Chapter 39 Summary

"Catching the Tail of the Comet"

Ix-Nay asks to stay with Diver as a light tender and Mr. Twain settles in on the island. However, Tully is feeling the urge to move on; he's not alone. He travels with Cleopatra to Key West. It is the first time she has been there since she was ninety-eight.

Cleopatra takes Tully to Highbourne Hill and shows him the house in which she grew up. She's there to gather up some of her belongings to take back to the Cayo Loco and wants his help. Lupe Cadiz, the caretaker, and his wife Carmen help them catalogue photos, letters, keepsakes, and the like to take to the Highbourne archives at the Key West library.

Tully tape-records Cleopatra's stories and they share a great deal of laughter. Tully fishes while he's on the island and goes exploring. They...