The Camp itself underwent numerous changes during the winter; and even
the strong-hearted Mary was appalled by the amount of money which it had
been found necessary to expend. The playroom would, of course, be
reserved for the use of guests, and a similar though smaller and
inferior room had been thrust out from the west face of Darling House
for the use of the family. Then Maud, who had volunteered to take charge
of all correspondence and accounts, had insisted that an office be built
for her near the dock. This was mostly shelves, a big fireplace, and a
table. Here guests would register upon arrival; here the incoming mail
would be sorted and the outgoing weighed and stamped. It had also been
found necessary, in view of the very large prospective wash, to enlarge
and renovate Laundry House and provide sleeping quarters for a couple of
extra laundresses.
Those who are familiar with the scarcity and reluctance of labor in the
Adirondacks will best understand how these trifling matters bit into the
Darling capital.
Sometimes Mary, who held herself responsible for the possible failure of
the projected inn, could not sleep at night. Suppose that the
advertising, which would cost thousands of dollars, should fall flat?
Suppose that not a single solitary person should even nibble at the high
prices? The Darlings might even find themselves dreadfully in debt. The
Camp would have to go. She suffered from nightmares, which are bad, and
from daymares, which are worse. Then one day, brought across the ice
from the village of Carrytown at the lower end of the lake, she received
the following letter:
MISS DARLING,
The Camp, New Moon Lake in the Adirondacks, New York.
DEAR MADAM:--Yesterday morning, quite by accident, I saw the
prospectus of your inn on the desk of Mr. Burns, the advertising
manager of _The Four Seasons_. I note with regret that you are not
opening until the first of July. Would it not be possible for you
to receive myself and a party of guests very much earlier, say just
when the ice has gone out of the lake and the trout are in the warm
shallows along the shores? Personally, it is my plan to stay on
with you for the balance of the season, provided, of course, that
all your accommodations have not been previously taken.
With regard to prices, I note only that they are "rather high." I
would suggest that, as it would probably inconvenience you to
receive guests prior to the date set for the formal opening of
your camp, you name a rate for three early weeks which would be
profitable to you. There will be six men in my party, including
myself.
Very truly yours,
SAMUEL LANGHAM.
Mary, her face flushed with the bright colors of triumph, read this
letter aloud to the assembled family.
"Does anybody," she asked, "know anything about Samuel Langham? Is he a
suitable person?"
"I know of him," said Arthur, smiling at some recollection or other. "He
is what the newspapers call a 'well-known clubman.' He is rich, fat,
good-natured, and not old. It is that part of your prospectus which
touches upon the _cuisine_ that has probably affected him. His father
was a large holder of Standard Oil securities."
"As for me," said Gay, "I've seen him. Do you remember, Phyllis, being
asked to a most 'normous dinner dance at the Redburns' the year we came
out? At the last minute you caught cold and wanted to back out, but Mary
said _that_ wasn't done, and so I went in your place, and, as usual,
nobody knew the difference. Well, Mr. Langham was there. I didn't meet
him, but I remember I watched him eat. He is very smug-looking. He
didn't like the champagne. I remember that. He lifted his glass
hopefully, took one swallow, put his glass down, and never touched it
again. His face for the rest of dinner had the expression of one who has
been deeply wronged. I thought of Louis XVI mounting the scaffold."
"I do wish," said Mary, "that we knew what kind of wine the creature
likes."
"Father left a splendid collection," said Arthur. "Take Mr. Langham into
the cellar. He'll enjoy that. Let him pick his own bottle."
In the event, Maud sat down in her new office and wrote Mr. Langham that
he and his five guests could be received earlier in the season. And
then, with fear and trembling, she named a price _per diem_ that
amounted to highway robbery.
Mr. Langham's answer was prompt and cheerful. He asked merely to be
notified when the ice had gone out of the lake.
"Well," said Mary, with a long-drawn sigh of relief, "the prices don't
seem to have frightened him nearly as much as they frightened us. But,
after all, the prospectus was alluring--though we say it that
shouldn't."
Lee and Gay were troubled by qualms of conscience. The advertisements of
The Camp were to appear in the February number of some of the more
important periodicals, and the two scapegraces were beginning to be
horribly alarmed.
Magazines have a way of being received last by those most interested in
seeing them. And before even a copy of _The Four Seasons_ reached the
Darlings, there came a number of letters from people who had already
seen the advertisement in it. One letter was from a very old friend of
the family, and ran as follows: