The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1940-04-23
Chapter Seven
Morning


L pillows huddled about her, and
began her vigil of terror. Each tiny
sound took on a danger of major
proportions. Once she dozed and
when she awakened, she found the
fire was dying. the oil in the lamp
growing low She couldn't - she
wouldn't-remain IN the dark.
Bartell had said there was wood
off the kitchen, She grasped the
lamp and started down the hall.
The kitchen was at the end, a
gloomy place with dark walls and
woodwork, a gigantic stove look
ing like a prehistoric monster.
Two doors opened off this room.
Toni opened one and closed it
quickly, bracing chair against it.
The stairway had led down.
Opening the second door, she
caught the strong odor of salt wa
ter and. listening, heard the soft
lap of waves not far away. A
veranda lay outside and wood was
stacked there.
Bracing an armload with her
chin, Toni stumbled back to the
living room just as the lamp flick
cred out. She built up the fire and
crouched on the hearth. Slowly the
wood caught, then with a sudden
burst of flame, threw the big room
into full, rosy light. Toni looked
up and her hand came to her
throat to crush back a scream. A
man was looking down at her.
She jumped to her feet and
backed away. then stiffened with
anger, Off came her hat and her
topcoat and she stalked forward
to stand, hands on hips. chin out,
her gaze focused on life-sized oil
painting of the late Timothy To-
land, which laughed down right
into her face.
You're responsible for this"
flared Toni. her voice sounding
hollow in the empty room, but
I'm the one who's going to laugh
last. This is another trick of that
trained legal seal of yours, build
ing a fire here so you'd give me a
start that would send me high-tail-
ing it down the road. Well, you're
both wrong. I'm staying And right
now I'm going to sleep. With you
up there no one but a Toland
would dare come into this room"
Toni felt better after that. She
even welcomed a breeze which
sprang up. bringing strange and
ominOus creakS to the old house.
She preferred them to smothcring
silence.
A Navajo blanket lay over the
arm of nearby chair, Toni car
ried it to the divan and. worn with
excitement. Illness and fear. slept
the sleep of physical exhaustion,
unaware of the man who looked
in through the window as dawn
came; a White-fa man in
rumDled suit, who sneezed into
handkerchief and limped down the
steps, swearing softly.
Sunshine wa streaming through
the windows when Toni awak-
enCd. For a moment she lay adj
justing her mind to the change in
her physical outlook. She glanced
up and found Great-uncle Timothy
LAUGHING down at her.
Good morning" she said pert
~ May compliment you on your
excellent choice of furniture and
atrocious taste in wallpaper? But
I'll fix that"
She hurried to the windows to
find each obscured by foliage. then
swiftly went upstairs and turned
into the first door to rush to the
view from there.
oh" she hreathed in rapt won
der
Directly below lay the blue wa
tiers of San Francisco Bay. white
winged sea gullss wheeling over
the waves Across the broad ex-
panse tiers of mountains in grad
uating shades of blue and purple
hunched their shoulders against
the pale azure of the morning sky.
To the right lay San Francisco.
the white towers of its many hills
gold in the sunlight. +
OIu tAUC 2
TONI hurried to another win
l. dow. Here a long arm of bay
curved inland, dividing her island
from another which seemed tufted
with trees, its shores lined with
white houses topped by scarlet
roofs.
She looked down at the imme-
diate foreground aid her brow
furrowed. She seemed to have in
herited dozens of tennis courts.
Toni opened the window and
leaned out. Those couldn't be ten
mis- courts; they weren't paved,
and each enclosure held oblong
pools thick with fiat-leaved water
plants.
Frog ponds" she said aloud.
"I'll bet that's what they are"
Toni went flying downstairs for
her bags and came flying back up
to change into blue twill Stacks,
white turtle-neck sweater and
white leather sneakers. Then.
aware of gnawing hunger, she
made for the kitchen.
Someone had been there. A
CHEEKY fire burned in the big range
and on the table lay a battered hat
filled with eggs. tt A~'-.
Toni, who had cooked only UNI
der the supervision of Molly, knew
but a few of the rudimentS. Coffee
was made with a tablespoon for
each cup and one for the pot: Milly
always forgot the extra one. Toni
felt confident she could use four
cups this morning and made it &C
cordingly.
Bacon went with eggs. She dis
covered a thick slab of bacon in
the cooler, then proved she could