The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1940-03-29

started down the stairway was or
Dirck's blonde head on a level
with the green hat as he bent
over to talk to her.
l sat down quite suddenly on
the trunk just inside of the door
way. "Toby," I said. 81 haven't
been giving you the credit you
deserve. And now you're proba-
bly, running around with a girl in
a pastel sweater and a doeskin
skirt"
l tried to conjure up picture
of myself as Mrs. Toby Vaughan,
but Dirck kept popping in the
back door of my mind. It was no
use. That man Dirck had some
thing that left me as defenseleSs
as a kitten.
l undressed slowly, and it was
then l noticed my drawing board.
1t was on the table where I'd laid
it. The paper of questions was
still tackled fast to it. But it
looked different. l picked it up
and then l saw what was wrong.
Below the questions, at the bot
tom of the sheet, something was
printed in struggling letters:
KEEP OUT OF THIS, OR SOMETHING
WILL HAPPEN TO YOU.
Wante / to scream at the top
of my lungs, to call for the po-
lice, to run out of the room, to
get away from everything con-
nected with this gloomy old
br0Wnstone house.
Instead, : dropped the board on
the table as though it were hot,
and stood there too distracted to
make a move.
During the evening someone
had been in my apartment again.
Someone, perhaps one of the peo-
pie living in the house, had print
ed that warning Frantically /
tried to think who had been in
the house while l had been out,
but that was no help. For during
that time everyone had been here
at one time or another. I hadn't
looked at the questions again after
showing them to Dirck.
BreathIess And Shaken
D ICHARD MACDONALD h a d
IN been in the house. AS far as
| knew the only time he left was
to go to the corner for papers.
For a moment l had a wavering
doubt about Joan's brother. After
all. no one knew whether he had
reached Williamson before mid
night last night.
But it was absurd to suspect
only him. Mr.. Kimball had been
here all along, Adrianne Wells
part of the time, and Whitefeld
had been in and out of the house.
had to see Dirck, to tell him
that he was right when he thought
someone might be interested in
my questions. l slipped into my
dress. He must still be at the
Knife and Fork with Mary Ann.
| pushed the board out of sight
under my bed, snatched my coat
and hat and rushed out Of the
apartment.
The house was quiet and dimly
lighted. | let myself out of the
front door as quietly as l could
and ran down the street. The cold
air stung my face and I was
breathless and shaking when l
got to the corner and saw Dirck
and Mary Ann through the win
dow Of the brightly lighted res
taurant.
Dirck jumped to his feet when
he saw me come in. Chris, what
is it?"
And when l gasped out my
story, he threw some money on
the counter, took Mary Ann by
an arm - she looked more an
noyed than sympathetic - threw
his free arm around my shoulder
and the three of us hurried out
of the door and down George
Street.
He motioned us to be quiet as
we went into the house and up
the stairs to my apartment.
As we crept up single file we
! could hear footsteps on the third
floor stairway.
Dirck hesitated and l drew in
my breath quickly.
It was Richard who met us at
the head of the stairs.
My Imagination was working
overtime. I told myself, but it
seemed strange that Richard
should always h happen to be
around the hall. and it was one
o'clock now
Dirck beckoned him to come
with us. We'll" | thought, eff he
trusts Joan Kent's brother, my
suspicious must have a very film
sy foundation.
After Dirck closed the door he
| pressed a small hooked rug on
the floor along the crack, and
when he nodded to me I drew the
drawing board from under the
bed. They stood there silently
watching me.
The paper had disappeared!
Jagged edges showed that it
had been torn away from the
thumb tacks.
felt my knees get weak and
my hands shaky. The DO ar d
slipped from my fingers and hit
the floor with a crash.
Mary Ann gasped, and when
| looked at her her eyes were
frightened.
Richard was looking at the
three of us as though we'd sud-
denly gone mad. Did he know
anything about the questions? OF
course he was coming down from
the third floor when we came up
stairs, but perhaps he'd been in
my room and was going back to
his own, heard us come in. and