The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-04-17
Chapter Nine
Walk In The Night

Chapter Nine
Walk In The Night
AT HALF-PAST-FOUR the fol-
IA lowing morning, Asey and Zeb
YEARLY returned to Aunt Sara's.
Jane and Eloise had been brought
there earlier. e
"Asey," Zeb said as they un-
dressed, "d'you understand any of
this? Things at first seemed to be
directed against the town, but this
whats anyone got to kill some
one like Mary for? It's a maniac
remember that laugh?"
"Yup, heard it might.
!! "When?"
Asey told him. Its all the same
thing, Zeb. Shotgun-'course, it
was deer ball an not buckshot. but
that don't matter much. The first
+ shootin' was just a warnin'. This
was meant to beam was-fna1.
: Its all part of the same fnuddle.".
Zeb didn't believe it. -
: rOh, come now," Asey said.
Member what Jane said tonight,
{ that Mary was anxious to see me
about some thin? My guess is that
Mary Randall found out somethin'
by accident, somethin' more'n you
an Sara an Yves an ever knew.
Someone discovered that she found
out, an someone seen to it she
never had a chance to tell. She
say, hear that? Listenw
AS1v SnapDod off fha 1i0hf
What"
"It's our friend, givin' us the
razz-no, get away from that win
dow. No, we amt goin' out, nei-
ther. Not on your tintype!"
why not, ASey? It's that
do you want a deer ball
through your head? He's hopin'
real hard we'll fall for it, but we
amt goin to. When anyone taunts
you like that, you can be sure you'll
i, lose the tag game. Roll over an
get to sleep. / am"
4 He turned over on his side, and
within ten minutes he was produc-
) ing light but convincing shores.
Then he half sat up in bed and
made some experimental sounds,
but Zeb was too fast asleep to hear
them. --s9.tf : e%taI
Grinning, Asey picked up his
ruPber-soled shoes, and Zeb's
sweater, and slid out of the room.
The window at the end of the
hall was open. He unlocked the
/, screen, leaped out, and gripped the
branch of the maple tree that rest
ed. on the slant roof. The window
was small, but he squeezed through
and swung onto the branch. Slow
: ly he edged down the branch to the
trunk, propped himself there some
I twelve feet above the ground, and
waited.
/ The breeze rippied through the
!, leaves and swayed the branches
above him. Over the swamp, frogs
were croaking. Far away on the
shore road an automobile horn
+ barked. He could just hear the
boom and smash of the breakers
on the outside beach-ASey opened
his eyes wide. Someone was COM
: ing, up from the swamp. Someone
had just crossed the narrow wood
en- foot bridge over the creek.
He leaned forward and peered
through the branches, but il was
still too dark to distinguish any
thing. - .
The footsteps came nearer,
scrunched across the graveled
: space by the garage, tapped or the
fiagstone walk that led from the
Z garage to the house. II the person,
whoever it was, stayed on that
: walk, he would have to1pass di-
rectly beneath Asey.
Quietly, he pulled aside a
branch, and waited.
No Mistaking
AISEY'S hand flashed under his
IN sweater and bis borrowed
pajama top to the old forty-fye
nesting in his shoulder holster.
Then his hand drepped.
It dawned on him belatedly that
the person was woman, and that
the tapping on the stones came
from her high heels. And now he
!, could hear the swish OF silk, and
see skirt swirl in the breeze.
The woman strolled past the
tree, and Asey very nearly fell on
top of her. There was no mistaking
that white hair. The woman was
Sara Leach.
Open-fnouthed, he watched her
walk to the front door, open it, and
disappear inside the house.
Asey slid down the tree trunk.
jumped and noiselessly followed.
"See here, Sara" he demanded,
"what,s the idea Of this2 What
VIVA"
Aunt Sara finished locking the
front door, put the key carefully
under a Jade vase on the hall table.
walked past him without saying a
word.
Keeping just behind, .Asey fol-
lowed her upstairs and along the
hall TO her room. The door closed
softly as she went inside.
q Asey leaned against the wall
and wiped his forehead against the
sleeve of Zeb's sweater.
Only once before had he ever
encountered a sleepwalker. That
was on the George P. Cramp-no,
u was the Joshua N. Cram and