The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1936-08-14
Cnapter 81
THE ANSW Err


nEAR INSPECTOR" the Ser.
geant's letter began, II am sor.
~ for ali the official fiapdoodle there
will be about this business.
Il don't know whether you are be-
ginning to guess It or not, but
killed Arthur Burdett: an action for
which l wasn't sorry at the time. but
which I am inclined to regret now.
"Burdett was not only miser but
roue as WE'LL had reason to think
some time ago that he got various
women up to the Court on one pre-
text or another. but It had nothing
to do with me and so l didn't take
much notice. But lately he had his
eye on my wife: twice he rang her
up when he knew l was away and
asked. her to go up there to take a
message for me. | thought, until to-
day. that that was why she went up
there. but know differently now.
1T so happened that the second
time she was there Tor at any rate
the second time know of was on
some of his land beyond Nyeton, see-
ing about a tree that had blown
across the road and that had to be
cleared away. l called at the Court
on my way back and as luck would
have it ran into Alice just as she
was leaving.
"She looked a bit upset and
flushed. and | suppose she was
frightened at seeing me there. Any
way when We got home that vening
she told me that he had rung her up
on an excuse of having some mes.
sage for me and asked her up, and
when she had got there there was no
more talk about any message. be
ended up by trying to make love to
her. | suppose now that she told me
all these half-lies because she was
thoroughly scared by my turning up
there Unexpectedly and was afraid
that l already knew something.
Il thought it over a day and de.
cided to go up on Monday, when
knew his man would be out. to
thrash the whole thing out with him
and see where we stood. So as not to
worry Alice. told her l was going
out on my usual Nyeton round after
poachers.
Actually I went up to Enderton
Court: | used the back drive. | got
to the Court at about five minutes
to seven. should think. | knocked
on the front door and the old miser
came shutting across the hall Just
like Lumsdale described. He opened
the door as far as the chain would
admit and peered out. l said 4 want
a word with you Mr.. Burdett about
little matter
"He hesitated a moment and then
took the chain off and told me to
come in. followed him across the
hall into that little study sort of
place where he always used to sit.
We sat down and he croaked out,
What do you want at this time of
night?
81 asked him straight out what he
was doing with my wife.
LIE burst out into the usual tor
IL rent OF abuse which he used
whenever he lost his temper. What
the hell did ! mean. and how dare
have the bloody impudence. and all
that sort of thing.
"Of course took no notice of that,
except perhaps that it made me even
angrier than | was already. When
he had run short OF breath I told him
quite quietly that my wife had com.
planned of being decoyed up there
under false pretenses and Of having
been molested. and that unless he
had some satisfactory explanation
to give intended to make an official
case Of 1t and prosecute him.
'It was then that the whole at.
mosphere of the thing changed. /
didn't speak at all for the next ten
minutes. he had 1t all his own way.
He told me. amongst a lot of other
things. that II l really imagined my
wife went up there unwillingly it
was about the richest thing he had
ever heard of: that his great diff.
Guilty had been to keep her away
once he had first got her up there:
that he knew we'll enough what l
was after. that the whole thing was
q plant-that wanted money.
81 couldn't stand it anyway and
when he said that about Alice I lost
control of myself damned fool that
I was). I had my truncheon out be-
fore | knew what was doing. When
he had said what he did about Alice
he leaned across the table and spat
at me. I had my hand on my trun-
cheon as I've told you and when he