Manly Wade Wellman - John Thunstone 02 Read Online Free PDF

           He
searched in his suitcase and brought out a piece of reddish brown twig, set on
both sides with half-dried elliptical leaflets. He gave it to her.
                 “That’s
row^an,” he told her. “Mountain ash. I want you to
hang it inside your door. It’s a protection against lots of evil things.”
                 “But
I have a charm already. John.” She, too, got up, put a hand inside her scarf,
and brought out a small golden cross on a golden chain. “Do you recognize this?
You gave it to me. and I always wear it. I never take
it off except to take a bath.”
                 “Use
the rowan, too,” he urged her. “Don't overlook any bets, Sharon . . And now I’ll walk you to your door, look
into your room to see that everything’s all right, and come back here to do
some thinking,”
                 "‘Why
can’t I stay here with you for a while?”
                 Thunstone
smiled, and the smile brought out deep lines around his mouth.
                 “Because if you stay, it’ll be hard for me to think profitably.”
                 Her
own mouth pouted, for just a moment. “Well,” she said, “all right.”
                 They
walked out together. The countess put her key in the lock of Room 316.
Thunstone entered with her. He looked at the window, uncapped his pen, and drew
a cross on the off-white sill. He hung the branch of rowan above the door.
                 “I
sat down in your room,” she said. “Won’t you sit down in mine?”
                 “I
can’t, I told you I have thinking to do.”
                 They
came close, their arms went around each other. They
kissed. Never, said Thunstone to himself, had they kissed like that.
                 “You
didn’t seem to be away from me just then,” she chided him.
                 “I’d
dearly love to be with you, somewhere else than here,” he said, still holding
her against him. “Somewhere else, where perils didn’t loom
up.” He released her. “Now, go to bed early. In the morning, as soon as
you wake up, call me in Room 312. We can go down to breakfast together.”
                 “I
hope it will be a good breakfast,” she smiled, “and that you’re in a more
cheerful mood.”
                 “I’ll
try to be. Lock me out as I go, and keep your door locked.”
                 Out
in the hall, he gazed both ways along the corridor. He thought he saw shadows. Just shadows. He entered his room and locked himself in.
                 From
his briefcase he took a pad of lined yellow paper. He uncapped his pen and
began to make notes.
     
              

           III
     
                 Thunstone
was slow, was careful with the notes he set down. He frowned over them.
Opposite one note, then opposite two others, he wrote question marks. He spent
hours at what he wrote, and at last read the jottings over to himself. They
might be a help.
                 He
stopped, got into bed and yawned. It had been a tiring day, on the plane, at
the various discussions, at the hints of strange peril. Swiftly he went to
sleep, and did not stir until the telephone rang beside him.
                 He
reached for it. “Hello,” he said.
                 “Did
I wake you up?” asked Sharon Monteseco’s voice.
                 “You
did, but I’m wide awake now. Let’s meet in the hall and go to breakfast,”
                 “As soon as I get on my clothes.”
                 “As
soon as I get on mine,” he said. When he hung up, he found himself smiling and
knew that the smile was a happy one. The sense of danger was there, for himself and for Sharon . Yet he would rather be with Sharon than anyone else on earth.
                 They
met in the corridor and