CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A CONFESSION
Kitty waited until her father had eaten dinner before bringing up thesubject that had weighed on her mind since the previous evening. Sheknew she would have no peace until she had made a clean breast of thewhole thing. When her father was in his big chair in the living roomshe sank on the couch near by.
“Dad, how long does it take a germ—like a strep germ—to develop aftera person gets infected?” she asked.
“Two or three days, sometimes sooner. We still have a lot to learnabout such things.”
“Then it’s all my fault that Billy’s ill.”
“Your fault?” Mr. Carter dropped the paper he had just picked up.
“I thoughtlessly took him where there’re plenty of germs. I—I was sointent on something I wanted to find out, I didn’t even think of thedanger.”
“What are you talking about, Kitty? It’s absurd blaming yourself forhis illness. You’ve taken excellent care of him ever since you camefrom school.”
“But, Dad, we went out into the marshes where they dump the hospitalwaste.”
“You—what?” Her father stared at her, shocked. Then she could see byhis expression that he was recalling their conversation about thedisposal of the hospital waste.
“That’s why I asked you where they dumped it. I went there Saturdayafternoon.”
“You and Billy alone?”
She nodded. “But I had a good reason for wanting to go, Dad, a verygood reason.”
He looked puzzled, but his tone was not unkind when he said, “I can’timagine any reason that would take a sensitive girl like you out to adump pile.”
“I know you think I’m crazy. But it’s a long story and I’ll have tostart at the beginning.”
“Well, sit back calmly and stop twisting that pillow.”
Kitty tossed the pillow to the other end of the couch and burst intotears. “Oh Dad, I’ve been so miserable for the last twenty-four hours Icould die. It’s all because I’m too proud. I wanted to do something bigfor my country—something spectacular. I’ve let it make me indifferentto everything else.”
“You’re doing what you can, Kitten, in your Canteen work.”
“Yes, I love that, but I wanted to do even more. I thought I coulduncover the work of some saboteurs. I—I tried even to keep it all fromyou, to do it all myself, that is Brad and I.”
“Kitty, calm yourself,” her father said almost severely. “You’re beingvery incoherent. Tell me what all this is about.”
“I hardly know where to start to make you understand why I’ve been sosecret about it.”
“The place to start is at the beginning. I suppose all this hashappened since you came home from college.”
“Yes, of course. In fact the very day I decided to go into Canteenwork.” Then she told him of her experience in the launch when she hadintroduced Hazel and Lieutenant Cary. “That was the first hint I hadthat something was wrong somewhere. Brad was with me, and in on it fromthe very beginning.”
“So you’ve been suspicious of Lieutenant Cary since then. Has anythingelse occurred to justify such suspicions?” asked Mr. Carter, viewinghis daughter’s confession more seriously now.
“Oh, lots of things—that is with people also closely associated withhim.” Then she told about Punaro and her belief that he was connectedwith the cannery fire, and later their coming unexpectedly upon him atthe dock. “It looked to both Brad and me that he was hiding a tightlynailed box with the rubbish on the barge.”
“Um-m,” grunted her father significantly.
“Dad, that’s why I wanted to go out to the dump pile and see what thesituation was for myself.”
Her father had risen and was now pacing the floor. He turned toward hersharply and said, “Surely you didn’t go ashore there?”
“Oh, no, we only rode by it.”
“Then Billy didn’t get the germ from that dump—or there was no greaterchance of his getting it there than anywhere else. But the foolishthing, Kitty, was you two going alone. You might have taken Brad withyou as long as you had discussed these things with him.”
“He was down at the beach for the afternoon. I picked up more cluesdown there, too, which made it seem certain supplies are going out fromour hospital to the German subs. One of the Coast Guard men told aboutthem finding Bayshore Bakery bread on one of those captured subs.”
“If that was all they’re getting I might not have so much to worryabout,” said her father.
Kitty glanced at him sharply. “What do you mean, Dad? You think they’regetting more than that?”
“No doubt they are.”
Kitty knew he was keeping something from her. However, she wasdetermined now to tell him all. “Another strange thing happenedyesterday that may or may not be significant.”
“Yes. What was that?”
“It was odd, after seeing old Uncle Mose on Terrapin Island Sunday,someone on the troop train yesterday asked me about him.” Kitty gave asprightly account of the veteran returned from the Pacific. “And by theway I have that dollar and must take some tobacco to the old man.”
“And what connection does all this have with the clues you’re runningdown?”
“Vera Parsons told me that the owner of Terrapin Island was near when Iwas talking to that fellow. She said he actually glared at me when heheard I’d been on the island. Of course it was all posted over with ‘Notrespassing’ signs, and maybe we shouldn’t have eaten our supper there.”
“We did no harm. Those signs generally apply to hunting, fishing andfire-making.”
“But Dad, Brad and I are wondering if this Beeson isn’t in on the dirtywork.”
He paused in front of her, his face showing alert interest. “How do youfigure that out?”
“Uncle Mose told us Beeson comes here to the hospital for food scrapsfor his hogs. Brad and I figure there’s obliged to be a middleman tomake the contact between the hospital and the spies from the subs.”
Chief Carter’s face was eager as he said, “Kitty, you may have pickedup a missing link!”
She jumped to her feet now, and stood facing her father. “Dad, you’vebeen keeping something from me, too!”
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_“You May Have Picked Up a Missing Link!”_]
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“I’ll have to admit I have, Kitten. You had enough on your youngshoulders without being burdened with my problems.”
Suddenly apprehension pierced her heart. It was one thing to work forthe sheer thrill of trapping spies, but quite another to find herfather was really involved.
“Dad, what is it?” she asked. “Does all this in any way affect you? Awhile back I thought it might and then—”
“I’m afraid it does, Kitty. But go on, I want to hear your reasons forbelieving Beeson is involved.”
“For one thing he leased that island after we went into the war. Thatcertainly could have been done with an ulterior motive. Second, hemoved Uncle Mose out of his cabin up to the other end of the island.Uncle Mose used to live in sight of the hospital dump pile. Also he hasa look-out in the pine thicket.”
“A look-out?”
“Brad climbed the pine after we got Billy down Sunday. It’s wired tomake climbing easy. There’s a seat at the top with a marvelous view ofthe entire marshes and out to sea.”
“But you didn’t mention all this Sunday.”
“We thought right away it was connected with the whole dirty business.Hazel was along, so we decided to say nothing until we could figurethings out better.”
“Is that all?”
“We figured that a small radio could be carried up on Beeson’s back, sohe could direct action from his look-out. He could watch people comingfrom any direction, and warn small boats coming in from the subs.Seemed like a perfect set-up.”
H
er father looked at her a moment and a slow smile spread over hisface, in spite of the anxiety still in his eyes. “Kitten, you showremarkable talent for becoming a first-class detective.”
She pursed her lips. “Too nerve-racking, Dad.”
“Is that all you’ve picked up about Beeson?”
“Beth Gilcrist, a Canteen worker over in Bayport, who meets all thetroop trains, told me Beeson meets most of them, too.”
“Hm-m, so he does, eh? He seems to have no scarcity of gas for thesetrips back and forth.”
Mr. Carter sat down on the couch, and stared into space, as he thoughtover what she had told him.
“And another thing. Brad found out from the man who looks after theincinerator that repair parts have come for it twice, and were not whathe ordered.”
“Hm-m, looks like somebody at the factory may be cooperating in keepingit out of order,” Mr. Carter surmised.
“That’s exactly what Brad and I figured out. That’s why we feel socertain the barge goes into the marshes for more reasons than to hauloff garbage.”
Mr. Carter made no reply to this but just sat staring ahead of him.Kitty recalled what he had said as they were coming home that evening.The inspector was coming down and there was a shortage in hisdepartment. She had thought when he mentioned it that he meant afinancial shortage. Now an appalling possibility entered her mind.
“Dad, could your shortage have anything to do with all this?”
“Definitely it could, Kitty. The amazing things you have just told memay help me clear up a very embarrassing situation.”
Kitty recalled that he had said once that there were some things hecouldn’t talk about even to his own daughter, but she now ventured toask, “Can’t you tell me about it now, Dad?”
“I’m going to,” he retorted in a tone that implied his desperation.“But this is for you alone, Kitty. Not even Brad is to know.”
Her eyes widened. “But you think he is trustworthy, don’t you?”
“Of course—absolutely! Nevertheless this is to go no further.”
“Certainly. If that’s the way you want it.”
“As you have probably guessed Willard Dawson lost out here for the veryshortage I am now facing.”
“But I’m sure he was not to blame either. Who could look at his fineface and believe him capable of—of anything dishonest? He simplycouldn’t be a traitor any more than you, Dad!”
“Of course we feel certain of that. That’s why I asked to be sent here.I’ve been in hopes of clearing up the situation.”
“Hazel came here for the same reason, didn’t she?”
“Yes, she did. But so far—that is until you told me all this tonightI’ve run into nothing but snags.”
“Just what did you mean when you said there was a shortage?”
“All medical supplies must pass through my hands. I have to O.K. allorders. I have been most careful in making those orders—yet at the endof each month the sum total of materials used far exceeds the normaluse of a hospital our size.”
“You mean medicines, bandages and things like that, Dad?”
“All expendable supplies used in the hospital—medical supplies, ofcourse.”
“Those are the kind of things they’d be badly in need of on a Germansub?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Do you suppose those sneaks are getting some of the stuff out of thehospital along with the food?”
“In fact, Kitty, the whole set-up may be for the purpose of getting ourmedical supplies instead of food. Almost anyone can get hold of food tolet the enemy have, but the drug business is quite a different thing.”
Kitty felt the gooseflesh prickle along her spine.
“Oh, Dad, suppose I hadn’t paid any attention to all those queerthings!”
“Don’t be too complacent about it all, Kitty. We haven’t caught thesaboteurs yet, nor pinned anything on anybody.”
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