The Willamina times., May 21, 1942, Image 2

TIMES. W IL L A M IN A . OREGON
SHE LOVED*
© B e .//
CHAPTER XIV
S y l v ia T a y l o r
that P aul is safely out of the way
so th at there is nothing to interfere
with our friendship."
P a u l’s hands clinched on the arm s
of his chair, but he said nothing.
Joan understood then th at it was
b etter to pacify Karl than to antago­
nize him further.
H er hand grasped P a u l’s tightly as
Karl disappeared around the corner
of the deck. "Is he bluffing?” she
whispered.
“ Of course he is,” P aul replied
calm ly. “ It would be easier to get
rid of m e entirely than to put me
on another boat. I wouldn’t be any
asset to K arl on a su b m arin e.”
• • •
Joan slept little th at night. The
ship began to roll and shudder as
it m et the seas that increased as
the night went on. A sh arp wind
swept the deck. Black clouds raced
across the moon and the sea
splashed and hissed as it lashed over
the prow.
P a u l's finger tapped on the wall.
Jo an moved closer to the thin boards
th at separated them and called,
“ What is it? ”
She did not understand his reply
but realized that his door was being
unlocked.
P resently P au l's head appeared in
her door. “ Thom as is here and
K arl was dressed in white. In ap­
pearan ce and m an n er he w as as
sm ooth and im peccable as alw ays.
But the sam e qualities th at once
charm ed Joan now disgusted her
as she asked coldly. “ W here is
P a u l? ”
“ Do you expect m e to tell you?
K arl parried.
W here was P aul? This subject
held her interest m ost. She dared
not think what m ight becom e of
h er w ithout him.
But the day passed, the night, the
next day, and still she had not seen
him . And the next m orning as she
saw K arl coming on deck, she de­
m anded, “ What have you done with
P au l? I want to see h im .”
“ All rig h t,” K ari ag reed su rp ris­
ingly. “ He sum m oned a sailor and
spoke to him in G erm an.
A few ‘m inutes la te r P aul ap­
peared. His coat and tie w ere gone
and his shirt was open at the throat.
He looked tired.
K arl spoke rapidly in G erm an,
then suddenly turned on his heel
and w alked away.
“ Oh P a u l!” Joan gasped. “ A re
you a ffrig h t? ”
“ I ’m fine,” P au l said grim ly.
“ K a rl's ju st been trying to persuade
m e to join his little group. Both of
us, for th at m atter. He thinks we d
be valuable to him in his spying
b usiness.”
Then he glanced at h er w ith a
sm ile. “ You sound alm ost as if you
c a re .”
“ I do,” Joan said. And suddenly
she realized th at she did care. T hat
she cared terribly w hat happened
to P au l O'M alley.
F ive m ore days passed as the
w eather becam e increasingly un­
com fortable.
“ We re probably off the coast of
M exico,” P aul said as he stood at
the rail looking into the v ast ex­
panse of blue sky and w ater.
Without turning his head, P aul
said in a low voice, “ I have som e­
thing to tell you. Do you know
which sailor is called T hom as?”
“ I think so. The one who brings
our m e a ls.”
“ Right. It seem s K arl has som e­
thing on him, forced him into serv ­
ice on this ship by blackm ail. H e's
prom ised to help us, when the tim e
com es.”
“ W hat tim e ? ” Jo an asked, feel­
ing suddenly chilled in spite of the
tropical sun.
“ If everything goes as I expect,
it should be within two or three
d ay s.”
“ You still don't know how K arl
plans to get rid of those p a p e rs? ”
“ S ubm arine,” P au l said briefly.
“ Thom as tells m e w e're to contact
it within the next twenty-four
h o urs.”
On deck, Joan had to cling to P aul
“ T h ere's a ring around the
to
the wind from sweeping
m oon,” P au l observed. “ We’re go­ h er prevent
off h er feet.
ing to have some bad w eath er.”
“ Anything would be b etter than knows w here those papers are.
th is.” Closing h er eyes against the We’re going to get th em ,” he said.
heat, Jo an leaned her head against
“ K arl will find out,” she warned.
the chair.
“ K arl and the captain are drink­
When she felt a hand over hers, ing below. They won’t bother u s.”
she started . “ Oh . . . P au l . . . ”
“ Take m e with you. P lease! I ’m
Color flooded h er cheeks.
a fra id .”
“ Jo a n ,” he said sim ply, “ don’t
P aul hesitated, then said, “ All
you know I ’m in love with you?”
right. M aybe it would be b etter.”
Relief and joy flooded h er heart.
On deck, Jo an had to cling to P aul
F atig u e fell like a m ask from her
to prevent the wind from sweeping
young face.
“ I ’ve been in love with you ever h er off her feet. The decks were
since the first day I saw you,” P aul slippery from the spray and the
went on in his quiet voice. “ But w aves rose like black liquid m oun­
tains. As they proceeded cautious­
th ere w’as K arl . . . ”
“ Oh darling, th at w asn’t real. I ly, Joan d ared not look out into
didn’t love K ari. I ju st thought I the night. It w as total blackness,
did. You m ust believe that, P a u l!” and sky and w ater seem ed blended
“ Of course I believe it, honey,” into one evil force from which cam e
he said. “ If I didn’t, do you think the howling wind and spray.
At last Thom as unlocked a door
I ’d be telling you this? We O’M al­
and crossed the room. “ They’re in
leys a re cagey people.”
h ere,” he w hispered, indicating a
She sm iled in the darkness.
“ If we ever get out of this m ess,” sm all wall safe; “ I know how to
P a u l continued seriously, “ will you open it.”
He handed the papers to Paul.
m a rry m e? I t ’s not an easy life, you
know, Jo an . I ’m gone a great deal “ Do w hat you like with them ! I
an d m y jo b ’s dangerous. I haven’t hate K arl M iller!” In the glow of
the flashlight his eyes gleam ed.
m uch to offer.”
P au l rapidly sorted them .
“ You have all I w ant,” Joan as­
su red him . “ And P aul, we’ve got to
“ What a re you going to do th e n ? ”
get out of this now. T here’s so much Joan asked.
to live for . . . ”
“ I ’m going to change them —the
K a rl’s voice broke through the plans for the bombing plane at
n ight. “ W hat a rom antic little scene le a st.”
th is is. Too bad th at you two m ust
“ We should m eet the subm arine
be s e p a ra te d .”
tom orrow ,” Thom as said, looking
Jo a n felt P a u l’s warning hand fearfully over his shoulder. “ But
upon h e r a rm but she burst out, with this w eather we m ay be off
“ W hat do you m ean ?"
our course.”
“ I h av e been listening to your
P aul seated him self at the sm all
ch a rm in g conversation,” Karl told wooden tab le and handed a flashlight
h e r. Jo a n could see the outline of to Thom as. “ Hold it as steady as
his w hite suit in the darkness, the possible,” he ordered. From his
glow of his c ig arette. “ Since you pocket he drew a sm all bottle, a
seem so well inform ed about my brush, pen and ink.
plans, it m ight in tere st you to know
“ W hat a re you doing?” Jo an
th a t when th a t su b m arin e leaves this asked, w atching the grotesque sh ad ­
ship, P a u l will be on it.”
ows cast on the wall as P au l’s fin­
“ No! You c a n ’t do th a t? ”
gers moved deftly over the paper.
She could im agine his sm ile as
“ When I get through with these
he said, “ I am really quite jealous, plans they won’t know w hether it's
Jo a n , th a t you can tra n s fe r your af­ a bombing plane or a washing m a ­
fection so quickly. I would p re fer chine.”
THURSAY. MAY 21. 1942
ASK ME ?
ANOTHER'
W M U
Once Thom as opened the door to
listen, but only the wind greeted
them , blowing the salt sp ray into
their faces, and he shook his head.
"T his is going to Ex: a bad one,” he
predicted, forcing his shoulder
against the door to close it.
Paul finished his work and re ­
placed the plans carefully in the
safe. Jo an w as surp rised to see
him put the other papers back in
their respective envelopes.
“ These pap ers are probably going
to E u ro p e," P au l explained as he
shut the safe.
Thom as nodded. “ T h a t’s right.
T h at’s the way Karl alw ays does it.
Then they c a n ’t prove anything.”
P aul threw the circle of his flash­
light upon the door. “ I can prove
it this tim e .”
“ T h at’s w hat som e of the others
thought,” Thom as w hispered, “ but
I've never seen anyone double-cross
K arl and live to tell about it!"
“ L et's get out of h ere,” P au l said,
taking Jo a n 's arm .
The th ree of them m ade their
way back and crowded into Jo an 's
sm all cabin. Thom as stood by the
door listening. "I guess K arl won’t
com e on deck on a night like th is,”
he said.
“ T h ere's nothing to do now but
wait for m o rning,” Paul said. “ And
I want you to get some sleep, J o a n ." i
He put his a rm s tenderly at>out her
shoulders. “ Will you try , honey?
Thom as and I will be right in the
next cabin. Knock on the wall if you
need m e .”
Wide-^yed, Jo an lay aw ake listen­
ing to the thunder and the wild hiss
of w ater as it flooded the deck. The
sensitive ship seem ed like another
hum an being as it fought its valiant
battle ag ain st the storm . C reaking
and groaning, it pitted its strength
against the double blows of wind
and wave.
Dawn. The sea had subsided but
ra in still fell from clouded skies
into the g ray w ater. Outside Thom ­
as had reap p eared at his post and
paced the wet deck with m easured
trea d , his sh a rp eyes searching the
seas. It was seven o'clock when P aul
and Jo an finally went to the
sm all lounge which served as a din­
ing room, and Thom as brought their
breakfast.
“ Any n ew s?” Paul asked as
T hom as poured the coffee.
"K a rl is with the ca p ta in .” the
sailor reported. “ T hey’ve com m u­
nicated with the subm arine by r a ­
dio. We should m eet them in three
o r four ho u rs.”
P aul rose. “ Do you think you can
keep K arl occupied in the ca p ta in ’s
q u a rte rs for a few m inutes? I ’m go­
ing to the radio ro o m .”
“ I ’ll try . But the radio operator
is a tough guy. Doesn’t speak a
word of English eith er. H e’ll turn
you right over to K a rl.”
P aul sm iled. “ I don’t think so.”
“ Be c a refu l,” Jo an begged, know­
ing th at to ask for an explanation
would be useless.
P aul bent down to kiss her. “ Don’t
w orry, dear. I know w hat I ’m do­
ing. I ’ll be back soon.”
I When he had gone Thom as paused
in the doorw ay. “ He should be m ore
careful. He doesn’t even c a rry a
g u n !”
“ K arl took his gun away, and if
he had another K arl would find it.” j
Thom as cam e closer. “ But if you
had a gun, K arl wouldn’t suspect.”
“ What do you m e a n ? ” Jo an whis­
pered.
Thom as touched his pocket. “ I
have one here. I'v e had it for the
last m onth, but it doesn’t do m e any
good. If I gave it to Mr. O’Malley,
K arl would find it but you m ight be
able to hide it aw ay. May com e in
han d y .”
Joan w as thinking rapidly, not of
herself but P au l. It would be a
safeguard for both of them . “ Give
it to m e th en ,” she told Thom as.
He handed it to her and she put it
in h er pocket.
“ Good lu ck !” he said and was
gone.
Joan did not tell P aul about the
gun. She was afraid he would not
w ant her to have the responsibility.
She rem em b ered the last occasion
she had held a gun in her hand.
The tim e K arl shot E ric and m ade
h er pick up the gun to have her in­
crim in atin g fingerprints on it.
“ Why so q u iet?” P au l inquired.
Absorbed, she had not heard him
re tu rn .
She sm iled. “ Nothing, darling.
J u s t thinking.”
“ About m e, I tru s t."
He drew her into his arm s and
kissed her. “ I love you, J o a n !”
She felt as though his love built a
high wall betw een h er and the rest
of the world.
“ I ’m afraid you’ll never have an
easy life,” P au l w arned. “ I ’ll be
aw ay a lot and som etim es I won’t
be able to explain w here or why.
You’ll have to tru s t m e .”
(TO BE CONTINUED)
<*- <*• <v. fv
<A.
A quiz with answers offering
information on various subjects
<*. «V
1. What is the m eaning of the
p h ra se “ to catch a ta r t a r ” ?
2. W hat is “ Rotten Row” ?
3. W hat bird th at is considered
one of the m ost tieautiful birds in
the world is related to our crow?
4. Whut n am e is given to the
greenish deposit which form s on
copper?
5. What lands are these: (1)
L and of P rom ise? (2) Lund of
Nod? (3) Land of Bondage?
6. H as a foreign sovereign ever
been po rtray ed on a U. S. coin?
7. W hat heavyw eight Exixing
Experience to Character
C h a ra c te r is the spiritual body
of the person, and rep resen ts the
individualization of vital expert- ;
ence, th e conversion of uncon- j
scious things into self-conscious
m a n .—Whipple.
cham pion of the world w as known
as “ G entlem an J im " ?
The A m uieri
1. To catch a person who, on
being attack ed , proves too strong
for his assailan t
2. A fashionable d r i v e w a y
through Hyde P a rk , Lindon.
3. The Bird of P arad ise.
4. V erdigris.
3. (1) C an aan or P alestin e; (2)
D ream lan d ; (3) Egypt.
fl. Yes, one. Queen Isabella of
Spain, on an 1893 q u u rter.
7. C orbett.
VACATION
IN SO. CALIFORNIA
* Y«»ur
tra v e l.
L’ n« l« M«m « a /« "
r*rr«NLU'>nal
u go o f lb ’ ft re« I m t usai n ia i til n<
n . i •»»-. u>•.«
i t I n aplt««(if n itib im , t n t m l H n o rm al In
H o u tb n r n d a lifo r n ia T ra n s p o rta tio n t u » n4
thro u g h o u t th e « ta la H n o rm a l. an d b o tal
a n ti r m o r l 111« IM n o rm a l F o r d a t a , w rit«
H O T E L S o / .U e /A r r a
«2« I . H ill 4». ■
Z O I. la «
Cal.
---
-
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ith men in the Army, Navy, Marines,
and the Coast Guard, the favorite cigarette
is Camel. (Based on actual sales records in
Post Exchanges, Sales Commissaries, Ship’s
Service Stores, Ship’s Stores, and Canteens.)
Special Service C arton
— Ready to M a il
THE CIGARETTE OF
COSTLIER TOBACCOS
S h o p t r i t h ( n n i i d p n r v in Y o u r
H o m o Tow n \r ir n p u p r r — You
w ill se c A m erica ’s b e st k n o w n a n d
m o st reliable m erchandise featu red.
V