The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-02-27

I f 2 was past 1 o'clock and Mir. H Magee with his four nyste- riolas companions stood before ss. the fire iu the office, each with an eager eye out for the progress of the hermit who was preparing the ta- ble beside them Through the Kindness of Quimby the board was resplendent with snowy IIae1-
 We may seem oyareager, com mented Professor Bolton. aI have no doubt we dos It is only natural. With nothing fo look forward to but the next meal, the human animal attaches I preposterpus importance to his feed ing We are In the same cases as the summer guests
 .Are we9's interrupted AEr. Magea- Have we nothing but the next meal 1 to look forward fos I think not. I 1 haven't I've come to value too highly the capacity for excitement of Ba1d- i pate Inn in December look forward to startling things expect, before the day fs out at least two gold 1aced Kings, an exiled poet and lord znRyor, l all armed with keys to Baldpate Inn and stories strange and u1cOnvinczng.s' 2 I Yo1r adventures of the last twenty E four hours 2 remarked the professor, smiling Wan1y, have led you to ezpect ]. tod much have made inquiries of l Quimby There are, aside from ais own, but seven keys in all to the va rsOus doors of Baldpate inn. Four are here represented It is hardly likely that the other three VIII send dele gates. and if they should you have but slim chance for kings and poets Even BaIdpate's capacity for excite nent, you see, is limited by the mum l Der of little steel keys which open it's l portals to exiles from the outside world. T am reminded of the words of the phiIos0pher
 l yVen, Peters, ola top, broke in AGr. Bland in robust tones, isn't she nearly of the dres s.s
 Now see bere :, said the hermit, set l ting down the RrTnful of dishes with l which he had entered the office, TT can't be hurried. I'm all upset, as it is T can't cook to please womenI don.t pretend td,
 ly, that I shall consider yd1r lunch con perfect 7,
 They get more fauItinding as they get older, fepIied bGr. Peters unsal- lantly, gIanezng at the other woman. Mrs. Norton glared.
 Meaning me, suppose she rasp- i ed Well, don't worry [ ain't going to find anything wrong 's
 T ain't asking the impossible,' Z re- sponded Mr. Peters T afn.t asking you not to find anything wrong. Pm just asking you not to mention it when yotli do. = He retired to the l Kitchen.
 Mrs- Norton caressed her puffs lov- ingIy.
 ssWkat that man needs, she said,
 is a woman's guiding hand. He's i lived alone too long. I'd like to have eha-ge Of him for awhile. When I was girl was mighty popular I had lot of aamirers.,'
 No one could possibly doubt that 2 MT AIagee assured her
 Then Norton came along,'' she went on, Fewarding Magee with a smile, and said he wanted to make me hap I py. So I thought I'd let him try. al l/ways brought him up sharp. Your great desire I told him, is to make me happy. I'd keep on the job if I was your And he did, to the day of his death. A perfectly lovely man, though careless in money matters. If he hadn't had that ailing I wouldn't 5es'-
 Miss Norton, her cheeks flushed,
 Mamma. these gentlemen can't be at all interested 2 Deftly she turned the conversation to generalities.
 Mfr Peters at last seated the winter guests of Baldpate inn and opened his luncheon with soup which he claim ed to have wrested from can. This news drew from Professor Bolton a learned discourse on the timed aids to the hermit of today. He pictured the seeker for solitude setting out for desert isle with canned foods for
 his body and canned music for his soul. Robinson Crusoe,v he said,
 should be rewritten with a can open
 CT in the leading role.' Mrs. Norton
 gave the talk more practical turn by
 bringing up the topic of ptomaine poi soning.
 While the conversation drifted on AIr. Magee pondered in silence the
 Eeird mesh in which he had become involved. What did it all mean2 What brought these people to .BaIdpate Christmas week? His eyes sought the great safe back of the desk and stay ed there a long time. In that safe, he xrae nrf4s, law f1sa rearvaz. r., +51ia ara