Boy's Cinema (1939-40)

"Eighteenth and Arden?" "Suie. It's the Y.W.C.A." A verj disgusted young man went off to find a suitable abode in an overcrowded city, and the shades of night were falling upon that city when at last he rang the door-bell of a flat on the fourth floor of a huge apartment- house in Tv.enty-eighth Place. The particularly beautiful girl who opened the door was the sister of Phil Dunlap and John's fiancee. She was slender, but very shapely. Her hair was a lustrous hrown; her eyes were blue, clear and intelligent, and she looked the essence of self-possession. "Hallo, Eleanor," greeted Ted wearily. "Hallo. Ted," said she. "Come on in." He followed her across a little square hall into an elegantly furnished sitting-room, and there was John in an armchair with a half- consumed cigarette in his hand.' He appeared to be completely at home, and Tod made a face at him. "Hallo, slacker!" he growled. "What's the matter with you?" asked John. Ted sank into another chair. "Did you ever go apartment-hunting in Wa.shington when Congress was in session?" The question was addressed to Eleanor, and she replied: "Yes, I have, and it's no fun." "Did you find anything?" demanded John. "I did." "Where?" inqiu'i'ed Eleanor. "Two flights down in this very building! I got the room w'ith the two windows, Eleanor, do you mind if I take my shoes off ? My feet are murdering me." "No, go right ahead," she said. "I'll get you a pair of Phil's slippers." She ran off into another room, and Ted started to remove his shoes. "We accept your apology," said John. The shoes were removed, the slippers were brought and substituted. "Eleanor," said Ted, "how could a sweet, lovable and intelligent girl like you fall for a hig like him?" "I've often wondered about that myself," she assured liim. "Where's Phil?" "Dressing." John stated. "He has a job on to-night." "Oh, I thought we were going to have some fun to-night. I had it all figured out for him to show me some of the night spots of Washing! on." "We'll do that later." It was Phil Dunlap who spoke, and as lie spoke he emerged from the room whence his sister had fetched the shppcrs. He was as tall as Ted and as good- looking as John, and he vvas clad in-evening clothes that fitted him perfectly, and he was carrying a dress overcoat on his arm. "Hallo, Phil." grunted Ted. "Hallo, soruiy boy." Phil flourished his hat. "Why the big, broad smile?" "Aw, my feet arc killing me." Ted looked him up and down. "Where are you waiting at table?" "These are my working clothes." "Nice work!" "It is," agreed Phil dryly. "One meets such charming people." "Blonde or luunette?" inquired John. "I don't know yet. I've got a date to meet him to night." "Who's him?" asked Ted. "The head of Iho spy ring." "How do you lik(! that?" John rose, smashed his cigarette-end in an ash-tray on a table._ and struck an attitude. "While every man "in (i-2 is wearing himself out, just try- ing to catch some connnon or garden variety of spy, ho has a date with the head of the out- fit!" "I use mv brains," explained Phil modestly. "How did you work it?" " I sold them the plans for the eighteen- huudred ton destroyers." Ted's eyebrows ascended. "Won't the Department he surprised!" "Not particularly," smiled Phil. "They dis- carded (he design as impracticable." He glanced at his wrlst-walch. "Well, it's time I was on my way. I've an errand to run first." Eleanor helped him on with the dress over- coat. John asked him if he was expecting any fireworks. January Cth, 1940. BOY'S CINEMA "Not to-night," was the reply. "All the colonel wants me to do is to find out who the big shot is." "Well," said John, "if you get through early enough, meet us at the Potomac Club. We'll do some celebrating." "That's a date," promised Phil. "See you later." "Take care of yourself," pleaded Eleanor nervously. "I wiil," he said. Down in the street he hailed a taxi-cab which conveyed him to the Club International, a fashionable iiight resort in Sheridan Avenue. A special feature of the place was a cabaret show of which a girl named Madelon Martin was the star, and her name was in bright lights over the front of the establisment. Phil had no intention of seeing the show, however. Instead of entering the ornate vesti- bule, he made his way down a court at the side of the building to tire staft' entrance, and the door-keeper there conducted him to the star's dressing-room. A middle-aged dresser was draping a sequined gown over a chair near Madelon Martin, who was making up her lips at a circular mirror. Madelon, a lovely girl of her own exotic type, with a perfect "figure set off by the low-cut lace dance frock she was wearing, saw Phil's reflection in the mirror as he advanced towards her. "Phillip, darling," she murmured, without turning her auburn head. "Hallo, honey." Phil stooped and kissed the back of her neck. "Good-evening, Mrs. Wright." The di-esser returned the salutation and re- tieated discieetly from the room. "You haven't had your dinner yet," Madelon said to Phil. "I'll order another tray and we.'U eat together in here." She would have rung a bell, but he im- prisoned her hand. "No, no, wait," he said. "I have eaten, thanks." "Oh!" she pouted. "But to-night was to be a special occasion!" " Special ?" he echoed in surprise. "I have a present for you," she nodded. "I'll be back again. I have a little business to attend to, but it won't take very long." She leaned her head against his shoulder. "You want your present?" "Uhuh." "Close your eyes." He closed his eyes, and she opened a drawer of the table above which the mirror was- set. From a little box in the drawer she took a ring of uruisual pattern in which a white diamond glistened, and she caught hold of his rii;ht hand and slipped the ring upon the little finger. "Promi.se me you'll never take it off?" Phil opened his eyfes and studied the ring. "I'll say I won't," he declared/ "It's a beaut}'!" She held up her face for a kiss, and then she pushed him away. "Ofi^ to your business," she commanded. " Fini.sh it quickly and come back." He picked up the hat he had tossed on to a chair. " Do you mind if I bring my sister along, and some friends?" "Of course not," she answered. "I'd like to meet your sister and your friends." "Good-bye," he waved. "An revoir," said she emphatically. But after he had gone out from the room she shivered a little. BETRAYED! IN the daikened laboratory of Dr. Lionel Bert rand Carter's sanitarium, two men stood looking at an X-ray plate of a hiuu:in thorax which had been inserted in the frame of a box-like contrivance and was lighted from behind. One of the men was Dr. Carter himself; the other was^ a white-coated assistant named Mason. The doctor switched off the light that was in the box and depressed another switch. The plate was still in the frame, but the Xray picture vanished, and in its stead appeared a chart. The assistant was astomided, but Carter rubbed his hands together. Every Tuesday "It works, Mason, it works," ho rejoiced. "No longer do we need to fear detection in getting our secrets out of this country." His voice was deep, but it was not as com- pletely under control, as it had been when he had condemned Shuster to death. "I still don't understand the principle," said Mason. "It's very simple. We send the X-ray plates to my colleague^in the homeland. They examine it by low-frequency lighting, such as this, and an ordinary thorax X-iay becomes the chart of the Pacific Fleet ba.se." The plate was removed from the frame and another plate inserted—but not befoi-e the low- frequency lighting had been switched oft' and an ordinary white light shone inside the box. An X-ray picture of a liuman head was ilhuninated, but again the low-frequency light- ing took the place of the ordinary lighting, and the head gave place to a diagram of a giui. "Now, when they examine this plate, an illustration of a frontal fracture." .said Carter, "j'ou see it becomes the mechanism of that new rapid fire anti-aircraft gun." A buzzer sounded, somewhere in the dark- ness, and he made his way past several benches to a wall. The laboratory became flooded'with light, revealing him as a rnan of no great stature but of strong personality. His eyes were dark and deep-set, his nose was not im- like the beak of a hawk, and a wisp of a moustache drew attention to hi,s tight-lipped mouth. His assistant looked almost commonplace be- side him. Mason was tall, and considerably younger than his employer, but there was nothing particularly ilistinctive about him. Carter spoke into a dictograph oil a bench near the door. "Yes?" "Everybody is assembled for the meeting, doctor," responded the voice of hw recep- tionist, Miss Dorothy Loring. fi ^irl dressed like a nurse who occupied a desk in the front hall of the sanitarium. "Is fifty-four there?" Miss Loring looked out through a window beside her desk and reported: "His car is just arriving." A car had drawn up outside the sanitarium, and two men had alighted from it. One of them was a shortisli fellow of about thirty, dressed in a loimge suit, overcoat, and slouch hat; the other was Phil Diuilap, and he was led towards the front door becau.'se his eyes had been covered with adhesive tape and over the tape he was wearing goggles fitted with metal discs instead of lenses. The front door was opened by Miss Loring, and Phil was conducted into a room where a number of men and women were seated on either side of a long table. A portable projector was standing on a desk at one end of the table, and on the wall at the other end of the room there was a white screen. Phil and his guide were relieved of their hats and overcoats by a manservant, and then the guide proceeded to remove the goggles and the tape. He was known to Phil as Williams, but to most of the other people in the room he was merely "G.54." " Sorry to have troubled you like this," he murnun-ed apologetically, " but it's a rule with new members." "That's all right." Phil blinked in the sud- den light. "It pays to be cautious, Williams." None of the others seemed to pay any atten- tion to them, and they became seated side by side near the bottom of the table. Dr. Carter stopped briskly into the room, and Mason sat dovvn behind the projector. "Good-evening," said the doctor curtly, and stood beside the desk. "You are hero to-night to study pictures we have just received of two Government investigators. Eight." The room was darkened, and all eyes wers turned in the direction of the screen. A close- up of a smiling man appeared in a street scene. "This is the first," was Carter's runm'ng com- mentary, "lie has recently been transferred here from Seattle to work out of the Intelli- gence Office. His real name is Henry Kent, but ho will probably use an alias. Ho is a bril- liant investigator—was responsible for the cap- ture of A.19. You will do well to study him carefully." ' , . Under cover of the darkness, Phil took a tiny I