Jim Handmore,
Red Star Detective Agency,
San Francisco, Calif.
Dear Jim:
I’m worried about my darling husband. He didn’t give me any address where I can reach him. Do you suppose he’ll get the bonds back? How much are they worth? Aren’t they insured? I can’t figure out how the ex-con could know that Les was carrying the bonds. It’s not like Les to go around advertising the fact.
I feel certain that the rancher is in it too. Maybe Mr. Youngblood framed the whole thing. Suppose he’d been gambling with the bank’s money and decided to cover his losses by sending some phony bonds for Les to have stolen. That way, he could cover up and poor Les will take the rap.
I’m so worried I can’t sleep nights. Please let me hear from you right away.
Anxious,
Mrs. Lester Barnes,
Clam Shell Hotel,
Laguna Beach, Calif.
Dear Mary:
Don’t worry. Les know what he’s doing and has all the bare facts right at his fingertips. I’m working on it too from this end checking up on the muggs at the ranch. As soon as this Jenson case is out of court, I’ll hop down there if things aren’t straightened out by then.
Youngblood is above suspicion, and by all means don’t write to him. We don’t want him to know about it if we can help it. I feel certain that the bonds are insured so don’t worry on that score.
Is Daisy Brittlenet still at Laguna? I hope so. That is, I still have a soft spot for her in my heart and would like to see her. If she’s still there, keep her with you until Les gets back and tell her that I will come with him. Maybe I’ll be able to break away from court here sooner than I expected.
Yours,
P. S. By all means keep Daisy with you if you can because I’ve been thinking a lot about her since you wrote me that she was there. Tell her to keep away from that nudist camp.
WESTERN UNION
JIM HANDMORE.
RED STAR DETECTIVE AGENCY,
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
TALKED WITH PRISCILLA AT DINNER. SHE REFUSES TO BUDGE. HAVE YOU WIRED HER FATHER?
WESTERN UNION
LESTER BARNES,
HAPPY VALLEY NUDIST CLUB,
HAPPY VALLEY JUNCTION, CALIFORNIA
HER FATHER MUST NOT KNOW. TRY AND FIGURE A WAY OUT.
Dear Jim:
Try and figure a way out! Why do I have to do all the brain work? Right now I know how a hot dog feels, only I’ve got sunburn lotion on instead of mustard. The simplest way out is to notify her father. I suppose I could set the camp on fire and maybe smoke her out, but there’s a hundred other people here besides Priscilla.
I never knew till now how popular a place like this is. Some more people came in last night. Guess who one of them was? Daisy Brittlenet! The redhead you were daffy about. I spotted her when she came in, but she didn’t recognize me without my clothes on. I ducked because I didn’t want her to take a second look. You never can tell when she might run into Mary. That would be all I need to fix things up swell.
A young guy and a fellow who looked like his father came in right after Daisy, so you can see that the camp is doing a rushing business.
I saw Daisy again this morning but she didn’t see me. Boy, I think you were a sucker for giving her up. And I oughta know!
Has Mary written to you? I bet the poor kid is worried stiff about the phony bond story I’ve been telling her. If she ever finds out, well — I hate to think what might happen.
Priscilla is still here. I saw her a few minutes ago talking to the young guy who came in last night. They act like they’ve known each other for a long time. Maybe it’s her Barnacle — Bill. What do I do then if it is? Old Crab-face ought to let love alone and stick to his banking. The way it is now, he’s making four people miserable. Priscilla, Barnacle Bill, Mary and myself. I don’t know about you. You’re probably laughing up your sleeve. Me! I haven’t got a sleeve to laugh up... and couldn’t if I did.
Have you ever been sunburned all over? I put my bed in front of the lockers last night just so Priscilla couldn’t get her clothes and pull a sneak on me, but hell! I couldn’t even stand to have the bed against my back, so I spent part of the night in the creek that runs through the camp, splashing around like a polliwog and cussing Crab-face. The creek was the only way I could get any relief without waking up the camp for some lotion.
I was a sucker for not staying in the shade yesterday, but I was so worried about Mary finding all this out that I didn’t stop to think about the sun.
I’m thinking seriously of packing up and going back to Laguna. Why did you have to stop Rocco Petroni from bumping me? You get all the breaks!
If you haven’t got me out of this mess by tomorrow, I’m walking out. Crab-face or no Crab-face. So get your brain to working in high gear and think of something.
Tired of playing Tarzan,
WESTERN UNION
MR. JIM HANDMORE,
RED STAR DETECTIVE AGENCY, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
MY SISTER ADVISES THAT PRISCILLA HAS NOT BEEN DELIVERED INTO HER CUSTODY. YOUR MAN SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE THIS MORNING. I AM HOLDING YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR MY DAUGHTER’S SAFE ARRIVAL. PLEASE ADVISE.
WESTERN UNION
MR. O. O. YOUNGBLOOD, YOUNGBLOOD BANK,
SAN DIEGO, CALIF.
PRISCILLA TRICKED MY MAN. THEY ARE AT HAPPY VALLEY NUDIST CLUB. MY MAN WILL KEEP HER THERE UNTIL YOU ARRIVE.
WESTERN UNION
LESTER BARNES,
HAPPY VALLEY NUDIST CLUB, HAPPY VALLEY JUNCTION, CALIFORNIA
CRAB-FACE KNOWS ALL. WAIT FOR HIS ARRIVAL. DO NOT TELL PRISCILLA. YOU CAN LEAVE WHEN SHE IS IN HIS CUSTODY.
Dear Jim:
Was I glad to see old Crab-face! He came storming into camp a couple of hours after I got your wire. I met him at the gate. He took one look at my sunburn and bellowed like a wild elephant. For a minute I thought I was Tarzan and looked around expecting to see monkeys swinging in the trees.
Crab-face looked for his daughter. “Where’s my daughter?” He bellowed twice as loud as the first time, then he shook his fist in my face and changed his bellow to a scream. “You’ll make a decent woman of her, young man. You’re going to marry her this morning!”
You see, Crab-face kinda figured the place wasn’t quite as decent as it should be. He didn’t know what a nice place it really is.
“Like hell!” I bellowed back at him. “I’m a married man now! Besides your precious Priscilla married her Barnacle Bill about a half-hour ago!”
Well, you should have seen his crab-face when I told him the bad news, but in a few minutes he thought it was good news. I guess he figured as long as his daughter had a husband that things wouldn’t be so bad.
Remember the young guy that came in with the fellow I thought was his father last night? Well, the old guy wasn’t his father at all. He was a justice of the peace that Barnacle Bill brought along to tie the knot. That’s what happened a little while ago. The young guy was Priscilla’s boy friend. She must have telephoned him to come down to the camp for the wedding.
Anyway, I’m glad it’s all over. Now I can go back to Mary and keep this secret from her the rest of my life — I hope!
My sunburn is a lot better now. The owner of the camp gave me some suntan preparation that he makes himself. It sure took the sting out and I think I’m going to have a nice tan to remember the camp by. Not that I need it. I’ll never be able to forget!