Page:Strange Interlude (1928).djvu/283




 * Late afternoon in late June, ten years later—the afterdeck of the motor cruiser anchored in the lane of yachts near the finish line at Poughkeepsie. The bow and amidship of the cruiser are off right, pointed upstream. The portside rail is in the rear, the curve of the stem at left, the rear of the cabin with broad windows and a door is at right. Two wicker chairs are at left and a chaise longue at right. A wicker table with another chair is at center. The afterdeck is in cool shade, contrasted with the soft golden haze of late afternoon sunlight that glows on the river.

is sitting by the table at center, in the chair farthest left,  in the chaise longue at right. is leaning over the rail directly back of, looking up the river through a pair of binoculars. is standing by his side.

''hair has turned completely white. She is desperately trying to conceal the obvious inroads of time by an over-emphasis on make-up that defeats its end by drawing attention to what it would conceal. Her face is thin, her cheeks taut, her mouth drawn with forced smiling. There is little left of her face’s charm except her eyes which now seem larger and more deeply mysterious than ever. But she has kept her beautiful figure''.