Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-28
II Summer Colony S}my-BY BOOTH HARRINGTON

she came to the beach the Neck ignored her
% hard that 1t almost choked in q large. stimuli
taneous gasp.
She got out Of q limousine. already IN her
bathing suit, with Orlando and o maid dressed
Nike tine ones you see on the stage. and six
little white. fuzzy dogs; and this procession,
with the chauffeur coming along to keep the
dogs In line, walked down across the beach
10 the edge Of the surf, while Marys Neck was
giving the gasp I've just mentioned. One of
the little dogs stopped to take an interest in
our spaniel, Pluto, right by me, and when
shooed him away Nine Palma caught him up
In her arms and kissed him spang on the
mouth so got a good look at her.
She was kind Of surprising-you might say
startiing-not q bit like anybody else. She
had the brightest big black eyes ever saw,
and the most black hair wound around her
head. and she was so handsome it kind Of
made you nervous. She was pretty tall, with
almost too much figure as you might say, and
her complexion seemed to be almost too white
maybe because nearly all of it was on view.
which is too striking. you might say, in o large
person. She was wearing some kind Of . bright
green jersey, and besides that, she had on
highheeled. bright green rubber slippers and
. bright red silk robe was blowing back from
her on the wind.
She kissed the little fuzzy dog about four
more times right on the mouth then she ran
on down to the foamy edge Of the water and
gave Orlando the dog and her cloak to hold
while the maid fixed black bathing cap on her
head. She went into the surf about the way
other people do took dives through o couple
OF waves. came out. the maid rubbed her q
while with some big towels, Orlando put her
cloak on her shoulders and the procession
trotted up across the beach, got into her lin
CUISINE and drove away. Until then, from the
time it had arrived, don't believe anybody on
the beach, except the children, had spoken
hntt no harzZ i0U vuaS tn
multuous once it did break out. I couldn't see,
though. why the ladieS-Mrs. Bullfnch espe-
cialy-Seemed to feel that this episode con-
stituted another deliberate affront to MaryS
Neck: Nine. Palma certainly had O right to
20 in batting If she wanted to and she didn't
wear any particular amount less costume than
good many others. So asked Mrs Bullfinch
about tt-she was frowning and breathing hard,
with her lips all pinched up.
Absolutely hardened insolence," she told
me- looking at me as If she thought there was
something pretty wrong about me for not
knowing. Exhibiting herself before us in that
manner after sending the outrageous mes
sage she did-yes. and daring to haunt her
disreputable little Italian tenor, Orlando, right
in our faces!" Then she went on getting more
severe: Has Mrs. Massey heard that you're
going around defending Mime. Palma, Mr..
Massey"
That made me a little huify and I said I
wasn't defending Nine. Palma and wasn't even
going around. which, Of course didn't do me
any good, especially with Mrs. Bulidnch. The
next day, when Nine. Palma upset the beach
again in about the same way, Mrs. Bullfinch
alluded to me as the "knight-defender and
champion" but not with any pleasantness in
how she said it; and the day after that she
asked me, kind OF poisonously. calling across
Mrs. Massey to do il, IL didn't wish could
sing tenor in Italian and be named Orlando.
Mr.. Bullfinch took the same position she did
about it; he looked kind Of pompus and moral
and said he didn't see how anybody could
stand up for an American woman like this
Fanny Palmer when she behaved as she did in
the presence Of her fellow countrywomen. For
my part" he said ct don't like it; what's
more. resent 1t ON Mrs. Bullnnch's account"
Everybody seemed to feel he'd made mighty
eTeditabie statement Of the rights Of the case
and deserved o good deal Of praise for 1t, so
he went ali around to the different families
and groups Of people. saying the same thing
over and getting himself pretty comfortably
pufnad up and self-satished-a good deal at
my expense might say, because he'd generally
begin his quotation of himself with q preface
'I told Massey" he'd begin. II told Massey, as
I'd tell any one else that attempted to excuse
her. don't like it ON my own account and
resent It on my wife'sr That's what told
Massey"
So sou see. wss already getting to be kind
OF the goat. you might call it; and one of the
queereSt things about it was that this Orlando
wasn't italian at all-he wasn't even a
tenor. The very evening Of the day that Mr.
Bullfinch gathered SO much credit over what
he'd told Massey I was out seeing how the
green apples were coming on in the little
orchard that's in the back yard of our cot
tage, when noticed Orlando looking over the
hedge. thought it wouldn't be any harm to
nod to him and, as soon as did, he sur
prised me considerably.
Look here" he said, and his voice GER
tain.y wasn't any Italians. Aren't you from
Logans-'illc. H.? Weren't you president of the
Light q Power Co. out there about Is years
ago."