V
HE season at Aiken came to an end with a sudden visitation of hot weather, and the colony went northward, many by easy stages that dropped them for a week or so at Pinehurst or Virginia Hot Springs or Old Point. Gordon, with Peter Waring and Mortimer Poole, dallied for a fortnight at the latter resort, and then went on again in a chilly rain that blurred the car windows and depressed even Peter's buoyant spirits. Mort Poole left them at Philadelphia, and Gordon and Peter reached New York late at night on the first day of April. Outside the terminal they shivered in the cold, damp breeze as they waited for Peter's car to come up.
"This weather is an April fool on us," said Peter plaintively. "When does spring begin up here, anyway, old man?"
"One month after you get back, whenever that happens," replied Gordon. "Thank Heaven he brought the limousine!"
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