The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1933-09-26
Chapter Eight
STILL. LOST


STILL. LOST xH
CoMETHING began to roar in
- Jim's ears. He felt himself slip
ping and fell back against the pill
lows. The room went round. He
heard the women's voices as you
hear voices In the roar Of heavy
tfafic. They came and went, and
they meant nothing. Actually he had
done no more than lean back and
close his eyes.
Min Williams said, ooh, he's
iainted!"
e Nesta took her by the shoulders
with a quick. run along and don't
talk nonsense!"
After that the door was shut.
Nesta stood waiting with her back
against 1t. and in a moment he was
looking at her. His eyes were Of so
dark grey as to seem black. His
brOws frowned above them, making
the shadow deeper. He went on
Bpsaking as II there had been no in.
'tSrruption.
when were we married?"
ION the twenty-fifth OF July"
/. Il "of what year?"
This Year,"
= slsTtg.ge ie-rsy1,ok -. ~, ~. 9sp
August"
s'What date?" ~
"The thirteenth"
Eve were married-here?"
NO in London" She crossed the
room, opened drawer, and came
TO him with paper in her hand.
There's the certificate"
A voice in his mind said quickly,
f"She had 1t ready" It was like what
isthge directions call q voice of. It
didn't seem to have anything to do
with him, but he remembered 1t
afterwards. At the time. he was
looking at the certificate. which set
forth that James Riddell had mar
Isled Nesta Williams at a registry
iClace In Kensington on the 25th of
July, 1881.
Nesta put out her hand to take the
paper back. The hand shook, and all
lat once It came to him that, whether
ae liked her or not. !. was hard lines
Oh her. He didn't like her. but It
was damned hard lines. Her hand
shook. There was enough to make 1t
shake.
He said In a constrained voice.
r don't know what to say--I can't
remember"
THERE was no more talk that day.
= u was Min who brought him his
meals. and Min was much too scared
20 talk. She left the door wide open,
put down the tray. and was gone.
He guessed she thought Of man
who had forgotten his name and his
wife as well over the border line
cs insanity.
presently she would come back
with q quick glance over her shout.
der. pick up the tray. and hurry
from the room. He could almost
hear her breath OF relief as the door
swung to. Nesta never came near
him.
He lay IN the darkened room and
wrestled with the thing that had
happened to him. Presently the
sheer blank horror passed. He
lwaAn't mad. His head ached. but he
could order and control his thoughts
in . perfectly normal manner. He
could repeat the multiplication table
and the capitals OF all the countries
In Europe.
He knew all the ordinary things
which don't need thinking about.
but he didn't know anything at all
about himself. The minute he be-
gan to think about himself the fog
came up and choked his mind, and,
with the fog. the horrible panic
sense OF being lost in empty space.
He forced thought back to the
things he knew. He had had q
knock on the head. His memory
would come back all right IL he
lwould let It alone. That was It.
he'd got TO let II alone-keep him.
self quiet. eat. sleep. say the multi
lplication table. coningate French
verbs, count sheep jumping over q
hedge.
The sun went behind o cloud. the
lrcom darkened. Presently no did
lsiaep. and. sleeping. heard again
that voice which he took 10 be his
own. Eehoing Il. he mnttered and
Sersad cut.
IN RI hair way up the stairs