Free The Scorpia Menace by Lee Falk Page A

afternoon quiet. Diana was away playing tennis with friends and David would not be back until six o'clock. She soon forgot the engineer's presence as she concentrated on the arrangement. Then the doorbell shrilled again. She went out into the hall to find the upholsterer she had expected. She noticed a trailing wire leading up the stairs, but the tools and the metal box had been cleared from the hall.
There were several more callers that afternoon, and by the time Mrs. Palmer remembered her promise to the repairman, nearly an hour had gone by. She hastily made the coffee and carried a tray into the hall as the big man came back down the stairs, dusting his hands.
"All is well, Ma'm," he said, accepting the cup she had poured.
"I replaced the wiring to one of the extensions, since it was frayed where it passed under one of the carpets in the upstairs hall."
He indicated a small coil of cut wire at his belt as he
spoke.
"That's fine," Mrs. Palmer told him. "As long as everything works."
"Everything works just fine, Ma'm," said the big repairman. "And thanks for the coffee. It isn't something we get at every house."
"I should hope not," Mrs. Palmer laughed. "You'd never get your work done if you spent all day drinking coffee."
She gave the engineer a shrewd look.
"You're sure this is a free service, and you're not going to send me a bill for a couple of thousand dollars for rewiring?"
The big man shook his head as he put the cup back in his saucer with a smack of satisfaction.
"Nothing like that, Ma'm. Like I said, I'm from the phone company. Would you like to see my card?"
Mrs. Palmer refused the offer, smiling gently.
"Certainly not," she said. "I didn't doubt you for a minute. Besides, I've seen your truck outside. But one can't be too careful these days."
"Too true, Ma'm," the big man said.
He paused by the door.
"And thanks again."
The sunlight shone on his blond hair and for the first time, Mrs. Palmer became aware of a faint scar on the side of his face, which seemed to affect the lid of one eye.
Then he was gone and the door had closed behind him. Mrs. Palmer sighed as she looked at the hall clock. It would be too late to do her shopping now.
    She cleared up the coffee things and went back to the
drawing-room and the contented creativity of her flower-arranging.
Otto Koch's face looked impassive as someone knocked on the door of his private quarters.
"Who is it?" he asked.
His hand went as quickly as a snake to a drawer in the table at his elbow. He put the big Luger revolver down on the cushions of the couch at his side, where he could get at it in a second.
"Cringle," said the soft voice.
Koch grunted. He got up ponderously and crossed to the door with light steps. Once again, there was a marked contrast between his bulk and the lightness of his movements. He unlocked the door. Cringle stepped inside. He wore a raincoat over his clothing. On his head gleamed a peaked cap. He whipped it off with a grin and hurled it triumphantly across the room. It hit the couch and fell with a thump to the floor.
"I hope you didn't bungle it this time," said Otto softly.
Cringle smiled.
"It went like a dream, Chief," he said. He took off the raincoat disclosing blue coveralls, the knees of which were covered with dust. He brushed them absently as he went to put a metal toolbox down on the carpet.
Otto's grey eyes looked skeptical.
"You're sure this will work?" he asked. "Your wiring expertise hasn't gotten as rusty as your Morse?"
Cringle bared his teeth in a hard smile.
"You'll soon see, Otto," he said.
"Let's hope so, Cringle, let's hope so," Otto said.
He went to sit down on the couch again and picked up a crossword puzzle book he'd been working on when the other knocked. The thick ash from his cigar fell unnoticed onto his shirt.
"No one recognized you?"
He frowned at the puzzle.
"Two across, dumb pelican's lament," he said. "Back- breakingly difficult. I'd better leave that."
He shot a glance over the top of the newspaper at his