The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1937-01-15

where that king and his girl
friend have hid out"
Angry, terrified lest he be rec
ognized, Paul turns back to the
villa, thinking only of protection
behind its walls.
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY
(The characters and situa-
tions in this story are wholly
fictional and imaginary and
are not intended to portray
any actual persons or events
CHAPTER III
"But dearest" Ardath was say
ing, pouting prettily, "these are
ali people we know. There won't
be any strangers there" ,
al know" said Paul. ITS Just
that-that-oh, guess the truth
is | hate to run the gauntlet OF
the tourists in San Lorenzo. hate
to see them all swinging their
cameras ut me, to hear them jab-
bering, Iook-there he is! in hVe
languages.
He grinned ruefully. 81 suppose
it'll be all right, though, especial
" since it'll be fairly dark
"And anyway" said Ardath'
"they won't be at the Casino.
That, thank heaven, is too expen-
sive for the ordinary run of tour
list. Besides, the countess is eX-
pecting us. 1t would look a bit
boorish, if we turned her down at
the last minute"
81 suppose So" Reluctantly
Paul turned to go to his dressing
room and change to evening at
tire. Though / must say" ne
said, "the Countess di Marco Is
not precisely a lady for whose
good opinion | would lie awake
nights and worry"
"Why, Paul! She's nice" be-
gan Ardath, but Paul had gone
He undressed and bathed mood
| ily, and told himself that he must
not quarrel with Ardath = nc
must not, for he was all she had
and she was all he had. And q;
he told himself that, he stopped
midway in the act Of trowelinp
himself, and said, "Why, that's
absurd! We have everything -
freedom, our whole lives to dc
with as we wish"
And then he thought OF the
petty things that had come in to
limit that freedom in the sly
weeks that they had been at the
villa: the gaping, unendura6iS
nosy tourists who lurked outside
the gates with cameras to take
pictures of Ardath and himself
the buzz of comment that follow
ed them when they walked thru
the town OF appeared in any OF
the shops; the reporters who hat
logged their every footstep or
that trip to Milan fortnight ago
the remarks that he overheard
now and then in the town; the
feeling it all gave him of living IL
public, so to speak, Of being fol
lowed everywhere by the accu
mulated busybodyness of the
whole world.
He crossed to cabinet in thu
wall, took down a bottle and pour
ed a drink, to lift himself out Of
this depression. He had, he re
Elected, been using this remed,
| rather frequently of late. Oh
well, the tourist season would b.
over by and by. Or maybe, a
time went on, people would sim
ply get used to the idea of ar
ex-king being around and would
stop making such a fuss. He fin
ished his dressing and went to re-
join Ardath.
They drove down the road, spec
through the town and went to
the gimcrack gilt-and.stucco Co.
sino. Twilight had not yet deep
ened to night, and the Casinos
festoons of lights looked harsh
and garish against the soft dusk
Long rows of expensive cars were
parked by the entrance. Paul add.
ed his car to the rest and led
Ardath inside.
The Countess di Marco met
them in the vestibule. She was
small and pert, with black hail
and alert ewes. A decade 400 she
had been spoken of as petite;
now, as the years inexorably add.
ed successive increments of flesh
she was more than a little plump
In another decade she would be
openly and unashamedly fat.
"Darlings" she said extending
a hand to each. "I'm so glad you
are here. Reggie Van Thyme has
come, and he has the most scan.
dalous collection of songs for us.