, 1922-08-03
The
Gray Woman
By MARTHA M. WILLIAMS


She vas 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 Ellet
place. She ran her wv errands, no
matter what the weather, paid cash al
ways and took home her purchases.
Further, she did not go to any church,
nor belong to anything-clubs. So
c%ieties, nor guilds. Crestview abound
ed In all three, Notwithstanding it had
a bare twenty-five hundred inhabitants
1t was, you see. largely residential,
the select DRAWINGS of aspiration
through the sieve of narrow means.
Consequently the Gray Woman had
her uses-she provided n fine subject
for speculation at the several and
sundry conclaves of the elect and the
near-elect.
Crestview had waited with tolerant
impatience for her to establish n
bank account and secure n sitting in
n of the three churches. After
three months she had done neither,
so it felt justified in looking
at her i~nquiringly, If not rather
askance. Then it became known
that she had bought No. 10. 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.
Thus her environment quite matched
har. targ,VnI .r.n,,.., 90 B,F. 100
and costumes. Her skin was not gray
rather Of a healthy palenesS, with "A
reminiscence 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 Gus
toner, not ten of the residents had
spoken with her at the end of the first
year. Those she had answered civilly,
but 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 Il book, along with n light
lunch in the bag slung over her Shout
der.
She seemed not alien, but detached.
Which was distinctly a%ggravating, you
must admit. What right had she thus
to isolate herself from an especially
choice community?
Crestview began asking that early
in the second ear 1t had been ask
ing, from the very first, how and why
the Gray Woman had managed to
withdraw black Calline, queen of cooks
and laundresses, from general circula-
ton. then letting her idle away three
parts of her time.
Through Calline, books were sent to
the library with only the message:
'Mlstis say you kin have all OBJ dese
eff you wants UNI. Mistis? COSe l calls
her mistis. l knows quality white folks
when | ketches up wild um. Nom, she
amt never tole me ter mind my own
business. OATS part OBJ 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 Disqualification of the
old place. Yet wholly apart from the
village Improvement society that dotted
on sending orders zen bloc for the
town, this rampant indiyiduallsm 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
stopped or slowed down to look at 1t
and occasionally to be rewarded
with handfuls of choice bloom. Calline
always brought the flowers to the car
side, their donor smiling in ambush
a thin screen Of new vines.
Things happen In odd sequence. The
postmaster fell III. by consequence his
daughter Samantha, just home from
Vassar, played substitute. with result
of finding mi that the gray woman's
mail came addressed to Mrs. l..
Also that nom of IT ever bore
a return address. That looked bad
for Mrs. +. Smith-dlstinctly sus-
piclous-distinctly suspicious, said the
Civic Center. where %Samnntha's dis
covery was duly discussed. Next It
to light ,hat when she went away
by the morning train It was to leave
1t at the next station where a motor
WINS In waiting. Since nobody had
ever seen her come home, the reason
able deduction was that the return
was at midnight or later, Such GO
ings ON and comings back were dis
bad form.
II vas brulted out NJ the Country
club that detectives ought to be called
In. but the men laughed down the sug
g%estlon, even saying NO use AT lenst
ten Of you women can beat them hol-
low" That might have mndc hard
feeling buf inst fhau Samantha euruuu