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isegtence a conirite Melinda Vorbke in. “Oh Mummy? ign ehibly sotry. Jn the ‘rush po - ef away ad {ergot all about it. lor once, the long-sufferihs Dunburt was atigry. The i en, after their” idue journey, were tired and‘p hie ivetful < they had piles of luggage with them, for in addition te the’ bags they took, there were the Big. netive-made siraw hold-alls they had bought. as well ps all: kinds of treasures the children had collected ; “Well” she said, "you'd betier go and ‘phone—quickly ‘They sat around in the airport | for half an hour before the car arrived, and then when they reached the flat there was, of fourse, no milk, bread, butter, nothing in fact for ihe children's per, Stilt contrite, Melinda said she uld go and buy them. The ‘etildren were stil! unloading the eq and leaving bags and it sdses strewn bout the livre , Foom, N ; Letter in her hand Melinda Went off to the shons. She could have bought every- thing they needed, not only for : that night but for ali the next) week in about fen minutes. for | the shops ware just around the | eorner. “But she was away 50 minutes. — When she returned she had not only the packages of groceries, but also e number of letters which she could have collected, either going out or coming back, trom the letter box in the ball | by the concierge’s room, She dropped the groceries on to the table and all the letters but one on the desk and stood there, with the one remaining- letter in her hand, staring at her mother with gn extraordinary xpression on her fare, Asionishment. apiprebensidh, ar, excitement seemed Yo Plow each other so rapidly tht iRey merged fio what w: almost. g grimace. *” ss ‘This is 3% . it? h She locked quite awful.” sgid irs, Dunbar. But, wise after the event, her mother, also now believes thet the dominant expression was one of exciie~ ment. “Thinking it over, axl have gone hundreds of times, I now fee! that Melinda's whole attitude at that moment expressed one thing—Thia ig it; thie is zero. hour.“ At the time all that happened was that Mra. Dunbar im- diately asked what was the mptter. Had she received pad stighas 2 No,” said Melinda, puljing hapself together. "it's nothing. TR only & letter from the school teHing me that opening has Wen postponed @ week and the Boys ee vent to return Gok tomernyw we this, certainly did not segm gic'toa Mrs. Dunbar, who fn Tah remarked that i¢ was ratipr good news, It would give than time ta get the boys ready xt leisure and to slow them to settle dows @ Nitle after the jexcitements of their holiday, And. with the Hiller’ of un- packed bags al! around them, and the need to get the chtidren their evening meal, the episode passed rout of her mind, and she did nol give it a second thought until several weeks later. But Melinda’s behaviour. loaked at in retrospect, now became curious. What had happened? Sdll no clue t is possible that Melinda had reveived some kind of a message) either in one of the other letters, er from some contact she had seen while she was gut? Had it been at one of che shops she visited, one of the ordinary shaps at Which she was accus- tomed te buy the household goods? _ 3 + "Or had she, during. those Alty mifutes, called in at same incen- spleunus lithe place-a tobac- conist's, a stattoners, a bar. a dry cleaner's—wnich bag deen spened in Geneva for the express purpose of acting ag an accommodation address for a Soviet Intelligence organisation | ang through which Melinda recelved her instructions ? 1 It coud be anything: but we do not know, Melinda's mov¢- nents were, of course, ngt alched. and, despite the extex- ve inquiries made by MAS hd the Swiss Pollse, and othfr ganisations, nothing has, been abscovered throwing any. light Fon the mystery. 7 Not? : ie : Tortured - soul } But one thing te certain: on that evening Melinda had some- how been told that the date of, er departure was very near, Tt is unlikely that the exact date was given her—any more than Donald and Gur org knew for certsin when they drove away from Beacanshaw! {hat evening 27 months earlier! . that they were leaving never to} return. But she had probably been wurhed to be ready. - And certainly she had been instructed oi. to Bay anything to anyyne. oihing that could porsibly five hint of what she was aboul to io. From that moment Melipda: cas a tortured soul. {Workd copyright}