The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1936-10-16
Chapter II
GIRL WITH GUN

Cnapter IL
GIRL WITH GUN
NEAHONY turned on him like IT,
1fA ger, grabbed him by the collar,
ferked him nearer. and raised his
pistol.
where's Miss Fraser? Answer
quickly or I'll knock your brains
out" he ordered harshly.
"Eh? Miss Fraser. She's locked in
room upstairs" answered the man.
He had bleary. bloated look. as If
he had been sleeping in an arm
chair and was not yet properly
awake.
"Thanks," said Mahony.
His pistol-butt came down with a
sharp rap. The sleepy-looking man
Joined the fat man on the floor.
Mahony sprang for the stairs and
ran up them two at time. At the top
was corridor with doors on either
side of 1t. Halfway along the CORR
dor O man was sitting as IL keeping
watch, a pistol in his hand.
AS Mahony gained the top Of the
stairs. he rose from his seat quickly.
Again there came the sharp ear
splitting crack of shot, and some
thing twitched Mahony's sleeve. In.
stantly Mahony fret back; the re.
ports OF the two shots followed one
another with hardly an interval.
The man clutched at his shoulder,
spun round on his feet. and sprawled
on his back on the floor; his pistol
slid from his hand across the carpet.
Thin wisps of acrid smoke formed
O slight haze in the corridor.
After the report of those two shots
the silence, for moment. seemed al
most unnatural. Then Mahony shout.
ed:
miss Fraseri Miss Fraseri"
From behind a closed door came
. clear. defiant voice. a girls voice.
what do you want?"
"Are you locked in?" shoute,. Ma
hony. "I'll have you out of that in a
minute"
He ran for the door and put his
shoulder to 1t in a football charge.
The timber cracked. He was about
to have another go at it when the
girls voice came again warningly.
81 shouldn't try that II were you.
I've still got four shots left"
Mahony didn't know what she was
talking about. Anyway. she spoke
too late. He had already started on
another charge. Again his shoulder
struck the door with all his weight
behind 1t. There was a rending
crash, and one Of the timbers caved
in slightly. From behind the door
came the crash of a shot, and a
splinter Of woodwork jumped from
the door and grazed Mahony's face.
He was amazed. The girl was
shooting at him from behind the
door. 1t occurred to him that it was
probably she who had shot at him
from the window.
"It's all right" he shouted. "Don't
shoot. I've come to rescue you"
"Go AMI tell that to the Marines"
came the girls voice from behind
thu door. "You won't catch me like
that"
"Hell and damnatloni" said Ma.
hony in tone of intense annoyance
a S yet ne hardly understood what
Z \ was happening, but the fact that
the girl whom he had come to res
cue was trying to shoot him aroused
In him an acute evaporation. The
fsh-faced little haif-wit. he thought:
that was the kind OF thing an In.
trepid young airwoman would do.
He did not try to argue with her or
persuade her: he atted.
He drew back slightly. and then
hinged forward with his right loot,
with all his strength behind the
lunge. The sole OF his shoe struck
the timber in it's weakest part,
where 1t had already begun to give.
With splintering crash a panel
split all the way down and the door
new open. AS 1t opened. Mahony
dropped to one knee. ducking as low
as possible.
Crack" went the girls pistol
viciously, but the bullet passed
harmlessly over Mahony's head. Be-
fore she could fire agar he flung
himself forward. thrust out long
arm, grabbed at her ankle and gave
q vigorous pull. She uttered a yell
and sat down suddenly. The pistol
went of again. but this time the
bullet went into the ceiling. Before
abe could fire again Mahony grab
bed the barrel and wrenched 1t
from her hand.
/ what the devil do you think