The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1940-07-16
Chapter IL
BIunderer


IAN pushed her hair back. Her
- mouth was stubborn, her eyes
determined. 81 will not tell him to
CO." she said to Lance. "He's going
to stay here as long as / wish to, 81
he wishes to. This is my affair and
you keep out of it. If you don't, I'll
never forgive you. l won't listen
to you, Lance. I won't take orders
from you"
every we'll" His tone was curt
and cool, withdrawn. There is lit
tie can do, suppose, since you're
determined"
Leaving him, her h cart felt
bursting with rebellion and grief.
This was their first quarrel since
his accident. This was the first bar
rier to come between them. Yet
she could not go back and assure
him she would obey his dictates,
for she would not, could not, send
Derek from this house.
After she had gone, Lance fin
gered absently the little plane with
the crumbled wing. He had, he de-
cided, behaved with incredible
stupidity. Not that there would be
an open breach. Oh, no. Jan would
smile and laugh and they would
talk together, but underneath that
exterior she would be hiding from
him, afraid of him.
"You poor, blind, crippled blum
dererl" he raSped. Wheeling his
CHI. to the windows overlooking
the ocean, he sat in the encroach-
ing shadows of twilight anG played
his rusty game Of remembering.
OF course he. being ten years
older than Jan, had been taught
very early a responsibility for his
small sister. But that sister now
carried responsibility for him, and
she also had plenty of spirit and
temper.
He realized abruptly that her
apparent evenneSs of temper, her
soothing tranquility, were prod
ucts Of self-discipline, artificial re-
gtraintS built up in consideration
of him these last two years. He had
been too Self-centered to Stop and
wonder at her sudden meekness.
He was sick, crippled; he was her
brother, she loved him, it was
only right she should care for
him. So he had thought, subcon-
sciously. Perhaps, sublimating
herself to his needs, she had
turned to painting for release. 1t
was her outlet, her safety valve.
Knowing they could not afford a
nurse or companion for him;
knowing she could not leaYe him
alone; knowing she must forego
young pleasures, she had feigned
indifference to young men, to
dancing, to parties, to all the
things she should normally crave
and have.
And now romance in the form
OF a castaway stranger had come
seeking her out. Of course he
fascinated her; of course she
might fancy herself in love with
him. Why wouldn't she? Still, Jan
was practical and level-headed.
It wouldn't amount to anything.
He should have employed more
diplomacy, demonstrated great
er perspicacity.
'Tll apologize to her." he de-
cided. 81 can't have her hiding
her life from me-"
And now he went on to remem-
Der other things. Of how. at
twenty-eight, he'd been a fine
aviator, a trusted pilot, of how
his exuberant young spirits went
no Iz eAA
into a cockpit and were released
only when he stepped out; of the
good money he earned. He paid
for JAMS schooling and living and
his life was his own so long as
his parachute opened.
Eyes OF A Dog
THERE were girls, lots of girls,
i always. He had the sort of
looks women fancied. Sometimes.
for while, there would be one
girl in particular. But they were
all alike if they cared for him;
they wanted him to stop flying.
They never understood.
Well, he'd stopped flying.
Rather, flying had stopped him.
And now the only girl he saw was
a mouse of little school teacher.
Much of the time he felt grateful
for Norma; thankful for her quiet
companionShip; but there were
other times when he could have
screamed at her, sitting so placid
ly with her knitting, looking at
him with the adoring hungry eyes
of dog. Yes, dogl Some day he
would scream at her and frighten
her and then she wouldn't come
in any more with her knitting.
Derek plodded home from his
first days work with a scowl on
his badly sunburned face. Lance,
Norma and Jan were waiting din
ner for him in the kitchen, their
eyes on him expectantly. He took
his place at table without a word
and it wasn't until Jan served the
fresh rhubarb pie that he said
anything beyond table courtesies.
Then he lit a cigarette and met
their eyes with mockery in his
own.
"Such polite restraint I've never
before Witnessed" he declared.