The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-01-07


tain air and his head empty Of
woman.
Mary looked hack once at the
golden-brown lake. set like a
jcwel In its basket OF fragrant
trees. and wondered IL she would
see 1T again with the same eyes.
She was both resentfnl and un-
easy, although she still was I'M
able to guess what harm could
come Of this interview. II Hob
enhauer wanted her to go to
Washington she could refuse, and
he had long since lost his old
magnetic power over her.
In the Flivver
But as tho Fcrd bumped down
the steep road between the woods
she felt less like Mary Ogden
every moment those
rnists of Illusion to withdraw
from practical brain re-
turning to the heights where
they belonged she won.
dered how she could have dared
to be so untbinkingly happy
the sport of the cynical
gods? sentimental folly
that she had called exaltation?
After all, After all!
Could she recapture that mood
when she returned? Certainly,
whatever this man wanted of her,
It would be hard facts not illusions,
ne would invite her to deal with.
Even when he had been the most
passionate of lovers, his brain
had always seemed to stand aloof,
luminous and factual. He had
not an Illusion. He saw life as
It was, and although his manners
were\ suave and polished, and his
voice the most beautiful she had
ever heard, he could be brutally
direct when it suited his purpose
For a moment she hated him as
ardently as, she had for time
after he left hoe.
They descended into lower and
lower attitudes until the air grew
intensely hot. physically depress-
ing after the cold wine OF the
mountains; finally ten minutes
ahead of time. they drove into
the doubly depressing village Of
Huntersville. 1t was no uglier
thon thousands OF other villages
and small towns that look as
IL built to demonstrate the Ameri-
can contempt for beauty, but the
fact mitigated nothing to eyes
accustomed to the picturesqueness
of mountain villages in Europe.
where the very roofs are artistic
and the peasants have the grace
to wear the dress of their an
cestors.
There were few farms in the
valley, but II Huntersville had
not been a junction of sorts, 1t
is doubtful il it would have con-
sisted Of anything but general
store" now that the saloons were
closed. There was one long
crooked street, with the hotel at
one end, the store at the other
containing the post office. and
q church, shops for automobile
supplies, two garages, drug
store, and a candy store; eight
Or ten cottages filled the inter
stices. Men were working in the
fields, but those in Huntersville
proper seemed to be exhausted
with loafing. Campers going in
and out of the woods needing
shelter for a night, and people
demanding meals between trains.
kept the disma! looking hotel
opcr and reasonably clean.
The situation was very beaut.-
Hul, for the mountains rose be-
hind and there was a brawling
stream.
A Lovely View
Mr.. Dinwiddie having ascer-
tained that Mr." Hohenhauer
had received his message and
gone for a walk, leaving word
he would return at 10 o'clock,
Mary went into the hotel parlor
to wait for him. The room
was seldom used, patrons, local
and otherwise, preferring the
Lar Of happy memories, and it
smelled musty. She opened the
windows and glanced about
distastefully. The walls were
covered with a faded yellow paper,
torn in places. and the ceiling was
smoked and fly-specked. The
worn thin carpet seemed to have
been chosen for its resemblance to
turtle soup squirming with yer.
micelli. over the pine mantel,
painted yellow, were the newt
able antlers, and on a marble
topped table were badly executed
water lilies under a glass dome.
The furniture was horsehair, and
she wondered how she and the
Austrian statesman were to pre-
serve their dignity on the slippery
surface. Then she heard His voice
in the hall as he stopped to speak
to Mr.. Dinwiddie, and she glanced
out onrionalY