Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1907-08-17
CHAPTER XVII.
At POINT SEBASTIAN

Now that the great rambling wooden
hotel iu 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 day steam
of railroad, was not particularly far
IN crows fight from that uncharted
river where he Port Edes lay stranded
on a sand bar. The hotel in fact.
backed upon the Everglades and faced
the blue crisping waters of the Mex
lean gulf At one side of II was a plan
tation of sisal hemp, and beyond that
thickets OF sawgrass, and beyond again
cypress trees and cabbage palms
spruuting from an undergrowth which
WAS bound into an impenetTable Chcval
de frise with wait-a-bit thorn At the
other side were newly planted umbrella
trees, two deCrepit orange bushes with
out fruit twenty lGxuriant clumps of
elephants ears, and then strs ggles 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
II Ike some urcouth gray legged cent?
pcde. And beneath the water dcnted.
rusty food cans grew intimate with the
coral polyp
In winter time Point Sebastian was
n resting place for nabobs OF the north
and a congregation spot for those de-
ltghtful 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 seabeaches of the
north or the hotels Of the Alleghanies.
and the resthouse at Point Sebastian
locked and covered most of its glories.
The Floridian who stays in Florida all
summer does so usually because of a
uEhtncss in the exchequer, and for the
few Of him who came TO dissipate a
small but hardly scraped up hoard In n
spell of standardization a tenth of the
available rooms made ample lodging
place.
Still there was a summer season of
sorts at Point Sebastian. which was
merry enough in its way Most nights
on the parquet OF the hall a CHEEKY
score danced under the glare OF cleo
trio lights TO the lit OF Heuton fiddles
and in the cool gloom OF the piaZzas
outside il straitened means did pre-
vent the actual drafting OF marriage
contracts, even penury undisputsed
could enjoy the dallyings OF the weeks
Irritation. Mr.. Kent-Williams and his
tribe were entertaining fellows enough
to meet for a limited time and maid
ems, come into he hotel for an animal
outing, basked in the oGor of their
pretty sayings and frankly prepared
themselves for nothing beyond tenn
porary amusement.
Patrick Cambel met at least fiVe rpep
there he knew, which shoWa the great
advantage Of being university man
because since at oxford and Cambridge
they most successfully refrain from
teaching anything that is OF CONNER
ciai use 70 anyone except a parson. or
6 doctor, or a schoolmaster il naturally
follows that many mea from those
-1ss Df 1~tr fva.v fs.s. H.
at home and drift across the seas.
He Gid not make the smallest secret
about his advent, AS the newspapers
had told them already, he had been on
the unlucky Port Edes when she came
10 grief, but had managed TO get ashore
by marvellous streak OF luck and
found himself at a spot where less than
9 year ago he had been wandering
about on shooting expedition. Thence
lie had made his way in a dugout,
bought from a Seminole. to the hotel
on Point Sebastian VOLTA tout There
was nothing surprising about It. He
had mad several opportunities for
drowning before that, but none of them
had ever come of. SO he supposed that
The P2rcae marked him out to live.
And-what would they have? His
shout
At that period Mr.. Patrick Cambel
was feeling extremely pleased with
himself He hated the work st which
he had been engaged. as any man must
hate being mixed with a swindle. be il
great or small. And the end seemed
near; the end, conjoined 10 full sue
cess.
lie had had a struggle for it. be-
cause once more Captain Kettle had
felt inclined to fiCht for his own hand
rather than do all things for mere EN-
ployrrs VINO paid him a paid salary.
1t was when Cambel woke from that
dead sl-ep on the wheel grating of the
upper bridge and came down to learn
of the tragedy OF the plume hunters.
which had taken place during his un-
con iousncss. that Ia. got the first hint
OF this. The little captain recei ged him
with cold stiffness, was wooden when
asked fpr any suggestion and snared
when Cambel inquired what allied him.
u was the donkeyman who put the diff
6culty into words.
And. captain, now said he, how
much might yez be getting out of all
this for yerself?"
Five hundred pounds"
''Begor. it's a mighty lot OF money
and little enough, too / wish I'd IL me
neif an more. I'd like n house ashore
an wife, an an ass cart that / might
dhrtvc her out in like gentleman, be-
sides other things"
"Oh. stop that. Don't tell mo what a
man might do II he'd his pick OF the
money in this ship. | can figure that
cut for myself without suggestions
from any blasted Irishman"
All, now. captain, dear, don't be
Cross wild me, because | was going on
20 say that in case OF trouble in case
there was. We'll say. a thrilling argu-
ment, I'd be on your side. Mr.. Cambel.
yer gentleman, an like ye well but
The captain here's nv officer. an'-well.
sor. boy must look after himself some
times specially when there's chance
like this ready to his fingers. 'Twon't
come again in lifetime"
Probably not" said Cambel. He lay