The Key West citizen., 1940-09-14

4
He was gone so quickly that /
had no time even to say goodby.
It must have been about mid
night that heard the light, Sc
cret rapping on my door, as II
whoever was there wanted to at
tract as little attention as possible.
Ny room was dark. had been ly-
ing there, smoking and thinking,
for about an hour. Sleep was stlu
far from me.
It did not occur to me to be
frightened. I turned on bedside
light, went through the sitting
room and opened the corridor
door.
Sandra slipped in. She had on a
terry cloth robe over her night
gown. 1t slid down for an instant
to reveal a red mark on her
shoulder mark that might
have been made by an ungentle
hand.
She saw the direction of my
gaze and caught the robe to-
gether. Her face looked white and
stiff.
MAY 1 stay with you tonight?"
she asked bluntly. Il know you
have twin beds. I could ask Fe-
licia for another room, but
don't want her to know. trust
yoU."
What could say? She volun-
teered no explanation and I GER
| tainly could not ask for one.
L. s~,kA xk,A 6n1rnaFr4 aV16
watched while she turned down
the vacant bed and got into it
facing away from me. Then
turned out the light and lay
down, respecting her silence, but
passionately reSenting the inva-
sion of my privacy. My thoughts
had been company enough with.
out the intrusion of this alien, un-
comfortable presence. -u.i-
I could not sleep. And though
she lay quiet, not turning, breath
ing evenly, I knew that she was
awake. And as the night wore on
l could feel her thoughts, too,
dark and dreadful company, be-
tween us in the room.
| OHeF vi deIp
I MUST have slept toward morn
L ing, for l reused at the sound
of the reveille gun. It woke San
dra, too, if she had been asleep at
all. heard her stirring. heard the
bed springs creak when they were
released from her weight. She was
trying to be quiet, so I did not
open my eyes or let on that
heard her; and presently ! knew
by the slight click of the closing
door that she had gone.
got up then and showered and
dressed. It was too early for
breakfast, so l solaced my hollow
stomach with cigarettes and set
tied down to my typewriter un-
til I heard sounds from the kitch-
en-.
The mess hall was empty when
went init was still early.
breakfasted hurriedly and eS-
eaped before the crowd. My brain
was Seething with plots and char
acterS and I wanted no diStrac-
ton.
Sandra came to my room about
eleven thirty. She had just re-
turned from the inquest. She
apologized for interrupting me,
thanked me for letting her stay
with me, but still with that re-
serve which made no explanation
and forbade questioning.
l asked her about the inquest.
It had been much as Adam pre-
dicted - formal Identification of
the body, medical testimony, 4
brief account by Adam of the
beach party and the finding of the
body. Verdict of murder by per-
son or persons unknown:
And Adam, with his grim COM
panion, had started on their
journey.
Sandra looked tired and rather
cold, as one might who has closed
a chapter in her life forever and
faces an unknown future. re-
membered that Adam wanted me
| to cultivate her, so when she
rose to go I stopped her.
Stay and have a cigarette
with me. I'm ready for a recessl"
What are you dolng?" she
asked curiously, looking over my
shoulder at the half-typed sheet
of white paper. So
Copying story l finished this
morning. It's been hanging around
for a couple of weekS-I want
TO send it off today"
"Oh, | see you write it first on
this yellow paper. then you have
to copy it. l thought writers just
wrote"
Maybe some of them do. l al
ways have to make a lot of
changes"
Then I suppose when you get
it all copied you have to read it
over to make sure you've made no
mistakes. Maybe l could do that
/ for you-would it be any help?"
l wondered if she really wanted
to help or if it was only an ex-
cuse to read the story. Some peo-
| pie are funny that way. publish
under a pen name because pulp
stuff is pretty sticky. and I cherish
the illusion that one day I'll write
something good.
| You're welcome to read it If
you want to, but it's already been
/ proofread-I usually do that as
soon as I finish a page. It's less
monotonous that way"
"Oh. I didn't mean-I wouldn't
want you to think was just Curl
Gus. really thought I might help.
You see. I haven't a thing in the
world to occupy my mind"
Thanks for the offer. If need
any help I'll let you know"
She took that for dismissal and
moved toward the door. But she
did not 60. There was something
Or hor mind