The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1937-07-06

gins hand. It was trained straight at
my heart.
5. | puttered something that didn't
make sense.
Quite So. James" Her smile was
unpleasant. You see it happens that
my btotheE Norman was not insane.
Barbara did rot believe that. would
have showed her quite convincingly
IL that fool Higgins had held his
tongues Norman could not see that he
might better be dead than back in
that place. Therefore. | showed him.
As for Judith. she was in the way.
So was Higgins, much as ! regret that
fact. So are you, James. Therefore"
But she never finished. made the
most perfect football charge Of my
career. We went down in heap to-
gether. simultaneously with the deaf
ening report of the revolver. Long
before | managed to get to my feet
knew that Martha Harrington was
dead.
The Skipper Talks
I STOOD at the living-room win
! dow. gazing out across the clut-
tered sweep of lawn and drive toward
the gut where boat from the main
land should be appearing. Breakfast.
such as we could manage to choke
down. was over. William and Annie
were clearing it away.
Between Michael and Gay on the
davenport. sat the Skipper. She
should have benin bed. but we could
do nothing with her. A very short
time would bring relief. and with it
doctor. There was weird sense Of
unreality in tie room. sense of
awakening from bad nightmare, an
illusion intensified by the Shippers
quiet voice.
"Your grandfather. Mike. was a
pretty unlucky person. He was only
a kid when he married Martha
Waterman. Pretty little thing. I've
been told-good family. They had
about FIVE years of happiness and
then with two kids on their hands
--it developed that the wife was in
sane.
They didn't put people in asy-
lums those days if they could possibly
help it. He kept her here for three
years. And then in one of these win
ter storms, she got away from her
nurse and went over the bluff. She
was killed.
she got over it in time. There were
two kids. both seeming err normal
and healthy. Eventually he married
my mother. whom he had known all
his life. ! was born about year later.
and the three Of us grew up together.
For long time the other kids didn't
even know that my mother wasn't
theirs. But servants talk and there
was gossip in the village. They found
out and they brooded about it. When
Norman was about IS and Martha
about 20. he began to show unmis-
\ taxable signs Of insanity. Whether he
had actually inherited 1t or brought
it on by brooding and fear. we never
knew. Anyway. it was there.
Il was about Is at the time and /
didn't understand much about it, but
knew that Father was in terrible
state. Remembering what happened
to the mother. he clapped the young
ster into a private nursing home. /
think that when Father died, he was
still expecting Norm to be cured. He
never was. He came home once for d
short time. but we couldn't manage
him. We sent him hack and he never
came out again until a few months
ago.
Martha had always been crazy
about the boy. When they sent him
away. they had time with her, can
tell you. She accused Father Of trying
to kill him. among other things. In
sisted that he had also murdered her
mother But the doctors assured
Father that she was merely neurotic
mot in the least insane. Father al
ways felt that Martha's attitude had
a great deal to do with my mothers
death. But that was absurd. NV
mother died Of pneumonia shortly
after Norm was taken III. and that
finished Father. He drew into his
she'll and left us to our own devices.
I'm not trying TO excuse myself
now. just want Mike in particular
to understand how things were. You
see, the servants had adored my
mother. Consequently. they took
great delight in pampering me. And
Martha, for such proper soul. got
big kick out Of my eseapades.
And thef-" The Shippers voice
faitered but Immediately picked up
again. Then something happened.
There was q youngster used to play
with--Jack Blinshop. | used to golf
with him. gun with him. boat with
him. We'd always been croniess
Again The Skipper paused.
fooDmioAt 1887 Esther Trierl