Run along."
XXXIII
Lake Merritt, a small sheet of water near the little town of
Oakland, was surrounded by handsome houses whose lawns sloped down to
its rim. Most them were closed in summer, but a few of the owners,
like the Harold Abbotts, lived there the year round. At all times,
however, the lawns and gardens were carefully tended, for this was
one of Fashion's chosen spots, and there must be no criticism from
outsiders in Oakland. The statues on the lawns were rubbed down after
the heavy rains and dusted as carefully in summer. There were grape-vine
arbors and wild rose hedges, and the wide verandas were embowered.
In summer there were many rowboats on the lake, and they lingered
more often in the deep shade of the weeping willows fringing the
banks. The only blot on the aristocratic landscape was a low brown
restaurant kept by a Frenchman, known as "Old Blazes." It was a resort
for gay parties that were quite respectable and for others that
were not. Behind the public rooms was a row of cubicles patronized
by men when on a quiet spree (women, too, it was whispered). There
were no cabinet particuliers. Old Blazes had his own ideas of propriety;
and no mind to be ousted from Lake Merritt.
Madeleine had found Sally Abbott's society far more endurable, when
she paid her round of visits after Masters' departure, than that of
the older women with their watchful or anxious eyes, and she had no
suspicion that Sally had guessed her secret long since.
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