| Show I 1 L u OF EV I 1 L by OCTAVUS ROY COHEN 0 N 0 OCTAVUS ROY COHEN COHEM SERVICE I 1 3 CHAPTER I 1 I 1 the morning was pleasantly cool and the bed was comfortable so that when the first knock sounded on the oak panels of the door kay forrest burrowed more deeply into the pillows pressed her young body closer against the mattress and sleepily tried to ignore the suttons sum summons Tons for a brief ecstatic moment the girl dropped off again into a deep sleep but this time the knock at the door was more insistent and a womans comans voice came to her determined ter mined but carefully subdued so that the other members of the household would not be disturbed it was miss maynards maynardi Mayn ards voice and somehow perfectly modulated as it was one could not hear that voice and believe that miss maynard ever failed of having her way this time she said five kay kay forrest threw oft off the sheet which covered her she called to the unseen person all right miss maynard ill be right down she walked across the room in her bare feet poured water from an ancient china pitcher into an equally ancient washbowl wash bowl dipped her hands in the crystal fluid splashed water plentifully on her face laved caved slender throat and soft white shoulders shivered and finally succeeded in opening wide her sleep laden eyes she sat on a chair a dignified old chair upholstered in red and drew silk stockings over firm young legs she slipped her feet into shoes ridiculously small then she walked to the window and for just a few moments stood looking down upon the haze which hung over the gardens cathedral gardens at dawn gray shot through with crimson and yellow and the delicate white of young youna blossoms cypress trees with brownish gray trunks rising from lagoons of onyx overhead a canopy of gray spanish moss casting deep shadows it was very black there under the cypress trees black as midnight save where here and there the girls keen young eyes could discern a splash of brilliance the brilliance of subtropical sub tropical flowers beyond the gardens lay the grim waste which was called little moccasin swamp ugly and forbidding yet from that waste these gardens had been claimed gardens of such exquisite beauty that the girl at the upstairs window forgot that she had abeen een sleepy forgot that her whole byl liin nineteen lin eteen years of life had been spent within six miles of this spot forgot everything save that here nature and man had collaborated to produce a place of such exquisite beauty that it was always new and always overwhelming reluctantly kay moved away from the window A minute later clad in a simple dress of alighi light blue she tiptoed into the hal hallway and down the steps miss chri christine maynard was waiting in the dining room miss maynard said the coffees ready kay and well have to hurry kay glanced at her companion over the rim of her coffee cup miss maynard now well she pretty somehow you had to think of her as efficient just that thirty eight and miss maynard admitted it honestly and somewhat defiantly immaculately tailored even at this absurdly young hour black hair meticulously arranged light tweed suit seeming as though just to have escaped from the pressing iron brown eyes cool and observing voice sharp but kindly that was christine maynard of new york christine maynard spinster who was by profession an art photographer and by nature a thwarted mother christine maynard who was spending weeks at cathedral gardens making photographic studies they were utterly different these two kay just half miss maynards maynardi Mayn ards age possessing a buoyancy and freshness and vivid beauty which miss maynard lacked and envied but then kay envied the older olde r woman her poise her certainty her assured sophistication and between them there was this in common that beauty such beauty as lay just beyond the door overpowered them that they could look at each other with the certain knowledge that another pair of eyes was seeing what theirs was seeing that another brain was translating it into the same emotional reaction they walked from the house to the edge of what had once been part of the swamp kay forrest helping miss maynard with her bulky photographic equipment this was stowed in half of the middle seat of a dun colored bateau which was hitched informally to an oak post with a bit of thin rope miss maynard sat with her camera on this seat scat and relaxed after a fash ion against the high back dating back before kays birth the south had been blessed with spots pots of beauty so outstanding as to place them on a plane above mere loveliness there was the famous azalea trail of mobile and certain places in the coastal country of south carolina and georgia where nature had concentrated its generosity ero sity and these spots came to be known as gardens though some of them extended for miles and some were reckoned in acres in most instances instance i nature had begun the work by providing a luxury of bloom and color more intense than average then man had developed and organized this beauty where hundreds of bushes blazed with a riot of color thousands more had been planted the work had been done artistic artisti aUy caDy so that there were breathtaking breath taking vistas of blossoms there were gardens which were formal and some which were informal all were astonishingly unbelievably beautiful and years ago the first tourists returning from winter vacations in in florida had discovered these places which southerners had taken for granted the fame of the various gardens spread and became national then international good roads were built so that the gardens could be visited comfortably railroads inaugurated excursions during the season of greatest floral perfection fec tion old families fam lies responded to the sudden popularity of their places by cultivating them with wit greater care and expertness and by charging admission fees to strangers and it was this custom which had given one woman a vision beyond any other vision which the south had known to ruth hamilton had come the idea of snatching from the gray waste of the swamp a few hundred acres and of creating beauty where there had been only grim ugliness the work had been long and arduous but this spring cathedral gardens had become a new shrine today as on every other day kay forrest could not believe that this had recently been like the rest of little moccasin swamp dreary and menacing the underbrush had been cleared away the water was unblemished by drift and here and there through the vaulted arches she could see islands ablaze with indian azalea each tiny island was a living flame of color rich red and pink and magenta there were no leaves to be seen merely a welter of color splotching splotch ing the gray and black of cypress and moss and water in this hushed hour the place was unearthly and to have conversed would have seemed sacrilege so miss maynard did not speak until they approached an island near the edge of the gardens an island larger than the rest an island rising from the water and rioting with color then miss maynard said well stop here the bateau nosed into the bank and miss maynard stepped out carrying her photographic equipment the older woman was quietly efficient she critically surveyed the spot she had chosen scrutinized the light sifting through the gray moss expertly appraising camera angles and backgrounds observing the rich magnificence of azalea bushes and noting with approval a great live oak rising majestically from the middle m adl of the island she said this de will w iu do 0 kay come along kay forrest helped she offered no comment but watched miss maynard as the camera was set up at a proper vantage spot and while miss maynard was experimenting with camera and tripod and lens kay forrest walked to the waters edge and stared into the infinite beauty she hear miss maynard approach and she was startled by the touch of miss maynards maynardi Mayn ards hand on her shoulder miss maynard said it gets you it kay the girl smiled always youre a peculiar little thing because I 1 love this perhaps you were raised in beauregard county youve known these swamps all your life but not as they are now ohl I 1 reckon it seems crazy but ive always wondered why somebody else understand how lovely the swamp could be and now someone has miss maynards maynardi Mayn ards eyes twinkled 1 I dont suppose barney hamilton has anything to do with this joy of yours has he kays eyes crinkled at the corners barneys barneis Bar pretty swell I 1 like being teased about him you should hes rather gone off the deep end about you really what do you think im scared to say kay touched the hand of the older woman whatever it is miss maynard I 1 cant help being happy I 1 suppose well I 1 suppose ive just discovered what fun it is to be alive and I 1 enjoy posing for you too 1 I see dryly you merely responded to the summons of art you left your home in beverly to uplift the rotogravure sections of newspapers miss maynards maynardi Mayn ards eyes had a gentle faraway look listen child keep what youve got make the most of it of this natural beauty of your youth of barney there I 1 go talking like a silly sentimental old maid miss maynard turned away her voice was impersonal again professional im going to take two or three shots by that live oak yonder better get your clothes off easily naturally aUy without embarrassment ras or false modesty the girl removed dress and slip and shoes and stockings she stood forth in the dawn firm and young and beautiful her youthful figure touched by the first rays of the sun she said youre sure my face will never show in these pictures miss maynard na rd dont be absurd im using you as part of the background silhouettes she walked with the girl to the ancient oak she posed kay and A S IN binl 1 dont you git up we aint SO goin m to see bothin draped her with chiffon she said id like to be young again kay and have your figure she peered through the lens of her camera and said perfect ill get two or three good shots here then well try some near that big azalea bush over yonder by the black gum suddenly she smiled youre an interesting person kay farrest youre as free and natural and the young girl answered answered d 1 I dont feel embarrassed miss maynard out here this way she groped for words it sort of seems the right thing it is said miss maynard and then almost curtly take your pose now right hold it 0 0 0 mr jefferson butler was sleeping his bony elongated figure covered informally by a patchwork quilt which made no pretensions to cleanliness jeffs bed had been a thing of beauty in the days of its youth or so jeff considered it had been white then white enamel and there were curlicues of iron at the head and foot and four brass balls marking the corners three of these brass decorations had long since disappeared and the white enamel had been chipped so that the iron bedstead now was a mass of ugly black scabs jeff grumbled grunted tossed and finally opened weak gray eyes upon a world of gray framed in the window was vas the mustached countenance of mr clem ross a man diminutive of stature and of intelligence beyond clems face was a brief vista of big moccasin swamp a miasmatic blanket hovering over it chilling the air and rendering jeffs patchwork quilt more than usually seductive clem spoke again his beady eyes eager its most daylight jeff dont you git up we aint goin to see no nothing thin remembrance came to mr butler and he eased his long figure out ot of the bed jeffs home in big moccasin swamp was considerably more than ever so humble it contained five rooms and was weatherproof save when the weather was inclement on the dogtrot stood a rickety table and five chairs in the corner was a washtub which was used by a visiting colored woman on such rare occasions as mr butler decided that his wardrobe needed cleansing two pigs snored happily near the back steps and chickens roosted on the chairs an underfed and mournful hound dog slouched forward to greet his master tail wagging warily in the dim light of early morning mr butler could see the borders of his estate ile he could see the scraggly cotton patch as yet not planted and the brief field which would if he happened to get around to it produce corn during the coming summer there was the truck patch too wherein jeff was inclined to raise greens and turnips and potatoes and beyond the truck patch through an opening in the pines he could see willow creek which was an undignified tributary to the al most as undignified cutbill river clem ross said again we sho bettor better hurry aff and mr butler swung off in a southerly direction his long strides compelling the smaller man to drop into a half trot in order to keep pace so that clem said complainingly well there aint that much hurry you reckon kay forrest will be there he inquired anxiously jeff cast a weather wise eye skyward ashes sho to be how come you know cause the sunu be out in a few minutes kay an that female pitcher taker always go out right after sunup sun up I 1 found out about them accidental one macmin lawnin when I 1 got to work too early clems weak eyes blinked but kay she dont really take off all her clothes does she see Sp osin the folks in beverly was to know about it jeff whistled be hell to pay sho aint you tru thin endorsed clem jeff butler could not long remain silent he said beauregard county was a quiet god fearin place before ruth hamilton come down from new an had them gardens sho was 1 I never figured out what got into her doin a lot of work pretty in up a swamp money sneered jeff she craved to make money then his eyes lighted with interest it cost her a whole slew of cash to git things goin but ashes makin plenty now amm amm hmm must be thee hun wed ded tourists in beverly then he added virtuously thas ru inin the town an our young folks straight to hell jeff was in thorough agreement he even elaborated upon the theme he said 1 I knowel ruth hamilton when she was knee high to a drop of rain kid and it never sed me when she married that rich feller from new he died he sho did left her with them two children folks tell that they was rich but the depression guint them so she come back to beverly an put her money into fixin up them gardens that was all the property her ol 01 man left her clem said kind of nice jeff admitted grudgingly but folks hereabouts aint aimin to stand em for long you know he dropped his voice confidentially theres some awful heu hell raisin goin on in beverly evy night dancin an all such as that its the work of the devil confided clem then somewhat anxiously you reckon kay forrest really is goin to take oil off evy stitch of clothes jeff said yonder she is on that island they threw themselves flat and crawled under and between azalea bushes and they peered out at the little island where miss maynard was posing kay and rearranging her chiffon drapes clem inhaled sharply she sho is HO 10 BE CONTINUED |
