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One day a man in Middletown asked Mr. Cane to call on him regarding the possible
purchase of three cows. Cane s cows were raised with the maximum of human care, the
minimum of extraneous expense. His profit on them was great and he sold them, ordinarily,
one at a time. He was so excited at the prospect of a triple sale that for a day he was almost
gay, very nearly generous. He drove off blithely not in the sedan, but in the station wagon,
because its gasoline mileage was greater.
It was a day filled with wonder for Hugo. When Cane drove from the house,
Roseanne was standing beside the drive. She walked over to the barn and said to Hugo in an
oddly agitated voice: Mr. Danner, could you spare an hour or two this morning to help me
get some flowers from the woods?
Certainly.
She glanced in the direction her husband had taken and hurried to the kitchen,
returning presently with two baskets and a trowel. He followed her up the road. They turned
off on an overgrown path, pushed through underbrush, and arrived in a few minutes at the
side of a pond. The edges were grown thick with bushes and water weeds, dead trees lifted
awkward arms at the upper end, and dragon flies skimmed over the warm brown water.
I used to come here to play when I was a little girl, she said. It s still just the
same. She wore a blue dress; branches had disheveled her hair; she seemed more alive than
he had ever seen her.
It s charming, Hugo answered.
There used to be a path all the way around with stones crossing the brook at the
inlet. And over there, underneath those pine trees, there are some orchids. I ve always wanted
to bring them down to the house. I think I could make them grow. Of course, this is a bad
time to transplant anything but I so seldom get a chance. I can t remember when when
He realized with a shock that she was going to cry. She turned her head away and
peered into the green wall. I think it s here, she said tremulously.
They followed a dimly discernible trail; there were deer tracks in it and signs of other
animals whose feet had kept it passable. It was hot and damp and they were forced to bend
low beneath the tangle to make progress. Almost suddenly they emerged in a grove of white
pines. They stood upright and looked: wind stirred sibilantly in the high tops, and the ground
underfoot was a soft carpet; the lake reflected the blue of the sky instead of the brown of its
soft bottom.
Let s rest a minute, she said. And then: I always think a pine grove is like a
cathedral. I read somewhere that pines inspired gothic architecture. Do you suppose it s
true?
There was the lotos and the Corinthian column, Hugo answered.
They sat down. This was a new emotion a paradoxical emotion for him. He had
come to an inharmonious sanctuary and he could expect both tragedy and enchantment.
There was Roseanne herself, a hidden beautiful thing in whom were prisoned many beauties.
She was growing old in the frosty seclusion of her husband s company. She was feeding on
the toothless food of dreams when her hunger was still strong. That much any one might see;
the reason alone remained invisible. He was acutely conscious of an hour at hand, an
imminent moment of vision.
You re a strange man, she said finally.
That was to be the password. Yes?
I ve watched you every day from the kitchen window. Her depression had gone
now and she was talking with a vague excitement.
Have you?
Do you mind if we pretend for a minute?
I d like it.
Then let s pretend this is a magic carpet and we ve flown away from the world and
there s nothing to do but play. Play, she repeated musingly. I ll be Roseanne and you ll be
Hugo. You see, I found out your name from the letters. I found out a lot about you. Not facts
like born, occupation, father s first name; just things.
He dared a little then. What sort of things, Roseanne?
She laughed. I knew you could do it! That s one of them. I found out you had a soul.
Souls show even in barn-yards. You looked at the peonies one day and you played with the
puppies the next. In one way Hugo you re a failure as a farm hand.
Failure?
A flop. You never make a grammatical mistake. She saw his surprise and laughed
again. And your manners and, then, you understood French. See the carpet is taking us
higher and farther away. Isn t it fun! You re the hired man and I m the farmer s wife and all
of a sudden we re
A prince and princess?
That s exactly right. I won t pretend I m not curious morbidly curious. But I won t
ask questions, either, because that isn t what the carpet is for.
What is it for, Roseanne?
To get away from the world, silly. And now there s a look about you. When I was
a little girl, my father was a great man, and many great men used to come to our house. I
know what the frown of power is and the attitude of greatness. You have them much more
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