The Key West citizen., 1940-12-09

what made us look"
Damned funny" Bob observed
Then he turned to Bill with /:
lgood-natured grin. "Sure yoJ
weren't spying on Kirk ant
Sally?"
81 only wish I had been," Bill
Ireplied with a grimace, Maybe
tPd have missed that damned
mirror" .
| II seemed to me we were work.
ing right back to the point where
| it was all my fault for coming
downstairs, so I hastily suggested
coffee and sandwiches and we
went back TO the kitchen en- masSe
to prepare them.
odd" said Kirk; claire and
Alice seem to have slept straight
through all the bedlam. Do you
suppose they are all right? Hadn't
somebody better go and see?"
Il checked up on them when ]
went after the alcohol" said Bob.
"Alice was dead to the world, but
| Claire came to the door. Said the
noise walked her but she thought
it was thunder. I guess those two
drinks gave Alice helped to put
her to sleep. Anyway, she and
Claire are in the same room. /
told Claire to keep the door
locked and not to-open it without
the pass word"
Kinks face had flushed a slow
red. / knew he was ViSualiZing
that scene between Bob and
Claire upstairs, with Claire in
negligee as he had seen her after
Alice's fainting fit on the stairs.
And, knowing Kirk. ] was not
surprised when he slammed down
the bread knife with which he
had been cutting slices for sand
wiches and announced that it was
as dull as the Congressional
Record.
'Men never really know how to
slice bread" said. although / had
had no previous convictions on
the subject. Let me finish"
The knife was actually quite
sharp, and ] thought that it was
not at all the sort of weapon
which should be lying around
where so many strange things
were happening.
Bill insisted that he would take
his turn as night watchinan, in
spite of his injuries. 'Don't want
70 miss that baby if he is any
where around" he declared.
Loose Ends
"DROM1SE you'll be careful and
keep the gun handy" l
begged as gathered up a fresh
supply of candles and matches.
I thought of all the things !
wanted to discuss with Bill. The
clue to the secret room. The dis
arranged sheet over Aunt Maggie
and the sweater pockets turned
inside out. The opening of the
front door and Kinks unexplained
absence. The red light beyond the
drawing-room window.
OF course, Kirk might have
been in the house all the time, OF
there might easily be a perfectly
simple reason why he had stepped
outside. Perhaps he had gone to
investigate suspicious sounds. Per-
haps- Well, no doubt, morning
would do just as well for my talk
with Bill.
In the hall I was properly
horrified to think that had for
gotten to mop up the water which
had spilled over table and floor
when the flowers were over
turned. Kirk insisted that he
would see to this. and as Bob and
I started up the stairs we left
him picking up broken glass.
II think the frame can be re-
paired" he called after me, with
obvious effort to cheer. But, of
course, no mirror would be quite
the same as the old-fashioned
looking glass which had once held
my great great grandmother's
actual reflection.
And / hated to think what Bes-
sic would say when she saw the
ruin. Seven years bad luck, Miss
Sally. Just you mark my words"
For seven years I knew she
would be anticipating trouble and
attributing even the smallest mis-
fortune to that broken mirror.
Well, goodness knows, tonight
certainly proved that when things
start going wrong everything else
works at cross purposes. +
Better go and reaSSure Eve" I
told Bob as we took a look
around my room and he said good
night didn't / hear her say she'd
be waiting? Perhaps we should
have brought her some coffee and
sandwiches"
Bob gave me one Of his quizzi-
cal glanceS. "Eve," he said. Eve
in the garden of Eden"
I'D say she was more like the
serpent" couldn't help saying.
For the third time in one night
! went to bed. ] left my candle
burning, confident that I would
remain awake until dawn, but
soon found myself quite sleepy
and must have dropped of
promptly. How much later it was
when the nightmare gripped me
I do not know.
A cold wind blew across my
face. The room was dark and it
seemed TO me that ! heard the
door to the hall open and close.
At first ! only wondered vaguely
why Bill should be coming back
upstairs. Then remembered that
the door was locked. with the key
on the inside. C
AS lay there, unable to move
or 10 cry out, the fearful convic-
tion came TO me that the secret
room opened somehow into this
bedroom.
To be continued
(cs1y-isik 1855. kaksrs FsslS Psrksxsasl