V
Society went to the country to escape the screaming winds and dust
clouds of summer. A few had built country houses, the rest found
abundant amusement at the hotels of The Geysers, Warm Springs and
Congress Springs, taking the waters dutifully.
As the city was constantly swept by epidemics Dr. Talbot rarely left
his post for even a few days' shooting, and Madeleine remained with
him as a matter of course. Moreover, she hoped for occasional long
evenings with her husband and the opportunity to convince him that
her companionship was more satisfying than that of his friends at the
Club. She had not renounced the design of gradually converting him to
her own love of literature, and pictured delightful hours during
which they would discuss the world's masterpieces together.
But he merely hooted amiably and pinched her cheeks when she
approached the subject tentatively. He was infernally over-worked and
unless he had a few hours' relaxation at the Club he would be unfit
for duty on the morrow. She was his heart's delight, the prettiest
wife in San Francisco; he worked the better because she was always
lovely at the breakfast table and he could look forward to a brief
dinner in her always radiant company. Thank God, she never had the
blues nor carried a bottle of smelling salts about with her.
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