
When dinner was over, they re-
turned to the lanai under the big
banyan tree for coffee and brandy.
Zorie sat down beside the admiral.
When they had finished coffee, Paul
said: Shall we take a little stroll?
We won't be missed
He was furious about something.
His eyes had that familiar narrow
ness and his mouth its well-known
thinness. He disapproved of the
star-sapphire dress. Doubtless, he
disapproved of other things, too. She
wondered, in little furry of panic,
just what she'd done to make him
so angry.
She hoped he wouldn't be too
hstsh with her.
They had taken hardly a dozen
steps when he pulled his arm away.
He was taking her toward the iron
wood arbor on the beach.
"What-what is it, Paul?" Zorie
asked.
Il want to have talk with you,"
Paul answered. But not just yet.
] want to think little
When they reached the arbor, Zor-
les eyes were growing used to the
starlight. She found a bench and