The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1946-11-21
Constant Dame
- NV
smw
NINA LESLIE cALLEJA
PART III

feet safety. First of all he was
a drunk, but so were ninety nine
out of every hundred newspaper
men in town, so that couldn't very
well be held against him. He was
also a liar, a cheat, cad, cur,
a skunk and a polecat. Any name
like that just about described
Charlie. except that it seemed
sort of unfair to the ours, skunks
and poleeats.
Charlie had been mixed up for
years with Cleo Kirk, another of
the undesirable ilk, who matched
ms meanness with a few feminine
Improvements of her own. She
had a husband, Woodworking,
home-loving sap with pimples on
his neck and a steadfast faith in
his wife that no amount of bald
faced evidence could shake. Half
the time Cleo lived with her huS-
band and the rest of the time she
caroused around with Charlie.
And they were nasty pair of
coyotes.
They crashed into Beulah's
party unheralded and unlimited.
Nobody ever invited them any,
where. And crashed is the right
word here, because they came in
with such impetus that Charlie
sailed across the room, stopping
only because the fireplace got in
his path. He went down like a
log. and the rest of us said, Itch
tch-tch," and went on with our
conversation, for We had had pre-
viOus samples of Charles violent
entrances, and knew you couldn't
hurt him with a poleaxe. Cleo
was yelling Justify for a drink,
and when she had been quelled
we turned to find Hera sitting
by the fireplace with Charles
head pilloWed in her lap, the
while she stroked his battered
chin and cooed at him. Charlie,
completely bewildered, was blink
ing up at her. Believing, no
doubt. that his dts had taken a
favorable turn, the customary
yellow snakes and navy blue
monkeys having for the moment
become cooling angels, his face
took on a fatuous look and he
nestled down comfortably to en-
joy the miracle. And that was
the commonplace beginning of
the- horrible end.
The next day Hera instituted
inquiries about Charlie, and you'd
think the things she learned
about him would have discour-
aged her, for she collected enough
70 hang him. Out of all the evil
dence there emerged one single
fecF in his favor. Charlie was
writing a book, and two or three
people had read snatches of the
manuscript. According to reports,
II was a potential knockout.
Hera set her teeth in that one
fact and went to work on it. First
she had to find Charlie, and that
was DO joke in those days when
there were $4,000 speakeasies in
New York. But she finally ran
him down and cornered him.
Why don't you brace up and
finish your book, instead of lying
around drinking?" she demanded.
DRINK" said Charlie groggily.
Good idea. Lets have drink. /"
That began Act II, with fur
Their scenes depicting:
(a) Charlie, still bewildered but
willing to be led, submitting to
the Cure" with Hera lowering
IN the background suffering with
him. The Cure" comprised an
assortment of highly odorous min
eral waters, which, when taken
internally, induced state re-
sembling acute seasickness, &C.
companied by a complete lack of
desire for food, drink or anything
except a quick, merciful parting
of spirit and body.
(b) Charlie creating a mild pan
&c by showing up sober at his
paper the following day, writing
a swell story and pyramiding
everything with a Il don't want
To talk to her. Tell her anything
Tell her I'm not in" when Cleo
telephoned.
tc) The staff of our paper COW
ertly and with many misgivings
watching Hera go about with a
"LOVe-haS-at last entered nv =
life" look in her eye and an I'M
toward observation-disclosures in her
general attitude.
(d Young Ingram the living
picture of Misery.
(e) Cleo chewing her nails and
plotting ugly revenge, with
sap husband, more than usually
sappy, puttering about trying to
placate her
Then suddenly things took a
turn for the worse. Cleo got hold
Of Charlie and they went on a
bender. Hera grimly went after
them and tore Charlie from the
SIRENS grasp. Figuring there was
only one place. probably, where
Cleo couldn't follow him, Hera
pat Charlie into Name CUNNING