The Key West Citizen Newspaper, February 6, 1936, Page 3

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1986, } CHAPTER ONE IN THE CHASM OBBY JONES preliminary slowly, then with the rapi teed up his ball, gave a short waggle, took the club back brought it down and through idity of lightning. Did the ball fly down the fairway straight and true, rising as it went and soaring over the bunker to land within an easy mashie shot of the fourteenth green? No, it did not. Badly topped, it scudded along the ground and embedded itself firmly in the bunker! There were no eager crowds to groan with dismay. The solitary witness of the shot manifested no surprise. And that is easily explained—for it was not the American-born master of the game who had played the shot but merely the fourth son of the Vicar of March- bolt, a small seaside town on the coast of Wales. Bobby uttered a decidedly profane, ejaculation. He was an amiable-looking young man of about eight-and-twenty. His best friend could not have said that he was handsome, but his face was an eminently likable one, and his eyes had the honest brown friendli- ness of a dog’s. “I get worse every day,” he mut- tered dejectedly. “You press,” said bis companion. Dr. Thomas was a middle-aged man with grey hair and a red, cheerful face. He himself mever took a full swing. He played. short, straight shots down the middle and usually beat more brilliant but more erratic players. Bobby attacked his ball fiercely it to earth at last. It was practically unplayable — embedded in a furze bush. He had a couple of hacks at it, then picked it up and called out to his companion that he gave up the hole. The Doctor came over towards him since the next tee was right on the edge of the cliff. Tie seventeenth was Bobby’s par- ticular bugbear. At it you had to drive over a chasm. The distance was not actually so great, but the attrac- tion of the depths below was over- powering. They had crossed the footpath, which now ran inland to their left skirting the very edge of the cliff. \ ments to have the body got up. It'll: be dark before we know where we are. Will you stay here?” i Bobby nodded. “There’s nothing to be done for*him, I suppose?” he asked. The Doctor shook his head. “Nath- ing. It won’t be long—the pulse is weakening fast. He'll tast‘azlother twenty minutes at most. Just pos- sible he may recover consciousness before the end—but very }ikely he won't, Still—” heyas “Rather,” said Bobby quickly. “T'll stay. You get along. If he does come to, there’s no drug or any- thing—?” He hesitated. The Doctor shook his head. “There'll be no pain,” he said. “No pain at all.” (oes away he began rapidly to climb up the cliff again. Bobby watched him till he disapeared over the top with a wave of the hand. Bobby moved a step or two along the narrow ledge, sat down on a pro- jection in the rock and lit a cigaret. The business had shaken him. Up to now he had never come in contact with illness or death. What rotten luck there was in the world! A swirl of mist on a fine eve- ning, a false step—and life came to an end. Fine, healthy-looking fellow too—probably never known a day’s illness in his life. The pallor of’ approaching death couldn’t disguise the deep tan of the skin, A man who had lived an out-of- door life—abroad perhaps. Bobby studied him more closely—the crisp curling chestnut hair just touched He was still breathing, though unconscious, with a niblick. The third time was successful. The ball lay a short dis- tance from the green which Dr. Thomas had reached with two cred- itable iron shots. “Your hole,” said Bobby. They proceeded to the next tee. The doctor drove first—a nice straight shot, but with no great dis- tance about it, Bobby ‘sighed, teed his ball, re- teed it, waggled his club a long time, took back stiffly, shut his eyes, raised his head, depressed his right shoul- der, did everything he ought not to have done—and hit a screamer down the middle of the course! Ile drew a deep breath of satisfac- tion, The well-known golfer’s gloom passed from his eloquent face to be succeeded by the equally well-known golfer’s exultation. “1 know now what I've been do- Ing.” said Bobby—quite untruthfully. A perfect iron shot, a little chip with a mashie, and Bobby lay dead. He achieved a birdie four, and Dr. Thomas was reduced to one up. Full of confidence, Bobby stepped onto the sixteenth tee. He again did everything he should not have dons, and this time no miracle occurred. A terrific, a magnificent, an almost su- perhuman slice happened! The ball went round at right angles. “If that had been straight—whew!” said Dr. Thomas. “If—” said Bobby bitterly. “Hullo, I thought | heard a shout! Hope the ball didn’t hit anyone.” He peered out to the right. It was @ difficult light. The sun was on the point of setting, and looking straight into it, it was hard to see anything distinctly, Also there was a slight mist rising from the sea. The edge of the cliff! was a few hundred yards away. “rT-HE footpath runs along there,” said Bobby. “But the ball can’t possibly have travelled as far as that. All the same, I did think I heard a ery. Did you?” But the Doctor had heard nothing. B. bby went after his ball. He had some difficulty in finding it, but ran The Doctor took an fron and just landed on the other side. Bobby took a deep breath and drove. The ball scudded forward and disappeared over the lip of the abyss. “Every single dashed time,” said Bobby bitterly, “I do the same dashed idiotic thing!” He skirted the chasm, peering over. Far below the sea sparkled, but not every ball was lost in its depths. The drop was sheer at the top, but below it shelved gradually. Bobby walked slowly along. There | was, he knew, one place where one could scramble down fairly easily. Caddies dia so, hurling themselves over the edge and reappearing tri- umphant and panting with the miss- ing ball. Suddenly Bobby stiffened and called to his companion: “I say, Doc- tor, come here. What do you make of that?” Some forty feet below was a dark heap of something that looked like old clothes. The Doctor caught his breath. “By Jove!” he said. “Somebody's fallen over the cliff, We must get down to him.” Side by side the two men scram- bled down the rock, the more ath- letic Bobby helping the other. At last they reached the ominous dark bundle. It was a man of about forty —and he was still breathing, though unconscious. The Doctor examined him, touch- ing his limbs, feeling his pulse, draw- ing down the lids of his eyes.Hp knelt down beside him and comp! his examination. Then he looked up at Bobby, who was standing tere. feeling rather sick, and slow)yggihoo his head. “Nothing to be done,” he said. “His number’s up, poor fellow. His back’s broken. Well, well. I suppose he wasn’t familiar with the path and when the mist came up he walked over the edge. I've told the council more than once there ought to be a railing just here.” He stood up again. “I'll go off and get help,” he said, “Make arrange- ! wee ‘e., The | Ga 2 with grey at the temples, the big nose, the strong jaw, the white teeth just showing through the parted lips. Then the broad shoulders and the fine sinewy hands. The legs were twisted at a curious angle. Bobby shuddered and brought his eyes up again to the face. An attractive face, humorous, deter- mined, resourceful. The eyes, he thought, were probably blue— And just as he reached that point in his thoughts, the eyes suddenly opened. They were blue, a clear deep blue. They looked straight at Bobby. There was nothing ufcertain or hazy about them. They seemed completely con- scious. They were watchful and at the same time they seemed to be asking a question. Bobby got up quickly and came to- wards the man. Before he got there the other spoke. His voice was not weak—it came out clear and reso- nant. “Why didn’t they ask Evans?” he said. And then ‘a queer little shudder passed over him, the eyelids dropped, the jaw fell.... The man was dead. Bobby kneli down beside him, but there was no doubt, The man was dead. A last moment of conse ness, that sudden q D —the end. Rather apologetid his hand into the dead in the act of replacing it he glanced at the pictured face, It was a woman’s face, strangely haunting in quality. A fair woman with wideapart eyes. She seemed little more than a girl, certainly un- der thirty. (Copyright 1933-35-36, Agatha Christie) A stranger happens along, tog Morrow. Oc A Week THE KEY WEST CITIZEN fs ORTS® BY JOVE BASKETBALL TILTS TOMORROW NIGHT ANOTHER FAST AND HARD- FOUGHT TWIN BILL IS EXPECTED Another doubleheader of bas- ; ketball by members of the Is- land City Basketball League will be played tomorrow night at the local gym, beginning at 7:30! o'clock, Once more, exciting and thrill- ing games are expected, as the league was thrown into a three- way tie last Tuesday night. The Busy Bee Bakers wi!l play! the WPA outfit in the opening game. According to past records, this will be another victory for the Bakers as the Workers have not Won a game during the se ond-half so far, i The:.Park Tigers will tack!e the; High ‘School five in the nightcap. These’ two clubs are tie for first place along with the Busy Bees. Therefore, one or the other will fall down the ladder when the re- sults,ef this game is made known tomorrow night. The Bakers are almost sure of staying on the top, but which team:will keep company with them is a little puzzling. Both the Ti-! gers and School quintet are strong clubs,:and undoubtedly the night- cap will be the hardest-fought and most thrilling game on the program for tomorrow night. FOLLOWING THROUGH Official batting averages for the first-half of the Social League will appear shortly in: these col- umns, and also the baseball aver- ages for games played so far this year, The standing of the clubs in the Island City Basketball League is as follows: Club— aes High School Busy Bee Baker: Park Tigers WPA Pet. 1 .666 1 .666 1 .666 3 .000 The leading scorers in the cage league follow: Player— FG 73 69 49 ~ ot . 42 41 37 37 . 34 29. ee son 0 AS FT Points 9 163 6 144 14 112 5 107 89 90 82 Hale .... ‘ Ed. Woodson A. Smith “ J. V,, Woodson Joe “Pinder Curty Mathews G. Parks Dopp, ::.....-. Sweeting ...... Cooper ...... Secring of the clubs in the 12 gemes played: Park Tigers, 504 points, average of 42 per game; Bysy Bee Bakers, 415 points. an ayeraze of 34 per game; High School. 378 points, average of 31 per game; WPA, 296, an average of 24 ¢. BY PLANE FROM KEY WEST {TO MIAMI Maké, Reservations by Phone i Telephone 620 lar Planes, Miami-Key * West Airways, Inc. Daily Except Friday RATE, ONE WAY, $7.50 ave Key West 4 p. m., Ar- S tive Miami 5:20 p. m. Fast - Comfortable - Safe an an CLOSE TO THE BUSINESS ‘AND ENTERTAINMENT “s° CENTER Away From the Noisy Stream}’ of Traffic Mts Quiet Rooms and Wide, Hos pitable Porches Invite You 919 FLEMING STREET PHONE 9104 NO SOCIAL LEAGUE |" GAMES THIS WEEK: 7 There will be no more Social’ the ‘Revélition,- New York Diamondball League games this. tor, third ;Vice’ President, tragic | week, it has been announced. historical figure, bo-n at New-| Play will be resumed Monday, ark, N. J. Died at Staten Island, | | | Today’s | Anniversaries when the second-half of the N, Y., Sept, 14, 1836. schedule will get under way. Six clubs are now in the league, | Beis z : and a meeting will be held to set-|__1807—Hiram_ Sibley, pioneer tle all matters before any games| Promoter-financier of the tele- will be held. igraph the country over, vorn at In all probability, the scheduie| North Adams, Mass. Died _ at for the second-hal? will be pub-| Rochester, N. Y., July 12, 1888. lished Saturday. | | ; 1818—William M. Evarts, fam-! ed New York lawyer and wit, senator and cabinet officer, born jin Boston. Died Feb. 28, 1901. Today In History J 1832—John B, Gordon, Con-) cluded treaty with France—of' federate lieutenant - general, major importance to the Ameri-} Georgia senator and governor, can cause. born in Upson Co., Ga. Died at | Miami, Fla., Jan. 9, 1904. 6th} Franklin con- 1788—Massachusetts, the State to do so, ratified the 1836—Thomas stitution, jone of the navy fers and rear y rear-admiral, Feb. 4, 0. Selfridge. great command- imirals, son of born in Boston. 1924. 1815—New Jer enacted the country first rail- way act—authorizing John Stev- ens to build a railway. | 1832—U. S. frigate Potomac, under orders from the President, reached Qualla Battoo, Sumatra, and attacked the Malayan town —in retaliation for treacherous attack on American merchant'| Half Céutary ship Friendship the previous year-|| 24 Hoar Ambulance Service | Licensed Embaimer || Phone 135 Night 696-W ooo Assi 18 prominent English actor of Henry Irving. the most the BENJAMIN LOPEZ Serving Key West 1904—Russo-Japanese War be- gan. PAGE THREE close of the Victorian period,| noted anthropologist, whose book born. Died Oct. 13, 1905. became a “best-seller, born at Hebron, 0. Died in New York, 1868—George A. Dorsey, the| March 29, 1931. TIPPEE AERA hE hdd DONT BUY-TRY FREE FOR THREE MONTHS The Company will install a three or four b ner ELECTROMASTER range on a free tri three months without any part. obligations on Be modern and cook by wire. It’s clean. f and economical, for the more you use the che the rate. After trial, when you have found oyt that an electric range will do everything that ypu expect of it, you can then start paying at the rate of AS LOW AS $1.25 PER MONTH with a liberal allowance for your old equipment SEE US REGARDING THIS PLAN The Key West Electric Company NII III III IDI IIa s. JALAL LLAAALAALAA ALA AAAAL AAA AA hh dd hdd , ed 1936 DODGE TRUCKS WITH THE MOST OF ADVANCEMENTS AMAZING GROUP IN TRUCK HISTORY “PRE-PROVED” \ ECONOMY Saves Up To $95 a Yea ° “FOR r In Gas Alone E POINT” LOAD \ DISTRIBUTION =a Increases Hauling Efficiency... Saves Tires a Upkeep ‘ 9 4 HYDRAULIC p, ODGE announces sensational new 1936 trucks! Planned... engi- neered...and actually “Pre-Proved” to deal a smashing blow at truck costs in the lowest-priced field. This slash- ing of costs for truck users everywhere is accomplished by a combination of advancements new in truck history. Behind-the-scenes tests in the labora- tory and in actual use from coasttocoast indicate savings of up to $95 in gas alone. Another 1936 feature, new “Fore Point’’ load distribution, meas- advancements reads on white for you in the ative facts about all 3 Di NAVARRO, Inc., { "| are all set down in plain black and BRAKES BRILLIANT \ NEW STYLING andca. They % TON CHASSIS Fonsi 6 CYL.-116" WB. Down” Score Card that gives compar- lowest-priced trucks. Get a copy and see what Dodge has for 1936. You’ll be amazed! See your Dodge dealer today! sion of Chrysier Corporation ‘Plas you 1! Snd * eney and ess costly te arrange tume payments to & your budget . 601 Duval Street