The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1907-08-16
CHAPTER XVII.
AT POINT SEBASTIAN.

Now that the great rambling wooden
hotel in which Miss Elsie Kildare was
staying under care OF her friends, the
Van Liews. though on the end Of a tele-
graph wire and within easy DAYS steam
Of q railroad, was not particularly far
in crows flight from hat uncharted
river where the Port Edes lay stranded
on q sand bar. The hotel. in fact
backed upon the Everglades and faced
the blue crisping waters OF. the Mex
lean gulf. AT m side Of it was a plan
tation OF sisal hemp, n beyond that
thickets Of sawgrass, and beyond again
cypress trees and cabbage palms
sproutlng from an underground which
was bound into al impenetrable cheyal
de fr1se with wait-a-bit thorn. At the
other side We're newly planted umbrella
trees. two .decreplt orange bushes with
out fruit, twenty luxurlant clumps of
elephants ears, and then straggles of
palmetto scrub, right down to the soft
white banks of gulf sand. Beyond was
clear blue water with a rickety wood
en- Wharf ~straddling a mile out into
1t IKE some uncouth gray legged cent?
peds. And beneath the water denied
rusty food cans grew intimate with the
coral polyp.
a resting place for nabobs OF the north
n a congregation spot for those de.
llghtiu! American women who leave a
convenient husband at work elsewhere
on the dollar mill. But in the. warmer
months these worthy people did their
pleasure living at the s%eabeaches 81 the
north or the hotels Of the Alleghames.
ana the ~hou at Point Sebastian
locH.ed and covered most Of its .glories.
n tlor1dian who stays In Florida all
summer does SO usually because OF a
t1gbtHess In the exchequer, and for the
few of him h came to d%issipate a
smu!l but hardly scraped up hoard in a
spell of standardization a tenth OF the
a.aliapse rooms made ample lodging
pla..e.
Still there was a summer season of
sorts at Point Sebastian, which "a
merry enough III it's way. Most nights
on the parquet of the hall a cheery
score danced under the glare of cleo
trio lights to the Tilt OF Heuton iddles.
and IN the cool gloom Of the piazzas
outside, If straitened means did pre-
contracts. even perjury u~ndisguised
could enjoy the dallyings Of the weeks
Irritation. Mr.. Kent-Williams- and his
tribe We're entertaining fellows enough
to meet for a limited time. and maid
ems, come into the hotel for an annual
outing, basked in the odor of their
pretty sayings and frankly prepared
Themselves for nothing beyond tenn
porary amusement.
Patrick Cambel met at least five men
there he knew, which shows the great
advantage OF being a university man,
because since at Oxford and Cambridge
they most successfully refrain from
teaching anything that is of conmer-
clal use To ANYONE except a parson. or
a doctor. or a sehoolmaster. 1t naturally
followu that many men from those
seats Of learning fat: to make n living
at home and crift across the seas.
| He Gid not make the smallest secret
abou his advent. AS the
had tod them already, he had been on
the un!ucky Port Edes when she came
to grief, but had managed TO get ashore
by a marvellous streak OF luck and
found Himself at a spot where less than
a year ago he had been wandering
about en- a shooting expedition. Thence
he had made his way in a dugout,
bought from a Seminole. to the hotel
on DIN Sebastian. VOLTA tout. There
was nothing surprising about it. He
had had several opportunities for
drowning before that. but none of them
had ever come off. So he supposed that
the Paccae marked him out to live.
ArG-wlaat would they have? His
shout.
AT that period Mr.. Patrick Ca,nbel
was feeling extremely pleased with
himself. He hated the work at which
he had teen engaged. as any man must
hate being mixed with a swind!e. he II
great OF small. And the end seemed
near; tbs end, conjoined to full sue
cess.
He had had a struggle for 1t. Ave.
cause once more Captain Kettle had
felt inclined to FIGHT for his own hand
rather than do all things for mere en-