The Kenna record. (Kenna, Roosevelt County, N.M.) 190?-1924, 1912-11-22
CHAPTER
The VANISHING Portrait.

The Vanishing Portrait.
Evelyn Grayson, meeting me on the
old Boston Post Road, between Green
wich and Stamford, gave me a nses-
sage from her uncle. That is the
logical beginning of this story; though
to make everything quite clear from
the start 1t may be better to bark
back few months, to the day on
which Evelyn Grayson and l first met.
Then, as now, we we're each driving
our own car; she. great sixty horse
power machine, all glistening pale vel
low, and l, a compact six-cylinder
racer. of dull dusty gray. But we were
not on any such broad, roomy thor-
oughfare as the Boston Post Road. On
the contrary we were short-cutting
through a narrow, rough lane, beset
by stone walls and interrupted at in
tervals by a series of sharp and
treacherous angles.
/ know l shall never forget the mo-
mentary impression l received. Out
Of the golden sunlight, 1t seemed to
me, there had emerged suddenly a
tableau of Queen Titania ON a tOpaZ
throne-the fairest Queen Titania i'm
agitation ever conjured-and l. in my
mad, painting speed was about to
crash into the gauzy fabric of that
dream creation and rend 1t with
brutal, torturing onrush of relentless,
hard-driven nickel steel l take no
credit to myself for what did. Volt
ton was absent. My hands acted on
an impulse above and beyond all tardy
mental guidance. For just flashing
instant the gray nose of my car rose
before me, as in strenuous assault 1t
mounted half way to the coping of
the roadside wall. l felt my seat dart
away from beneath me, was conscious
of my body in swift, unsupported
aerial flight, and then-but 1t is idle
to attempt to set down the conglom.
crate sensations of that small fraction
Of a second. When / regained con
sciousness, Queen Titania was kneel
ing in the dust. of the lane beside me
Ia very distressed and anxious Queen
Titania, with wide, startled eyes, and
quiveringly sympathetic lips-and
about us we're a half dozen or more
of the vicinal country folk.
Between that meeting in mid-May
and this meeting on the old Boston
Post Road in mid-September, there
had been others, of course; for Queer
+ Titania, whose everyday name, as
have said, was Evelyn Grayson, wal
the niece and ward of my neares
neighbor, Mr.. Robert Cameron, a gen
tleman recently come to reside OF
what for century and more had beer
known as the old Townsbury Estate
extending for quite a mile along tn,
Connecticut shore of Long Islant
Sound In the neighborhood of Green
witch.
The Intervening four months ha,
witnessed the gradual growth of a
near an approach to intimacy between
Cameron and myself as was possible
considering the manner Of man tina
Cameron was. BY which statement
mean to imply naught to my neigh
boris discredit He was in all respect
admirable gentleman of education
and culture, widely Travelled, of exal
ed ideals and noble principles to whic
he gave rigid adherence. Butt wa
about to qualify this by deseribin
him as reserved and taciturn. l feal
though, to give a wrong impression
He was scarcely that. There wer
moments, however, when he was unr
sponsive, and he was never demonstr;
tive. He had more poise than an
man / know He allowed you to Sc
just so much of him, and no more. A
times he was almost stubbornly ret
cent And yet, In spite Of these qua
tiles, which appeared to be cultivate
rather than Inherent. he gave repeate
evidence of nature at once 80 sin
pie and kindly and sympathetic as
command both confidence and affe
ton.
To the progress of my intimac
with Evelyn there had been no sue
temperamentsl impeachment She wa
fearlessly outspoken. with frankneI
born of unspoiled innocence; bare
six weeks having elapsed between h,
graduation from the tiny French CO
vent of Sainte Barbe near Paris an
our perilous encounter in that co
tracted. treacherous, yet blessed lit
Connecticut l0ps. And abe possesse