The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-11-23


If unrecognized. Her oval eyes
were pale clear gray, cold, almost
sinister, and she wore her mass of
rich brown hair on top Of her head
and down to her heavy eyebrows.
Her mouth was straight and
sharply cut, but mobile and capa-
BILE Of relaxing into a charming
smile, and she had beautiful teeth.
The nose was short and emphatic,
the jawbone salient. It was, alto
gether. a disharmonic type, for the
head was long and the face short,
broad across the high cheekbones;
and her large light eyes set in her
small dark face produced a discon-
certing effect on sensitive people,
but more often fascinated them.
Clavering had been told that in
her California days she had pos
sessed superb bust, but long
years of unremitting work in
France and England had taken
toll Of her flesh and 1t had never
returned; she was very thin and
the squareness Of her frame was
emphasized by the strong uncom-
promising bones. But her feet
and her brown hands were long
and narrow, and the straight lines
Of the present fashion were very
becoming to her. She wore today
a gown Of dark red velvet trimmed
with brown fur and a touch Of gold
in the region OF the waist. It was
known that she got her clothes at
the best houses
The Inner Flame.
She was a curious mixture,
Clavering reflected, and not the
least contradictory thing about her
was the way in which her rather
sullen face could light up: exactly :
as IL some inner. flame leapt sud-
denly behind those uncanny eyes
and shed its light over the very
muscles Of her cheeks and under
her skin. The oldest OF her traits
was her apparent pleasure in
seeing q man comfortable while
she looked like a ramrod herself;
and she was the easiest Of mortals
to talk to when she was In the
right mood. She was rmorose at
times, but her favorites were
seldom inflicted with her moods,
and of all her .favorites Clavering
reigned supreme. This he knew
and took advantage of after
the fashion of his sex. He told
her all his troubles, his ambi-
tons, which he believed to be
futile-he had written plays which
ais own criticism had damned and
no eye but his own and Cora
Dwight's had ever seen-and she
refreshed and stimulated his mind
when his daily column must be
written and his brain was stag.
nant. :, She also knew OF his
secret quest Of the one woman
and had been the repository OF
several fleeing hopes. And
never for q moment had she
thought him saturnine or disil-
lusioned. Not she! Cora Dwight
had an extraordinary knowledge
Of men for woman to whom men
did not make love. But IL sha
had neither beauty nor allure she
had genius; and a father con.
lessor hardly knows more about
woman than a nurse about men.
Moreover, she had her arts, little
as men suspected it. Long ago
she had read an appraisement OF
Madame Recamier by Stainte-
Beuve: "She listens avec seduc.
tion." Cora had no intention of
practising SEDUCTION in any forms.
but she listened and she never
betrayed, and her reward was
that men sound and whole. ana
full Of mans inherent and tech.
meal pecularities, had confided IN
her. Altogether she was we'll
equipped for fiction.
She was listening now as Claw
ering told her Of his adventurous
meeting with Madame Zattiany, of
their subsequent conversations,
and of his doubts.
care you sure she is not play
ing part deliberately" she ask
ed. Having her little fun after