She found lodgings in a quaint little old hotel called the Elberta Inn.
Everything in Atlanta seemed to Josie to have something to do with
peaches--Peachtree Street, West Peachtree Street, Peachtree Terrace,
Peachtree Gardens. Then hotels and inns bore the name where they could
and others named themselves after famous brands of peaches, such as
Elberta.
"What's in a name?" sighed Josie when, at her very first dinner in her
new quarters, dried apple pies were shamelessly served.
The landlady of the Elberta Inn was as thin as the landlady at 126 East
Centre was fat. Her name was Miss Oleander Denton. She was quick to let
each prospective guest know that she had seen better days.
"My grandfather would turn over in his grave if he knew that one of his
female descendants was at work and all," she whispered to Josie. "We
owned thousands of acres and hundreds of slaves and all."
Sometimes Miss Oleander was known to reverse this statement, having her
grandfather own hundreds of acres and thousands of slaves. Whatever it
was, poor Oleander was certainly hard at work now. Perhaps her proud
grandfather was saved from turning over in his grave by the fact that
his male descendants were not inclined to work. Old Mr. Denton--Major
he was called by the boarders--had never been known to do a day's work
in his life and Miss Oleander had a brother, Braxton, who was occupied
only during the races.
"I should think your grandfather would be proud that you are so
capable," suggested Josie.
"Oh, not at all," sighed Miss Oleander. "Efficient women were not
considered ladylike in my grandfather's time--that is not efficient
enough to make a living. They could be good housekeepers and all." Miss
Denton always ended every sentence with "and all." It could mean
anything and nothing.
Josie felt she had found exactly the right place. She was sure that
Miss Oleander could tell her about the Wallers and Chester Hunt, and
what she didn't know Major Denton would. Josie had modified her
appearance somewhat, lengthened her skirts, discarded the strings of
beads, left off the paint and powder except for a becoming dash and put
away her lip-stick until she might have use for it. She still clung to
the bobbed henna wig with its permanent wave. That in itself completely
changed the appearance of the usually demure Josie.
"First I must get my bearings," she mused, as she settled herself in
the shabby hall bedroom, that had the one advantage of overlooking the
great and only Peachtree Street.
On a shelf in her room she found an old telephone book. Stephen
Waller's name and address were given. The house proved to be only three
doors from the Elberta Inn, which had been a private residence in
former years. By the telephone in the hall near Josie's door hung a
new, down-to-date book. She looked for Stephen Waller's name in it. It
was not there. She then looked for Chester Hunt's name. It was given
and the address was the same as Stephen Waller's had been.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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