"
An hour later the three men passed quietly out of the hotel, scarcely
noticed by the other guests, who were also oblivious of their absence
during the evening. For Mrs. Barker, quite recovered from her fatiguing
ride, was in high spirits and the most beautiful and spotless of summer
gowns, and was considered quite a heroine by the other ladies as she
dwelt upon the terrible heat of her return journey. "Only I knew Mr.
Barker would be worried--and the poor man actually walked a mile down
the Divide road to meet me--I believe I should have stayed there all
day." She glanced round the other groups for Mrs. Horncastle, but that
lady had retired early. Possibly she alone had noticed the absence of
the two partners.
The guests sat up until quite late, for the heat seemed to grow still
more oppressive, and the strange smell of burning wood revived the
gossip about Mrs. Van Loo and her stupidity in setting fire to her
chimney. Some averred that it would be days before the smell could be
got out of the house; others referred it to the fires in the woods,
which were now dangerously near. One spoke of the isolated position
of the hotel as affording the greatest security, but was met by the
assertion of a famous mountaineer that the forest fires were wont to
leap from crest to crest mysteriously, without any apparent continuous
contact. This led to more or less light-hearted conjecture of present
danger and some amusing stories of hotel fires and their ludicrous
revelations.
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