The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-05-13
Chapter 80
Chase In The Fog

Chapter 80
{ Chase In The Fop r
THE woman screamed again.
u The sound cut through the fog
like knife.
This way!" the trooper grabbed
at Asey's arm. She's over here,
somewhere"
mo. she's"
p This wayi Come on, quick"
-"Stop a Sec" Asey knew how
many tricks fog could play with
sounds. Listen"
But with Konrad laundering
and crashing along behind them it
was useless to try and gauge the
direction with any hope OF &C
curacy.
go where you think" Asey
said. "pll cut over here. Wait
maybe" he pulled out the old
forty-five colt and fired a shot
into the air, maybe l might scare
someone Off"
He fred again. and then started
TO run.
Once more he heard the wo-
mans voice.
-''Aseyi" ~ {:
Whoever she was, calling to him,
al least she could yell. At least she
was alive and apparently kicking.
He beloved out an answer. .
~As he raced along he tried To
remember how things had looked
that afternoon. He had sat there
long. enough on that, stump to
memorize the whole surrounding
countryside. {
He could hear no footsteps ex-
cepf those of the two troopers
pounding along; still everything
pointed to some struggle going on.
But no sound of it. That meant
The swerved to the left, that
meant they were in that patch of
tall old PINES, where the needles
underfoot were deep enough to
deaden the noise.
"Aseyl"
He was getting nearer. And
they were in the pines. He could
hear, now. The pine needles were
slippery under his feet. and the
low hanging boughs twice nearly
dropped him in his tracks. He
crouched low and Sprinted.
Atlast, ahead. the blurred beam
Of his fiaShlight made out figure
against tree. As he approached,
IL slumped and fell into a heap.
Somewhere beyond he heard the
rustic of someone hurrying away
through the pines.
cit was Jane, slumped down there
al his feet. He recognized the cam
els hair coat she wore.
He knelt down and gasped.
1t wasn't Jane, but Kay Thayer
whoflay on the pine needles, her
face streaming with blood.
kayl Are you hurtL" a-s-..a' sss's-
L"Go after him. she said. "Pm
Iipt-not really" she made a tre-!
Inendous effort, "rea1ly hurt. Just
battered, that's all. Get him"
fAsey howled for the troopers.
Hey, you'll Here! This way. in
the pinesl Over here! Alloy. there!"
Horrible, Inhuman
LIE CONTINUED to yell until
Ii the two found him.
Look after her." he ordered.
Take her back to the hollow"
Where are you going, Mayor"
AFTER the fellow. No. don't you
come. You watch out for her.
Phone Lane. an Doc Cummings if
she needs him"
sAsey slid between two pines in
the direction he thought the other
person had taken.
Again he heard that strange
laugh. The fog played with it and
distorted it into something hor-
rible and inhuman.
Huh" Asey muttered to him.
self, with pig an d canary bird,
he'd coin m oney with M aior
Bowes-" ~ a.
He couldn't tell from what point
OF the compass the sound came.
But in all probability. the fellow
would stick quietly in the pines
for little while, where the going
was soft and wouldn't give him
away. He'd have to make some
noise when he cut out of the pine
patch: the bayberries and scrub
oaks and low underbruSh would
offer' too good a sound track for
anyone who might follow.
SASey paused.
Probably the fellow would wait
TO see if he were pursued. 1t was
the sensible thing to do. Then,
when he was certain that he was
safe. he'd probably stroll off. There
was everything to win by waiting.
and everything to lose by making
a hurried exit at this point.
AN So" ASey thought, ''Pll out
wait you"
~Catlike, he swung himself UP
into one of the pines and prepared
70 wait.
BY the greatest luck in the
world. when he called the troop
ers he had given no hint of how
many there were. Perhaps, if the
fellow heard the two of them TAX
ing Kay back, he might figure it
was Asey and a trooper. and that
no one had started after him.