her on which coffee had just been served.

Louis Ward could feel that his mouth was agape. "B-But,' he spoke shakily. "We have a report of your death.

""

A shadow fell across Irena's beautiful face, still so youthful. Pale-green eyeshadow brought out the dark tan of her soft skin. "Our Eagle," she said in a low, throaty voice, "was on his way to greet you in my place. He is dead.”

Comprehension

dawned

upon Ward. "Vice President Salluca," he said slowly. "Please accept my condolences on your country's loss." He regarded Irena closely as he spoke. She seemed as young as when he had first known her. Age had not lined her face or neck, not wrinkled her hands. She sat gracefully on the chair, aware of his inspection, but letting him take her measure once more. The high-necked, black blouse hugged her fig- ure tightly and she might have been slimmer now than he remembered. She wore black- tinted stockings and black high heels, and Ward recalled that she would have to show mourn- ing for her dead Vice Presi- dent. He'd read in the reports supplied him that the two were close politically but that Irena often treated Salluca with dis- dain on social occasions.

Then, Ward became aware that Irena was not alone. On her right, in a single chair, was a dark-haired woman dressed in a black pant-suit. Her face might have been pretty, but for her awful, grim expression.

"Consuela Romo,' said Irena gruffly, causing Ward to frown at Irena. He'd heard that she'd been injured in the bombing. He saw the neck bandage as she turned her head, the blonde-streaked hair shaped just that afternoon to turn under at the base of her neck, masking the injury to some degree. Irena had changed since he'd known her, but so had he.

""

"Consuela is the Assistant Gen- eral Secretary of the Party and serves as one of my two Private Secretaries,' Irena finished, swinging her dark, attractively madeup eyes back to Ward. She'd changed, Ward told him- self agreeably, but it all seemed for the better, in her looks at least.

American

He had recognized the Sec- retary's name, of course. The daughter of the founder of the Party of the Revolution looked at him with unveiled hostility. Plainly, thought Ward, she followed her father's precept that there should be no truck with the 'twin pillars of Mammon' capitalism and Marxist dogma- tism. He wondered how much influence this woman had with Irena. But Irena in the past, for all her friendliness to American men, to all men, Ward thought bitterly, was the epitome of Romo's counsel. She had always been a prag- matist, and had been anti- American because that was what she had to be, Ward was sure.

She was 'prepared to achieve social justice by any appropriate means' in the dictum of Romo. The phrase had been true of Carlos Coronado, the first President of the Revolu- tion, and of his brother, Hec- tor Chuy, both renowned however for the high moral scruples they showed in their politics. With a sigh, Ward regarded the second generation of 'revolutionary' leaders. Even Irena was not to be ranked with the previous men. As Ward had seen before, she was an apolo- gist for whatever faction held power at any particular time. Perhaps her pragmatism could work for peace, however, if Ward could convince her that it was in her own interest to

have peace.

"I knew your father," said Ward slowly to Consuela.

Taking Hormones?

Men with heart disease have more of a female sex hormone than healthy men, according to a new study that casts doubt on whether high levels of choles- terol cause heart disease.

The study found that men with heart disease have elevated levels of estradiol, one of the female hormones known as estro- gens.

If this is true and the high estrogen levels are indeed the major factors leading to heart attacks. what we would have to determine is whether lower- ing these levels will reduce heart attacks. This information is from Dr. Gerald Phillips of Columbia University.

"I would guess that chol- esterol is a secondary pheno- menon that is elevated because of the sex hormone changes," Phillips saud.

In Phillip's study, he meas- ured the levels of estradiol and testosterone, a male sex hormone. All men have some female hormones in their system.

Phillips had decided to look into the matter after observing that some of his clinic patients with heart disease had certain feminine traits, such as decreased frequency of shaving, a little breast tissue and decreased sex drive.

The reason for this article being published in Transvestia is that your Editor wonders if those gals who take Estrogen (for experimentation purposes) run any greater risk to their health than those who do not take the hormone. So many crossdressers are or have taken "the pill" for one reason or another that there might be some concern of the long term effects of taking Estrogen. Possibly not, but it would be nice to know for the benefit of those who wish to take Estrogens for their emo- tional needs.

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