The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1942-11-30
Chapter Eleven
End OF One Life

WEARS were crowded into that
night. Rita cried herself into
complete. exhaustion. She heard
the old Colonial clock in the hall
strike one, then two, then three
finally just as the sun was reach
ing long, thin fingers over the
misty foothills and down between
the even rows of waxy orange
trees-sleep came.
The warm, fresh sunlight flood
ing in the windows, the sight of
the long, rolling foothills sleep
ing immovably in the distance
poured new courage into Rita's
soul. She felt it tingle through
her strong, young body giving her
strength to meet the challenge
that only a few hours ago had
seemed insurmountable.
Rita took a cold shower and
dressed quickly. AS she stood sur
veying herself in her full length
mirror a sardonic smile crept over
her face. The last time she had
worn this new grey tweed suit
was the day that she had left for
New York.
Her heart had been fairly burst
ing with high hopes, she was en-
barking on a great mission, a
liberator going forth in the IN
terest of the community Now
she was just a girl, country girl,
girding for lone fight against a
world too busy with its own
affairs to stop and lend a SYM
pathetic ear to her small troubles.
She lifted her small chin little,
a spark of fire seemed to suddenly
strike in the depth of her soft
brown eyes, there was even a
suggestion of grim determination
in the movement of her fingers as
she tucked wisps of redgold hair
under her green felt hat.
Picking up her suitcase she
closed her door softly behind her
and started down the hall that led
past her fathers room. She had
closed the door before she went
to bed and for an instant she felt
an inner urge to open it again,
to walk among her fathers things,
his guns on the wall, his book
shelves that sagged under their
weight, she knew the pungent
odor of sweet pipe smoke still
fingered there. She put the
thought from her mind and
walked straight past.
Goodbye To Jeb
QUICKLY she fixed herself a
~ bite of breakfast and ate it,
mechanically, standing by the
sink. CHANGING at her wristwatch
she saw that it was only forty
minutes until her train pulled into
the village. DR.. Burrows had told
her to leave everything just as it
was and he would see that things
were taken care of. Methodically
she checked the doors and win
doWs and left.
AS she went across the wide
carpet of green lawn toward the
garage she saw a familiar object
coming down the road. She could
always tell jobs old car long be-
fore he reached the house as he
wove a zig-Zag path from one side
of the road to the other stopping
at each mail box. Each time the
car started up it sent a white
plume of dust rising in its wake
At first Rita thought she'd wait
to say goodbye and then she
thought the tears might come
goodbyes were always so hard for
her. Resolutely she thought, much
better that I wave a friendly
goodbye as 1 pass, throw him a
friendly smile, he will be about
stopped at the Jarvis place then,
two houses down the road.
Swiftly she threw open the
garage doors and backed out the
station wagon, wheeling it around
suddenly SO that the white
crushed stones in the driveway
beat metallic tattoo under the