The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1922-08-19
The
Gray Woman


s. 1922. by Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate
she was the Gray Woman to all OF
CrestvieW, save and except the post.
man, and even he had fallen into
thinking Of her merely as No. 13 ElIet
place. She ran her own errands. nc
matter what the weather, paid cash al
ways and took home her purchases
FURTHER, she did not go to any church
nor belong to anytbing-clubs, so.
cieties, nor guilds. Crestview abound.
ed In all three, Notwithstanding it had
q bare twenty-five hundred Inhabitants.
IL was, you see, largely residential,
the select DRAWINGS Of aspiration
through the sieve g. narrow means
Consequently the Gray Woman had
her uses-she provided a fine subject
FOR speculation at the several and
sundry conclaves Of the elect and the
near-elect.
Crestview had waited with toleran
Impotence for her to establish a
Dank account and secure a sitting in
n OF the three churches. After
three months she had done neither,
SO 1t felt justified in looking
at her inquiringly, If not rather
askance. Then 1t became known
that she had bought No. 13. the old
Wilmot place, almost the last vestige
of the original settlement. and was APP
parently content, if not indeed pleased,
with its dingy solidity. No touch of
fresh paint nor any sort Of planting
was visible throughout the first year.
her environment quite matched
her personal grayness-Of haff, eyes,
and costumes. Her skin was not gray
rather of a healthy ~paleness, with a
feminiscence of scarlet in the lips.
Her personality was not exactly for
bidding. but held an intangible some
thing that made approach difficult.
Thus except for the tradesfolk, to
whom she was always an ideal u.s.
toner, not ten of the residents had
spoken with her at the end Of the first
year. Those she had answered civilly,
smiled away their suggestions of
church and civic affairs-else muir
INJURED: maybe LATER" and slipped
away. Apparently she had two pas
siOnS-fOr books and walking. Pack
ages of new and old literature came
to her at least fortnightly when she
went tramping accompanied only by
Mazda, her big wOlf-dog, there was al
most always a book, along with a light
lunch in the bag slung over her shoul-
der.
She seemed not alien, but detached.
Which was distinctly ~aggravating, you
must admit. What right had she thus
to isolate herself from an especially
choice community?
Crestview began asking that early
In the second year. 1t had been ask
ing, from the very first, how and why
the Gray Woman had managed to
withdraw black Calllne, queen Of cooks
and laundresses, from general circula-
ton, then letting her idle away three
parts Of her time.
Through CalIine, books were sent to
the library with only the message:
'MIistis say you kin have all OBJ desc
eff you wants UNI. Mis.is? Cose l calls
her mistis. l knows quality white folks
when l ketches up wild UNI. Nom, she
amt never tole me ter mind my own
business. OATS part oh raisin', eff you
has de right sort"
Thus a concrete grievance to back
up the intangible one. Another dawned
with open weather-in new paint, new
paintings, general Identification Of the
old place. Yet wholly apart flOm the
improvement society that dotted
sending orders zen bloc" for the
town, this rampant individualism bore
irritating fruit. in that by midsummer
The sometime Wilmot place was easily
the loveliest on the whole long street.
So lovely, indeed, motorists often
or slowed down to look at it
and occasionally to be rewarded
handfuls of choice bloom. Calline
brought the flowers to the car
side. their donor smiling in ambush
a thin screen Of new vines.
Things happen i'm odd sequence. The
postmaster fell i'll. by consequence his
laughter Samantha. just home from
vassar, played substitute, with result
If finding u that the gray woman's
mail came addressed to Mrs. E.
smith," Also that none of 1t ever bore
/ return address. That looked bad
'or Mrs. Il. Smith-distinctly sus-
)icious-distinctly suspicious. said the
Civic Center. where Samantha's dis
,overy was duly discussed. Next 1t
anne to light that when she went away
" the morning train IT was to leave
t at the next station where a motor
vas in waiting. Since nobody had
.ver seer her come home, the reason
BILE deduction was that the return
vas at midnight or later. Such go
ngs on and comings back were dis
inctly bad form.
It was bruited out at the Country
Tub that detectives ought to be called
but the men laughed down the sug-
estion, even saying: mo use; at least
Of you women can beat them hol-