Then he turned the heavy
key in the lock, and stared in surprise and pleasure at the room.
It was a great apartment, the heavy log walls adorned with the horns and
stuffed heads of wild animals. Several bear skins and other rugs lay
upon the oaken floor. There were chairs and tables with books upon them,
and, at one end, the dry wood that filled a great fireplace was
crackling and flashing merrily. The practical Suzanne, noticing the
heap, had set a match to it at once, and already the room, great as it
was, was filled with warmth and light. Julie, having taken off her heavy
furs, was sitting in a chair before the fire, the leaping flames
deepening the light in her eyes and the new rose in her cheeks.
John's heart swelled with thankfulness and joy. He had not dreamed that
so much could be achieved. A day before he would have said that it was
impossible. As the whistling of the wind rose to a fierce roar and the
snow drove by, he realized, with a shudder at the danger escaped so
narrowly, that they had arrived just in time. The automobile itself
would have been driven from the path by the fierce Alpine storm now
raging.
The stern but gifted Suzanne had found lamps and had lighted them, and
like a capable soldier she was already looking over her field of battle.
"Not so bad," she said. "His Highness, Prince Karl of Auersperg, builds
a little palace and calls it his hunting lodge.
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