The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1937-09-21
the dark ships. t +
~ hubert FooTNEs - 49, - 4 f..

/ tracteo fashion, forgetting he was
stranger. Reckon / better call
up the county constable"
TITS the obvious thing to do"
'But he's a farmer. He don't
know nothing"
Call him anyway"
Virgil sent his clerk running to
make the call. 7
"And Mr.. Button Billings, the
J. P. he went on pulling his hair,
hell have to be in on this. He's
an old grandmother, that's what
he is. Oh, my Godl He'll ball every
thing up, and the newspapers will
call us hicks, and moSS-baekS and
stick-in-the-mudSl" ..t 1y9i1.
Neill said nothing. If things got
balled up it would be fine.
If only knew where to lay my
hands on the proper man to handle
the easel" said Virgil. After taking
an agitated turn back and forth,
| his face cleared. Il know what I'll
do. I'll get Mark Bonniger. He's a
man-of-the-world. And he's one of
US. We don't want no foreigners
horning in. Mark will tell us how
to do everything right"
When the clerk returned, he was
sent back to call up Mark Bonniger
and also the justice of the peace.
Tell Mr.. Button Billings to come
straight to the yacht. He lives
across the harbor."
Virgil ran out of the store, ac-
companied by the crew. At the
door they met the doctor coming in
and carried him with them. All
five of them piled into the yachts
dinghy, loading her almost to the
gunwale. mo more ROOM" they
cried, when Neill started to follow
them, and rowed away Neill was
left on the wharf. He looked
around for another skiff, but there
were too many watching them
now.
Paving For Evidence
II IKE a wireless flash, word of
IL the murder had spread from
one end of the village to the other.
Men, women and children stopped
everything and came running to
to the harbor. Nothing like this had
ever happened in AbSalom'S.
House work was suspended, the
stores shut up and fish left without
ice. The excitement in every face
made Neill sore. What is it to
them? he thought.
At first they contented them
selves with lining up along the
harbor road, staring out at the
yacht and passing the same bits of
information back and forth. Then
one man jumped in his skiff. I'M
mediately there was a stampede
for the SkiffS and whole fiotilla
set out rowing swiftly to the yacht.
Women and children were left
ashore.
Neill was unable to obtain a
place in Skiff until Jake the fish
erman got the idea of starting a
ferry at two bits head. Thus some
minutes passed before he got
aboard the yacht.
The saloon below was packed to
suffocation. The men had pulled
off their hats out of respect to the
dead, and were pushing and SHOW
ing to get a glimpse through the
door of the after cabin. Neill
worked his way through them. Ev-
erything that happened here was
of vital Importance to him. He was
tall enough to look over a good
many heads and he saw Virgil and
the doctor, helped by the two sail
ors, examining the body, searching
his pockets and so on. The young
steward sat on the Starboard lock-
er holding his head between his
hands.
Everything in the room-includ-
ing the gun - was being well
paved over in the search for levi
dence," and Neill smiled grimly to
himself. Lucky he had only these
hicks to deal with! He saw Virgil
pick up the bullet on the floor be-
side the port seat locker, and hold
1t up for all to see.
Virgil was continually issuing
orders without taking any steps to
see if they were carried out.
Quit your showing, menl Amt
you got no sense of what is fitting?
|. The girl must have swum
ashore. She couldn't have got far.
You, Tom Boiling, organize a posse
among the men and search the
woods across the harbor. Send a
car up the road, somebody, to stop
at every house and ask if she APP
peared for Shelter."
A voice from the crowd said:
Somebody stole my skiff last
night"
Well then, maybe she tried to
escape in that, said Virgil. "A wo-
man could row far. All you men
that have motor-boatS organize a
search up both shores of the river
and into the creeks. What like girl
was she?"
The two sailors attempted TO de-
scribe Janet. Very little could be
gathered from their efforts, except
/ the pink dress and the black velvet
cape.
She musta had a guy helping
her" said a voice.
What guy7" asked Virgil.
How the heck should I know7
Who was il busted in the door,"
The dead guy"
Maybe he was already inside
and the door was locked.
Neill stiffened. This was getting
too close TO the truth.
] fCesysirGs. 1877. y Fslk,vf Fe.s-.l