Free Avalon: The Retreat by L. Michael Rusin Page B

fitted and cemented into place. It appeared to be granite rock from where the railroad workers had carved out a path from the side of the mountain for the train.
    Four large, overstuffed leather chairs were near this wall with a table beside each, and on the top of the tables were Aladdin oil lamps with large, blown glass mantles that diffused the bright light. Wrought iron fixtures hung from the ceiling with a profusion of more oil lamps and each could be lowered or pulled in place by ropes that were fastened to hooks on the walls in several key locations.
    There were also nine large couches and twelve chairs mixed and matched throughout the room; each made of deep burgundy or dark coffee brown leather and companioned by a table off to one side. Surprisingly, there was still more than ample room to move around.
    The rest of the walls had window openings cut away from the logs, and the glass was the old fashioned type and appeared to have wavy places throughout the vitreous material. Some of the floor area was marble, cut from quarries in Italy, and it perfectly matched to the fireplace hearth. Tucked back in a corner stood a larger-than-life-size statue of a Roman Goddess. It was also crafted from marble and appeared to be an authentic sculpture from the ancients in Europe.
    On the outside of each window, the large shutters were designed to protect from the elements but not completely blackout the place. They were made from wood and each was about two inches thick and fastened in place with old hand beaten, formed iron hinges, also from a blacksmith’s shop. The hinges were massive and designed to be fastened shut from the inside. Even so, there was enough light coming through to make the room bright and airy. The date on the magazines scattered throughout this eighty by eighty foot lounge area was October 1921.
    Past the main counter was a wall that ran from left to right, dividing the lounge area and registration desk from the entry to the restaurant and dance floor. It terminated on the left after traveling about sixty feet and past it was a huge hallway that made an immediate right through oversized, stained glass double doors that opened in both directions. After another twenty feet, it took a hard turn ninety degrees to the left and continued straight to yet another set of double doors with hardware made of heavy brass.
    Through those doors and at the end of the hall was another spacious room with large bookcases, leather chairs, and several old-fashioned slate pool tables with leather pockets. On one wall were several huge cue stick racks and more racks lined the walls, interspersed between the bookshelves so as to accommodate each table. Each rack held three complete sets of balls made from ivory and above each table was a wire with beads on it, designed to keep score. A mirror encrusted cover hung from brass chains, which helped players see better with their inbuilt lanterns. Perhaps not the most useful for Dan and Mike’s future plans, but it would help break the monotony and boredom.
    There was a small, well-stocked bar in one corner with mostly full bottles covered in a thick layer of dust. One wall exhibited stuffed lion, tiger, and leopard heads, and there was a snake skin that was over thirty feet long on another wall. The corner held a stuffed crocodile that was nearly thirty feet long and rested patiently, watching everything in the room with those glass eyes.
    Past the wall that divided the reception area from the dance floor was a huge open area with tables and chairs, a restaurant, and a parquet inlaid dance floor covering an area about one hundred feet long by seventy five feet wide. The restaurant had seventy-five tables, each with four chairs, arranged in alternating rows of five and three tables wide, allowing plenty of room for guests to move about without feeling cramped. The chairs, over three hundred in total, had leather covered seats and padded backs that were fastened to the wood with brass