"Just a moment more, Carnes," he went on as he called the office of
the commanding officer. "Colonel Wesley, this is Dr. Bird. I think
that I have some light on your problem. You must anticipate another
more virulent attack than you had last night, probably as soon as the
sun goes down. Will you arrange to have everyone removed from the
swamp area before that time? Never mind trying to guard the place;
you'll just lose more lives if you do. Warn everyone to keep inside
the buildings with all doors and windows closed tight. Get all the
women and children and everyone else who isn't needed here off the
post before dark. Send them to Aberdeen or Baltimore or anywhere....
No, sir, the sick had better not be moved. I think they will be safer
in the hospital than they would be elsewhere.... Yes, sir, that's all.
Thank you."
* * * * *
Dr. Bird turned to the waiting Carnes.
"Did you locate Miss Andrews?" he asked.
"No, I didn't and that is what I want to talk to you about. I just
started to telephone when a hurry call came through from Washington
for me and I took it. It was Haggerty on the wire. He followed your
precious secretary from the Bureau of Standards over to the Public
Health Office and waited for her to come out. She stayed in the
building for about an hour and brought a bundle of papers with her
when she returned. She walked toward the State, War and Navy Building
and Haggerty followed.
"On Pennsylvania Avenue, she was stopped by two men whom Haggerty
describes as dark, swarthy, bearded Europeans of some sort. He tried
to overhear their conversation but it was in a language which he did
not recognize. He got only one word. The girl called one of them
'Denberg.'"
"Denberg!" cried the doctor, "Why, he's one of the Young Labor crowd,
but he's in Atlanta."
"He was, Doctor, but I telephoned Atlanta, and found that he had been
released last month. After several minutes of talk the two men and
your secretary went off together in perfect amity with Haggerty
following. The trio got into a waiting car and Haggerty trailed them
in a taxi. They drove around town rather aimlessly for some time and
then left the car and walked. Haggerty was afraid he would lose them
in the crowd so he closed in on them. He doesn't know what happened
except that he felt a sudden stab in his arm and everything went
black. He recovered in the police station twenty minutes later but the
birds had flown."
"The devil!" cried Dr. Bird, consternation in his voice. "Of course,
it's easy to see what happened. They spotted him and a confederate
slipped a hypo into his arm. What worries me is the fact that they've
got Thelma."
* * * * *
"I hope they kill her," snapped Carnes vindictively. "She was never
kidnapped in broad daylight. Haggerty says she went with them quite
willingly and talked and laughed with them. She has deserted, if she
wasn't simply acting as a spy from the first. I didn't trust her at
all."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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