A Crossworder's Holiday Read Online Free Page B

pompous.” She chortled as she reached across the table and took her husband’s hand.
    â€œ Pompous , hah … Queen of the Understatements!”
    Belle laughed again, then looked toward the restaurant’s windows. The glass near the mullions was frosted, the red and white checked curtains swagged in greenery and strands of shiny Nantucket cranberries. Candles scented with bayberry burned on every table top. “Let’s not go home,” she said with a happy sigh.
    â€œPermanent holiday or permanent Christmas?”
    â€œEither one …” Then her brain, as was typical, leapt to an entirely new train of thought. “‘Your whales must be seen before they can be killed,’” she said.
    â€œCome again?”
    â€œIt’s a line from ‘The Mast-Head,’ a chapter in Moby Dick … I told you Drake made a huge point of my choice in reading material. He went on and on about Melville over drinks, too … I wonder why.”
    Then before Rosco had time to protest, she’d grabbed her purse and retrieved Sir Brandon’s crossword, spreading it across the tablecloth while a waitress appeared, removing empty dishes and reciting a sunny: “Today’s desserts are New England apple crisp, cranberry cobbler, candied ginger upside-down cake, and Indian pudding.”
    â€œFine with me,” was Belle’s distracted response.
    â€œI think you’re supposed to pick one —” Rosco began, but his wife was too absorbed to notice.
    â€œThe first part of the QUIP … part two, three, four …” Suddenly she sat back and spun the completed crossword around so that Rosco could also decipher the message. “… Start here … and finish here …” Her fingers anxiously tapped the paper as he read. “Well? What does that say about your conspiracy theory? And Sir Brandon?”
    â€œHmmm …” He nodded. “So, where do we go from here?”
    â€œYou mean right this minute or later?”
    â€œBoth.”
    â€œWell, I’d say our first responsibility is to dive into a big bowl of Indian pudding.”

A Crossworder’s Holiday

    ACROSS
    1.  Fence part
    5.  ___-Off Land; Nanticut
    8.  Mast
    12.  Watch brand
    14.  ___avis
    15.  Tall___; lie
    16.  QUIP, part 1
    19.  Espy
    20.  ___Chaney
    21.  Turf
    22.  Beeper
    24.  Fra___Lippi
    28.  QUIP, part 2
    33.  Having mystic writing
    34.  Charged particle
    35.  Computer memory
    36.  JFK stats.
    37.  QUIP, part 3
    39.  “___risk to you”
    40.  ___Pérignon
    41.  Yank’s opposite
    42.  “Moby Dick,” et al.
    43.  QUIP, part 4
    48.  Fr. Junipero___; Calif. missionary
    49.  Sobs
    50.  Chinese “Red;” abbr.
    52.  Zuider___
    53.  Wauwinet to Jetties Beach dir.
    56.  QUIP, part 5
    62.  “Or___!”; ultimatum
    63.  Unique
    64.  Navigational tool
    65.  Summer drinks
    66.  Rat-a-___
    67.  Head of France?
    DOWN
    1.  H.S. courses
    2.  Bride’s veil
    3.  SILVER COLLECTOR
    4.  Spanish aunt
    5.  Trend
    6.  “Trim the yard___”
    7.  Flying fish?
    8.  Atelier
    9.  Buddy
    10.  Whaler’s quaff
    11.  Hotel booking; abbr.
    13.  Ashore
    14.  Subscription option
    17.  Type of dancer
    18.  GERMAN LAD?
    22.  CEO, often
    23.  Pot o’ gold indicator
    25.  ICON LADY
    26.  1918 Nobelist
    27.  Change, as water
    28.  KARCHER AND OTHERS
    29.  First down at Shea?
    30.  A Latin lover?
    31.  Mythic Arabian bird
    32.  Surfside to Siasconset dir.
    37.  Royal inits.
    38.  Slippery one
    39.  Spring mos.
    42.  Owl & Pussycat creator
    44.  Gothic touches?
    45.  Dip chip
    46.  Clam type
    47.  Soda type
    51.  “The___thickens!”
    53.  Get your feet wet?
    54.  Card game
    55.  Type of wolf?
    56.  Affirmative vote
    57.  Not