The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1940-12-21

and then was busy when he come
back"
Eyes. yes, Bessie. what is it?"
"Well. we finish all the rooms,
'cept Miss Ewes and she still in
there. but she say | can come in
and Straighten up. And, Miss Sal
ly. l found somethin' amt got. no
business in there, else ImAGrRzYd%
"But what is it,"
Didn't that man whatqeome to
fix the phone say it done been cut
in two places and piece of wire
thoWed away?' Z: .'.''' ="
eyes. he did say something like
that"
Bessie opened her mouth.
seemed to be struck speeches. by
some thought that hit her all of a
heap and, turning. made a wad-
ding dash for the door. Comp
letely mystified, | started to fol-
low, but at that moment the
library door opened and Alice
wandered in. "I'm looking for
Plutarch." she explained. "He
was up in my room just after
breakfast and now can't find
him"
He'll show up" consoled her.
"YOu can't lose cat, you know.
Here comes Bessie Maybe she
knows something about him"
81 give him his breakfast in the
Office" Bessie told us as calmly as
though she had not apparently
had had fit two minutes before.
"He ct good breakfast and
drunk his water. too. | shut him
up in there when | come out and
l amt seen him since"
well, Of course, the police are
using that room now" l reminded
Alice Hes probably upstairs"
1--WE been up there: Poor thing.
he's probably scared to death. I'll
go and see if somebody left the
basement door OPEN" And she
wandered out again.
What in the world happened
to you just now?" / asked Bessie
sternly.
She looked puzzled for a mo-
ment, then her face cleared. ooh,
Miss Sally" she grinned. 81 just
remember my Sally Lunn mullins
in the oven. But they all right.
Just little brown. l don't know
what come over me, putin them
mullins in the stove fore you all
was at the table"
"But what was all this about
clue?"
The Wire
BESSIE looked around the room
- again, then her voice dropped
to whisper. Miss Sally, you
reckon Miss Eve kill Miss Mag
gie?"
What on earth makes you
ask that?"
Bessie reached into her apron
pocket and pulled out a piece of
telephone wire about half yard
long.
Where did you get it?"
an Miss Ewes room. all hid
away"
What do you mean, hid away?"
Wen. you might Just as wei
say hid away. Miss Sally. When
empty the wastebasket. | notice
they was a pair of stockin's in
there. Miss Eve had thowed 'em
away cause they was a run in
EN- and then | see this package
Looks like she would have give
me them Stockin'S without thoWin
EN- away, don't you think so, Miss
Sally?" Bessie interrupted herself
to ask Indignantly. The fact that
she weighs bout hundred
pounds more than Eve and that
her feet must be several sizes
larger had nothing to do with her
feeling in the matter.
Perhaps she didn't think they
were worth offering to you" ]
placa:ed. What about this pack
age? Was it in the wastebasket.
too?
"Yes'm. It and some cotton and
them tissues you take cream off
with. And then l see this package
wasn't just some paper wadded
up like 7 first think. So l unwrap
it and find that piece of wire
Well, bless sweet Jesus, | say.
what for Miss Eve got this old
piece of wire? Then l remember
about the telephone"
Where were you when you I'M
wrapped this package. BesSie?"
an the back hall, where l take
the wastebaSket to empty it in the
big one to bring downstairs so
Andrew can take it to the fur
mace" 81.
Then nobody saw you unwrap
mo. ma'am."
you are sure you didn't find it
in the big Wastebasket. after you
emptied the small one? You are
sure it came from Miss Ewes
room?"
"Yes'm. Miss Sally, l see it
when l pick up them stockin's. l
amt goin' to run no risk gettin'
them tore no worse by emptyin'
EN- in the big wastebasket."
"All right. Don't say anything
about this until I've had time to
talk to Mr.. Bill"
The telephone rang and | said
would answer it. At Wisteria
Hall my grandmother had only
the one phone and that in the hall
closet. It was the old-fashioned
box-on-the-wall variety and the
piece of wire obviously had been
cut from the extension cord
reaching up from thN floor to the
box. AS l took down the receiver,
l hung the loose piece Of wire
over the telephone. f-s, -
Someone who introduced. him.
self as Jameson said he thought
l might be interested to know
that on Saturday at around eleven
o'clock a man in a convertible
coupe had inquired at his garage