The Green God

A weary traveler sets out on a long walk from London toward the southwest, hoping for fresh air and sketching opportunities. On a bleak October afternoon he encounters a rugged stranger in a car, who offers an unexpected lift toward Exeter despite the gathering storm. Their silent ride is punctuated by nervous smoking and a brief exchange that hints the man is on his way to the estate of a recently arrived Major.

The sudden gale forces them into a gray‑stone gateway and along a gravel drive flanked by ancient oaks, leading to a large, somber house that looms against the rain‑blasted sky. Inside, the atmosphere is thick with mystery, and whispers of a “green god” begin to surface among the curious locals and the enigmatic host. As the storm rages, the narrator finds himself drawn into a world where ordinary travel turns into an unsettling encounter with secrets that the countryside seems eager to conceal.