But they never reached tha tn,,t.. hoof
plutocracy, for after they had pssecixo: I"Fo/ e narrow streets of Pollensa and 'ere J['i
curved line of the seashore, they came, ,ed
Pino d'Oro--a small hotel standing o7o e
.rne:'.:"
PROBLEM AT POLLENSA BAY
81
the sea looking out over a view that in the misty
haze of a fine morning had the exquisite vagueness
of a Japanese print. At once Mr. Parker Pyne
knew that this, and this only, was what he was
looking for. He stopped the taxi, passed through
the painted gate with the hope that he would find a
resting place.
The elderly couple to whom the hotel belonged
knew no English or French. Nevertheless the
matter was concluded satisfactorily. Mr. Parker
Pyne was allotted a room overlooking the sea, the
suitcases were unloaded, the driver congratulated
his-passenger upon avoiding the monstrous exi-gencies
of "these new hotels," received his fare
and departed with a cheerful Spanish salutation.
Mr. Parker Pyne glanced at his watch and per-ceiving
that it was, even now, but a quarter to ten,
he went out onto the small terrace now bathed in a
dazzling morning light and ordered, for the sec-ond
time that morning, coffee and rolls.
There were four tables there, his own, one from
which breakfast was being cleared away and two
occupied ones. At the one nearest him sat a family