Evening star., 1934-11-04

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little party of four washingtonians turned
their automobile, with headlights doing
the best they could to pierce the dark
mist and crossed the Key Bridge into
Virginia.
They were four men and it was easy to tell
from their eager faces, If anybody had been
there to see, that they had goal, and an
interesting one.
On they went through the deeper blackness
of the night, between plowed fields, over wooded
hills for a full hour and a half or more. Oc-
casionaIly the automobile would stop by the
roadside in some particularly sable shadow Of
the arching forest and all four would pile out
to stretch their legs. stamping their feet TO
restore a measure of temporary warmth 70 their
shivering bodies
Then they would resume their places in the
car and continue on their way as rapidly
the blackness of the woods and the twists Of
the road would permit. As they came nearer
to the Blue Ridge Mountains, now no longer
blue, but enshrouded in the dark mystery Of
the night, their cheerfulness became more
apparent.
It might have been an hour and half or
perhaps two hours when they turned of the
main highway and the gravel road they fol-
lowed brought them to little country general
store on the counter Of which burned dimly a
lamp, shedding q mere suggestion OF light out
into the night. One of the four in the auto
mobile stepped out. He stood for a minute
store. Here there was conversation In low
tones with the storekeeper, who seemed to
give some minute directions and suggest some
cabaliStic signs
1T WAS $50 O'Clock at night. Again the
journey of the four was resumed. This time
they turned of even the gravel road and pro-
ceeded on a dirt country road closely bordered
by worm fences going directly toward the
mountains which now rose forbiddingly like
dark impossible wall before them A few miles
of this and they came to a lighted lantern
standing by itself beside an old wooden gate.
Get out an open the gate, you bozo," said
the driver good naturedly to the man beside
him, land be sure to shut it again, and don't
disturb that lantern"
Not soul was in sight as they pulled
through the old gateway into an apparently
limitiess field of stubble-or was it cut-over
hay?-for it was so dark nobody could be sure.
Finally the car came to another stop. BY this
time it was raining steady, cold drizzle.
Away ahead they could see the merest sug-
gestion of a wagon road, as far as their head
lights pierced, and some other automobile
tracks, indicating that others had passed that
way not long ago.
Their former methods for restoring warmth
and cheer to their cramped and shivering
frames were employed and they went on. Sud-
denly, out of the night, there loomed what
appeared to be an old barn, from which a thin
ray of light issued from q door crack The
structure looked as If it had not been used
for ages.
''Well we have arrived" said the pilot-drlver,
and the grin on his expectant face was re-
hected in the dim light upon the faces of the
other three. Parking their car in the mud and
ram, beside numerous others in the field near
Tie parn-automobiles that could not be seen
20 feet away when their lights had been turned
off, they all were-they followed their leader
toward that glimmer of light coming from the
ancient barn. Several times the leader raped
in q peculiar manner upon the old barn door.
He had quite evidently given the proper signal
to some one inside, because in a few moments
the door was cracked and few words between
the man inside and the one outside were salts
factory and the door was swung open on its
rusty creaking hinges sufficiently to permit the
entrance Of the four Washington travellers from
the blackness and rain outside. They were
permitted to enter only one by one and ticket
of admission was required from each.
INSIDE all was different! Lanterns were
eyerywhere-upstairs and down-while in
the largest room there was bright light from
hanging lamps that reflected the brilliance from
overhead almost brightly as would electric
bulbs of high power. The barn was full of
many men-farm boys and their elders, city
men, some evidently sports from their con-
idence and dress, and others, like the four
travellers, merely out for q good time. On all
faces there was that eager look Of expectation
brilliantly lighted room, where already some of
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