Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1910-01-07
IN THE GROTTO.
BY M. QUAD,


then, it was at a summer resort
Things always take place quite sud
denly at those places or not at all,
They observed each other at the din
ner table; they went out sailing in the
same boat in the afternoon; in the
evening they found themselves side by
side on the veranda listening to the
music and looking out on the moonlit
waters. Somehow they introduced
themselves to each other, and after
that Fate held them in the hollow of
her hand.
Minnie Lee was there under the
ehaperonage of her aunt. Homer
Ware, being t~wenty-four years old,
was acting as his own guardian. While
this was a case of love at first sight,
neither of the principals told all they
knew at the first. second or third
meeting. They spoke of uncles, cous-
ms and aunts; they referred to music
and the drama; they spoke of London,
Paris and other foreign capitals. 1t
would have been in bad taste for the
young woman to even hint that she
was an heiress or for the young man
to give a list of the stocks and bonds
he had in a safety vault. oh, no. The
sordid did not enter into the affair il
the least. 1t was the romantic alto
gether.
The young man was in time intro
duced to the chaperon. I'm time" in
this case meant within three days aft
er the first meeting. You have got to
hustle things along at a summer resort
or get left. The chaperon was a wom-
an of forty, either an old maid or a
widow, and, while not severe, she was
a of the world.
Two weeks passed like a day. They
always pass swiftly at the summer re-
sort. If they didn't the landlords
couldn't present their bills so often.
During the second week it became pat
ent ITO many guests that the couple we
have under discussion were very much
in love and that an engagement was
topping on the brink. No n threat
ened to use a club to halt proceedings,
however. Even the chaperon seemed
to favor it. Therefore things were
going like a June day when Fate made
up her mind to take a hand in. There
were grottoes in the hotel grounds
half a dozen of them. Some were
double grottoes. like two family houses,
and others only single. If a loving
couple made an early start from the
dinner table they might pre-empt n
of the single g%rottoes and hold it
against all Corners until an hour after
midnight. If all the single ones were
found occupied the double ones came
into play. They were divided by a
stone wall, but they were intended to
convey sound instead of deadening 1t.
On this certain evening, when the
moon was round and full and white
and soft and when the hotel band was
trying to waken love in other hearts,
our couple were a minute late in leav-
ing the dining room and had to rent
half of a double grotto. The other side
was not yet occupied, and they had an
hour to themselves. Over 5000 words
of love can be spoken in an hour. The
couple had got up to 1924 when the
other side of the house was occupied
by a man and a woman. In a very
businesslike voice the man started off
by saying:
80 you are sure it's the same pair?"
"Oh. l cannot be mistaken" replied
the woman.
You saw them at Atlantic City in
April?'
"Yes."
"And then at a hotel in New York? 2"
"As l told you, and l know that they
jumped their board bill in both places.
l know that the supposed aunt borrow
ed money of two or three guests at the
hotel in Atlantic City and went away
leaving them unpaid. l have the
strongest suspicious that the girl is a
divorced wife and is being used as a
stool pigeon to pluck such fools as the
one who is sweet on her now. The
aunt's room is next to mine. and last
night | heard her saying something
about striking some one for a thou
sand dollars. She must have referred
to him. Yes, I'm sure they are a cou-
pie of sharpers.'
"And what about the fellow"
"What | know | got from Betty. and
she got it from another lady's maid.
Some one has found out that he is liy-
ing on the charity of an uncle and
hasn't got Il hundred dollars to his
name. though he is putting up the big
gest kind of "a 'front.'
well it's not our affair."" said the
man.
but it is in a way. Such deadbeats
ought to be exposed. The women will
no doubt jump their board bill here
swell let 'em jump. The landlord
must look out for himself. And I'd be
careful to say nothing TO other guests.
Come on. let's take a STROLL
While the above conversation had
been going on. and it was not at all
hurried. two frozen human beings sat
on the other side of the wall and heard