The Washington herald., 1920-12-23
(cOntlnued from Yesterday.l

The rear OF the cabin merged into
the cave. There the hermit cooked
his meals on a rude stone hearth.
With infinite patience and an old
axe he had chopped natural shelves
In the rocky walls. On them stood
his stores OF -four. bacon, lard, tall
cum powder. kerosene, baking pow
der. soda mint tablets, pepper. salt
and Olivo-Cremo Emulsion for chaps
and roughness of the hands and
face.
The hermit had hermited there for
ten years. He was an asset of the
Viewpoint Inn. To its guests he
was second in interest only to the
Mysterious Echo in the Haunted
Glen. And the Lovers Leap beat
him only a few. inches. fiat-footed.
He was known far (but not very
wide. on account of the topography
as a scholar of brilliant intellect
who had forsworn the world be-
cause he had been Tilted in a love
affair. Every Saturday night the
Viewpoint Inn sent to him surrepti-
tiously a basket of provisions. He
never left the immediate outskirts
Of his hermitage. Guests of the
inn who visited him said his store
Of knowledge, wit and scintillating
philosophy were simply wonderful,
YOU know. That summer the View
point Inn was crowded with guests.
So, on Saturday nights, there were
extra cans of tomatoes, and sirloin
steak. instead of rounds" in the
herunit's basket.
Now you have the material allega-
tions In the case. So. make way for
Romanee.
Evidently the hermit expected a
visitor, He carefully combed his
long hEir and parted his apostolic
beard When the ninety-eight-cent
aiarm-elock on a stone shelf an
nouncsd the hour OF five he picked
- his gunny-sacking skirts, brush
ed them carefully, gathered an
oakea staff. and strolled slowly into
the thick woods that surrounded
the hermitage.
He had not long to wait. Up the
faint pathway. slippery with its car
pet Of pine needles, toiled Beatrix.
youngest and fairest of the famous
Trenholme sisters. She was all in
blue from hat to canvas pumps.
varying in tint from the shade of
the tinkle of a bfuebell at daybreak
on a spring Saturday to a deep hue
of a Monday morning at nine when
the washsrwoman has failed to
show UP.
Beatrix dug her cerulean parasol
deep into the pine needles and
sighed. The hermit. on the q. t..
removed grass burr from the ankle
of one ssndalled foot with the big
toe of his other one. She blued-
and almost starched and ironed him
with her cobalt eyes.
TT must be so nice" she said in
little, tremulous gasps, ito be a her
nit. and have ladies climb noun
tains to talk to you
The hermit folded his arms and
leaned against a tree. Beatrix, with
a sigh, settled down upon the mat
OF pine needles Nike a bluebird upon
her nest The hermit followed suit
drawing his feet rather awkwardly
under his gunny-sacking.
1T must be nice to be a noun
tain" said he, with ponderous light
ness, "and have angels in blue climt
up you instead Of flying over you
Mamma had neuralgia" said
Beatrix, "and went to bed, or
couldn't have come. It's dreadfully
hot at that horrid old inn. But we
hadn't the money to go anywhere
else this ummer."
Last night" said the hermit, y
climbed to the top of that big rock
above US / could see the lights OF
the: inn and hear a strain or two OF
the music when the wind was right
i imagined you moving gracefully n
the arms of others to the dreamy
music of the waltz amid the fras-
rance of flowers Think how lonely
I must have been"
The youngest, handsomest. and
poorest of the famous Trenholms
sisters sighed
You haven't quite hit it," shs
said, plaintively, II was movinu
gracefully at the arms of another
Mamma had one of her periodical
attacks of rheumatism In both ei'
bows and shoulders, and ] had q
rub them for an hour with that hor-
rid old liniment.. I hope you didn''
think that smelled like flowers. You
know, there were some West Point
boys and a yacht load of young men
from the city at last evenings
weekly dance. I've known mamma
to sit by an open window for three
hours with one-half of her register
ing IS degrees and the other half
frost-bitten, and never sneeZe once,
But Just let a bunch of ineligibles
come around where 1 am, and she'll
begin to swell at the knuckles and
shrek with pain. And / have to
take her to her room and rub her
arms. To see mamma dressed you'd
be surprised to know the number
of square inches of surface there
are to her arms. I think it must
be delightful to be a hermit. That
ezssock-or gabardine, isn't it,
that you wear is so becoming. Do
You make it-or them-of course
you must have changes-yourself!
and what q blessed relief ID must
Be to wear sandals instead of shoes!
Think how we must suffer-no mat
tkr how small I buy my shoes they
always pinch my toes. oh, why
can't there be lady hermits, toor'
. The beautifullest and most adoles-
cent Trenholme sister extended two
Aender blue ankles that ended in
ewo enormous blue silk bows that
simost concealed two fairy Oxfords
also of one of the forty-seven