The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-01-02
Chapter %
e The Notebook

q, Barney, in pajamas and dress
ing gown, was a dark huddle under
the front window. Adam was sit
ting on his launches looking down
at him helplessly. He turned at my
entrance.
"Can't make it out. He's got a
good strong pulse, breathing nor
mally. Just seems to be out cold"
Maybe he fainted-I thought
he was going to once or twice this
evening"
Adam said, Maybe" Then, in
loud, cheerful voice: swell, Doc
will be here in a minute, anyway.
He can dope it out"
The rooms were like Charles,
but neater. There were curtains,
dingy but clean, at the windows.
The furniture was substantially
the same. There were no pictures
at all, but there were books. A set
of shelves between the front win
dow and the hall door was full of
rather abstruse titles-the usual
military tones, old textbooks; a
few more indicative of personal
taste: The Human Mind, The HUI
man Body, Outline of Science,
Origin of Species, Mind in the
Making, books on Horticulture, on
horse breeding. -.
My eye jumped from the lower
shelf to the floor at my feet. A
little brown notebook, halfway
under the bookcase, not far from
Barney's outstretched hand l pick
ed it up, riffied the pages, feeling
no sense of improperly, not yet
formulating my new knowledge
that ordinary standards of good
taste were never meant to deal
with murder.
Less than a score of pages were
filled with a cramped but legible
script. At the top of the first page
four words were BACKED in. A
reminder? A thesis?
POINT OF ATTACK: RETICENCES."
! read on:
"Why have the Orpingtons no
children? They are both healthy.
And she likes kids-have seen her
watching them at the playground,
but always evaSive when the SUBJ
ject is mentioned. Must see if /
can find out if they ever had a
child; someone in the service
would know-unleSS married be-
fore he came in.
Mote: Lou has a tic. Have seen
her try to Disguise it by jerking
her head and laughing without
reason"
Adam was providing around the
room, casting occasional worried
glances at Barney's motionless
form.
Come here" I called to him
softly. What do you make of
this?"
He came and glanced over my
shoulder.
Looks like Barney's writing.
held it still while he read and
watched his face covertly. His
eyes were very bright-with that
hunting CLEAN. He came to the
end of the page and turned it, his
long-fingered, vital hand covering
mine in the most impersonal of
contacts.
Nothing Hit Me-
"IIE MUST have had it in his
IL hand" l said and showed him
where l had found the notebook.
He took it from me and was
turning another page when we
both heard steps in the downstairs
hall, ] saw him close the notebook
and slip it into the pocket of his
white Stacks that still managed
to look crisp and immaculate. Then
he was leaning over the railing
and calling for Doc Moore.
That young man carried author
ity with him. He came in with his
little black bag, inspected me with
a quick, professional, but not I'M
friendly eye, and knelt beside Bar
ney. Adam crouched near him
and some wordless communication
passed between them. saw Doc
Moore turn back Barney's eyelids,
touch the cornea. Then he took a
a tiny pencil fiashlight from his
bag, shone it full into the eye, and
I could see that the pupil did not
contract.
mo fake about that" he said
cheerfully and took out his steth-
oscope. After listening for a long
moment he put it aside and parted
the rather thick golden hair that
lay so close against Barney's scalp,