Show CHILD OF EVIL part of story missing last week CHAPTER XII continued 13 kay was fin iding diri the situation dil dif soe struggled bravely ahe probate judge says that kirk I 1 eft some money in the ithe bank he said something about it being mine be cause well because skip it anyway any way I 1 dont want it ex afraid dirty your hands tabes bes words cut deep that it you know it I 1 came here to suggest that it really should go to you babe rose her long shapely hands rested on rounded hips she leaned forward eyes blazing with anger what the big idea throwing bune to a dog suddenly kay was not nervous she was more mature more sure ot of herself she spoke with quiet et ef festive dignity she said im sor ry youre taking it this way 1 ill take lake it any way I 1 ale please as e and get this you I 1 dont like you butting into my affairs it was not until kay reached home that she realized she had forgotten jp buy the chinta curtains every tuesday afternoon seven 1 new york sunday newspapers are received in beverly one copy goes to the white star hotel one to the elite barber shop one to mrs di ana guinn and three travel via R P F D to plantations near chicora the seventh copy goes to red wil liams bon ton pool poo room on this particular tuesday afternoon the pictorial section fell into the hands ot of a stalwart young man named ernie watts mr watts being of limited education bothered not at all v with ith those sections of the new york paper which were devoted to the printed word but he reveled in pictures and today he retired into a corner and turned the pages idly suddenly his feet camp came down to the he floor boor from the chair upon which they hal ae been en perched mr watts said very loudly hey fetters fellers looka ioka apah mr williams Wilin ms was staring with un r v ual interest not by at L solid page of art photography these pictures dell deli rao cale in tone and texture and distinctive tive for their composition were on a page bearing the caption CATHEDRAL GARDENS photographic studies by christine maynard mr watts exclaimed dam if jell jeff butler tellin the truth kay forrest sho then somebody called yonder she goes now all eyes turned toward the window they caught a brief glimpse ol of kay who was seated beside barney hamilton in the front seat of his car in the rear seat were margaret hamilton and jim owenby and they were headed east supper at y afe e gardens and kays face as bright and alive and beautiful one poolroom pool room loafer said with forced humor she cahnt fool us no mo we know what she really looks like mr ernie watts was chuckling he had a distorted sense of humor and a rather reckless courage he produced a small pocketknife pocket knife and commenced to slice into the page of pictures A howl of protest arose but ernie raised his hand you all wait he said be funny with meticulous care he cut tron from i the paper a particularly impressive photographic study the one in which the beauty of kays figure was best revealed leve aled he pasted this on the big plate glass front window ihen lie took the little pot ot of white paint the one red williams used tor for decorating his inside mirror with ch inscriptions as all sandwiches tio cents and went outside i by a gaping and admiring L crowd ernie watts was no lettering art but his were and his execution cleat clear enough over the picture of the gardens a and nd of 0 kay he daubed a few words home lawn gal makes good and howl how this was regarded by the assem bled young men as the high highwater water mark ot of beverly humor they de blared vociferously that ernie was wab the funniest guy always making up jokes mr watts was exceedingly well weh pleased with himself and toi for almost a halt half hour he loafed near the front window enjoying the star tied expressions which appeared or on the countenances counte bances nances of casual arians who paused to glance at this unusual display then mr watts drifted toward his home in the dining room of the little house out on chicora avenue young andy forrest was finishing an early supper mr forrest was reading in the living room mrs airs forrest pressed more cold chicken upon ner her son and declared she was sorry he had undertaken this night shift she was quite positive that one hour ol of sleep at night was worth two hours in the daytime and seemed assured I 1 1 J p tj it I 1 li 1 11 we A C az afraid dirty your hands that andys health would eventually be ruined he 14 le laughed at her fears as he rose from the table stated that he never felt better in his life a statement which his appearance verified called good night to his father and walked through the front door and toward town when he reached the bon ton pool room a white lettered inscription caught his eye A frown appeared on his forehead and he stepped closer inspecting the picture with the aid of the corner are arc light andy was a placid sort of a person his reactions were usually slow and almost never violent he had known few moments of real ecstasy and fewer of bitter anger even now there was little indication of the deadly fury that boiled within him his cheeks were white but his step was steady and not too fast he shoved his broad shoulders through the front door pool games stopped within the bon ton there was an air ot of hushed bushed expectancy and more than a trifle of apprehension he did not raise his voice he made no gestures but in unmistakable and very profane language he expressed his opinion of the man who had pasted that picture on the window and of the crowd which had gloated over it and left leftt it there he flagellated them with his tury fury and his scorn who ever it was Is yellow too he said or hed admit it nobody moved andy said who was it still no answer ill find out sooner or la later ter stated andy and when I 1 do somebody said whiningly it me andy you have the guts to admit it if it was but listen to hell with the whole gang ot of you arid and ill tell you one more thing it if anything like that happens again IU ill kill somebody one of the hangers on more courageous than the rest perhaps because he stood near the back door said you better not be threaten in the feller that did that andy forrest why not cause hes mean yeah just tell me who it was and ill show you how mean he is the tall man said heu hell find out what you called him that suits me fine the other man said what you think but you better watch out andy left his tace face was chalky and he walked swiftly toward the garage behind him in the bon ton pool room there was a chorused I 1 sigh somebody said are you goin to tell ernie watts what andy called him the tall man near the door nodded 1 I 1 sho am he announced an then see so methin ernie watts dont take that off nobody CHAPTER XIII XHI I 1 kay forrest was happy true she felt a sense of guilt a furtive ness as though there was some thin thing indecent about her happiness she told herself though faintly thai it right for her to for get even m momentarily omenta rily the tragic events of the past few weeks nor tier apprehension about the part which barney might ha have v e played in kirks death but on this particular tuesday night it was difficult to be unhappy the house in cathedral gardens was as she had always known it tranquil and pleasant and millions ot of miles removed from the narrow prejudices of beverly mrs hamilton quiet and blonde and capable a perfect hostess a gracefully ma turing woman an understanding mother and friend and barney and margaret and jim owenby and after supper long after supper when jim owenby announced that tie he and margaret were driving out to big oak plantation beyond chicora barney and kay decided to 9 go 0 with them mrs hamilton begged off claiming with the wisdom ot of understanding motherhood that slip she had letters to write and they piled into jims car and headed for chi I 1 cora their route carrying them through beverly and because they were short of gas they stopped at warners sudden service garage where andy was on night duty they got out of the car at the garage and went in search of kays brother they found him lying prostrate beneath a recalcitrant car of a client there was no one else in the garage and they hauled andy out from under the automobile and chatted with him and were altogether get her very plea pleasant gant and gay but other things had been happening at the same time things which were not so pleasant A half hour since the doors of the bon ton pool room had swung open and mr ernie watts had barged into the smoke laden atmosphere his first question was directed at the house in general and induced a solemn hush he asked who tore down that pitcher I 1 pasted on the window this afternoon A lanky young gentleman clad in a bl blue u e flannel shirt and beere decrepit p it trousers answered eagerly andy forrest tore it down how come he seen it on the window an come in he ripped it right off an then he said things what kind of things th inos pool games ccase ceased d cues were racked and mr watts found himself the center of an avid group the situation appealed to him since tie he considered himself a rather tough parson he hooked thumbs through belt straps and worded his question again what sort of things did andy forrest say ernie declared the tall one sadly he said tur tumble things he called you out of yo name me well 1 he say you ezack ly on account of we admit you done it but he said the feller which did it was a was a was a what well I 1 reckon you can guess what he said lie he was mighty het 10 up ernie tried to look grim what else did he say he said some day he was gow goin to find out who put that pitcher on the window an then he was goto goin to I 1 beat that feller up oh he said that did he I 1 lie he sho she did ernie hon honest 0 cose we tell him it was you why not we e ell we aim to git you in no trouble we know was you seared scared of him or not mr watts rose to the crisis he announced in a large and booming voice that he of nobody an least of all andy forrest somebody said you better had be andy said he was going to mop up with you ernie fancied himself a brave young man and a considerable fighter he realized that he was on trial that his reputation for courage would stand or fall on the manner in which he handled this situation lie he inquired loudly wheres andy forrest at now iles hes down to warners garage well im voin goin down there an find out if hes so dawg gone tough what im goin to do they applauded him they informed him that he was some man they expressed apprehension for andy they said go along and watch the combat aint goin to be no fight sneered ernie watts this andy forrest dont know noth in about fightlin figh tin they milled around the corner of monument square and moved en masse down palmetto avenue warners sudden service garage was on the corner of that main thorough fare and atlantic street it was a I 1 great cavernous place with gas 1 pumps in front andy and kay and jim and margaret and nd barney were in the little machine shop at the rear when the front entrance filled with young men barney said lightly customers andy business is picking up I 1 andy glimpsed the crowd and sensed its hostility his lips set firmly and his eyes narrowed A new dignity sat upon him and he spoke quietly you all stay right here something wrong yen yeh but I 1 can handle it kay put her hand on his arm she felt suddenly ill knowing the answer to the quest question iod she was about to ask something about me andy maybe but you all aint got of anything to do with it clad in overalls and a light flannel shirt andy moved down the middle of the old warehouse Aa toward the men who were crowding through the door andy said what do you want ernie watts stepped forward im kind of cravin to have a little talk with you andy go ahead you was in the bon ton this afternoon you yes you tore a pitcher off the window you yes an you said you was gonna whip the man that put it there di you somebody sard said andy seems to have been tellin you the truth margaret hamilton had been wa watching aching the scene with quiet observant eyes she leaned close to kay and whispered do you know the sheriff yes why telephone him quick theres going to be trouble kay walked into the machine shop and whirled the handle of the wall telephone she got the residence of sheriff floyd griffin and spoke swiftly then compelled by a fascinated horror she returned to the big outer room andy and ernie watts had moved closer to one another ernies arnies friends a score of them had surged in through the wide open door barney and jim owenby stood silent and tense eyes and lips grim waiting wailing it was andy chor dominated the scene he moved closer to mr watts he H said was it you who r put lit that picture on the window yes it was an what are you goin to do about it it if you walk outside with me IU ill show you ernie watts was a good tactician without warning he be leaped forward and struck the blow caught andy high up on the forehead and spun him around and ernie came in behind it his second punch landed squarely on andys jaw and andy went down he was dazed for just an in slant he sprawled then clambered to hands and knees shaking aisi head he staggered to his feet but before ernie could attack agair again something happened barney and jim owenby leaped forward the former pinioned ernie nie watts arms the latter grabbed andy andy said im all right let me go J ernie watts struggled with bar ney sensing an easy victory he fought to free himself from barneys barneis Bar amazingly amazing y efficient grip he yelled to his friends make him leave go ganging me i somebody took the cue leave him go but barney did not leave him go H he clung tighter and jim owenby did not relax his grasp of andy until tile the crowd moved forward someone struck barney hard in the face barney released ernie ernia watts walts and swung there were sy scouts outs and oaths and the grunts ot of men fighting the noise sifted through to the street it came to the ears of an elderly man a tall quiet old man who had driven his ramshackle car up to one of the g gas pumps doe doc morrison got out of his car ii and looked inside he saw a crowd of men punching kicking cursing he recognized barney Ha hamilton pilton and jim owenby and a ha halt lf dozen of the disreputable gang that made the bon ton pool room its headquarters more important he saw two girls at the far end of the garage crouching against the wall hands bands pressed against white lips ey eyes es va aids de and staring TO DE BE CONTINUED |