Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1911-04-25
CHAPTER XVIII.

Of sailing ships and merchant
neets, Bayport was com
49, munity OF travellers. Every
ambitious man went to sea and even
tually, II no lived, became a captain.
Then he took his wife and, in most
cases, his children with him on long
voyages To the stay at homes came
letters with odd foreign stamps and
postmarks. our whatnots and parlor
mantels were filed with carved bits of
ivory, gorgeous shells, alabaster can.
dlesticks and plaster miniatures of tho
leaning tower at Pisa or the Coli
scum at Rome. We usually began a
conversation with, "When my husband
and ! were at Hongkong the last time
or, 81 remember at Mauritius they
always'- New Orleans and Frisco
were the nearest domestic ports the
mention Of which was considered
worth while.
But this il so no longer A trip to
Boston IS, Of course, no novelty to the
most OF us, but when we visit New
York we take care to advertise 1t be-
forehand. And the few who avail
themselves Of the spring "cut rates"
and 60 on excursions to Washington
plan definite programmes for each day
at the capital and discuss them with
envious friends for weeks in advance.
And II the prearrRnged program Is
not scrupuously carried out we feel
that we have been defrauded 1t was
the regret Of Aunt Sophronia Hallett's
life that on her Washington excursion
she had not seen the diplomatic
corpse" She saw the president and
the monument and congress and "the
relics in the Smithsonian institution
but the corpse" was not on view.
Aunt Sophrouia never quite got over
the disappointment.
Probably no other Bayporter IN re-
cent years has started for Washing
ton on such short notice or with 80
III defined program as Captain Cy. He
went because he felt thnt he must go
somewhere. After the conversation
with Asaph he simply could not re-
main at home. If Phoebe Dawes called
he knew that ne must see her, md II
he saw her what should he say to
her? He could not tell her that she
must not visit the Cy Whitaker place
again. II he did she would insist
upon the reason If he told her of the
"town talk" he felt sure, knowing her,
that she would Indignantly refuse TO
heed the malicious gossip. And he
was firmly resolved not to permit her
to compromise her life and her future
by friendship with a social outcast
like himself AS for anything deeper
and more sacred than friendship, that
was ridiculous. If for a moment a
remark OF hers had led him to dream
Of such thing 1t was because he was,
as he had so often declared, an cold
fool"
SO Captain Cy had resolved upon
flight, and he fled to Washington be
cause the business OF the committee
Of one" offered legitimate excuse for
going there. The blunt message he
had intrusted to Georgiannn would, he
believed. arouse phoebes indignation.
She would not call again. And when
he returned to Bos'n It would be to
tnko up the chIld's fight alone II he
lost that fight, or when he lost It, he
would close the Cy Whitaker place
and leave Bayport for good.
He had been in Washington once be-
fore, years ago, when he was first mate
Of ship and had few weeks shore
leave Then he went there on pleas
ure trip with some scagoing friends
and had a jolly time. But there was
precious little jollity in the present
visit. He had never felt so thoroughly
miserable. In order to forget he made
up his mind to work his hardest to dis
cover why the harbor appropriation
was not to be given to Bayport.
The city had changed greatly. He
would scarcely have known It, He
went to the hotel whore he had stayed
before and found a big modern build
ing IN It's place. The clerk was In
cllned to be rather curt and perfume
tory at first, but when he learned that
tho captain was not anxious concern
ing tho price Of accommodations, but
merely wanted "comf'table berth
somewhercs on the saloon deck" and
appeared TO have plenty of money he
grew polite, Captain Cy was shown