Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-04-09
CHAPTER XVII.
AT rnINT SEBASTIAN.

Al lOlNI SEBASTIAN.
Now the great rambling wooden ho.el
In which Miss Elsie Kildare was staying
under care Of her friends, the Van Licws,
though on the end Of n telegraph wire and
within easy days steam of n railroad. wa.
not particularly far In crows ilight from
thaounchartcd river where the Por. Eide.
lay stranded on n sand bar. The hotel, in
fact, backed upon tho Everglades and
faced the blue crisping waters of the Mex
lean gulf At one side of IL was plnuta
tion of sisal hemp. ana beyond that thiclsot.
Cf sawgrnss, and beyond again cypress:
trees and cabbage palms sprouting from
an underground which was bound into ar
impcnotrablc chcyal do frisc with wait
a-hit thorn. NJ the other side were newly
planted umbrella trees. two Gccreplt orange
bushes without fruit, 20 luxurinnt ciump.
of elephants ears. and then struggles OF
palmetto scrub, right down 90 the sof,
white banks q gait sand. Beyond was
clear blue water with rickety wooden
wharf straddling u mile out into IL like
some uncuuth gray legged centipcd. And
beneath the water dcnted, rusty food can.
grew intimate with the coral polyp.
In winter time Point sebastian was q
resting place for nsbubs OF the north, and
- congregation spot for those delightful
American women who leave n convenient,
husband nc work elsewhere on the dollar
mill. But nv the warmer month thcst
worthy people did thcir pleasure living NJ
she s,abCaChcs Of the north or the hotel.
IL the Nllcrhunics, and the rcstlfousc a,
Point sebastian locked and covered most
~ 90. glurics. The Floridian who stays In
Florida all summer docs so usually he.
cause of u tishtnsss in tho cxchoqucr, and
Iur the few Of him who came TO dissipate
small but hardly scrapcd up hoard In .
spell ot standardization a tenth Of the
available rooms made ample lodging place.
Still thorc was u summer season Of sorts
Mt Pdf>S sebastian, which was merry
enough IN its way. Most nights on tn,
parquet OF the hall a CHEEKY score danced
undcr the clarc Of electric lights TO the
lilt of Tcutou liddlcs, and in the cool
gloom q the riazzas outside. II strait
cncd means did prevent the actual draft
Ing 81 marriage contracts, even penury
unGisguisCd could enjoy the dallyings vi
the week : Irritation. Mr.. Kent Williams
and his tribe wcro entertaining fellows
enough to meet for limited time. and
maidcns. come into the hotel for an an.
nual outing, baskcd in the odor of theiI
pretty sayings and frankly prepared them
selves for nothing beyond temporary
amusement.
Patriek Cambel met Mt least five men
there he knew. which shows the great sd
vantage Of being a university man, be
cause since ~ Oxford and Cambridge they
most successfully refrain from teaching
anything that Is Of commercial use tc
any one except parson. or doctor, or 2
schoclmhSter, IL naturally follows that
many men from those seats Of LEARNING
fnu 10 make living at home and drift
across the seas.
He did not make the AmaIless scerc,
about his advent. As the newspapers had
told them alrady. he had been on the un
lucky Port Edes when she came to srief
oGt had managed to get ashore by mar
vicious streak Of luck and found himself
NJ spot where less than a year ago h,
had tccn wandering about on n SHOOTING
expcdition. Thence he had made his way
In dugcut, bought from a Seminole. &c
the hotel ON Point Sebastian. VOLTA tout,