The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1914-03-06
TURNING
THE TIDE
BY w. r. BRYAN.


"The tide will turn some day"
said Alva hopefully as she stirred
the sugar in her tea with carefully
cleaned palette knife and then but
tered her bread with the same uten-
sill. "There is always turn Of the
tide"
Sally Peterson shook her tiny
small head vigorously. "There is
bound to be a urn-when you turn
it. My dear, nothing succeeds in
this big town like success"
"But you must first gain success,
and that is not something SO easily
gained"
"Nonsense," declared Sally oracu-
larly. "Men and women are too
busy to inquire if success is real
Look at the way / got ahead. 1t
was all bluff
"a bluff ?" Alva's eyes were wide
open. "You sinful child, know to
my own knowledge Of three checks
you've had this week.
sNow, yes" said Miss Peterson his
painfully. 81 mean when began
| was on the verge. / was stopping
at place more expensive than !
could afford because one of the as
sistant editors on a big magazine
stopped there too.
81 thought l could land him with
some of my stuff, but he fought shy
of it. Then one day I got check
for 500 from another magazine.
don't mind admitting that it was
commission on lot of subscriptions
/ had turned in. The editor at our
hotel didn't know that when he
cashed the check, as / asked him to,
and his eyes bulged. My dear,
sent myself that same check four
times in the next week and sold my
editorial friend two stories on the
strength of my success"
'SBut where could | get a check -
demanded Alva. Sally smiled.
T'll back you. Get out of this
cheap boarding house into a good
locality. Rent good studio and
leave the rest to me. I'll find the
right sort of boarding house for
you. Why, from this address alone
they would know that you were a
struggling artist and despise you ac-
cordingly.''
There were other but less import
ant details to be settled, and it was
the end Of the week before Alva
found herself established at fash
ionable address, enjoying the novel
tv of her surroundings and yet still
fearful of the success of the scheme.
For what her boarding place and
studio now cost each week she could
have lived for two months in the
old way.
The second day a check came in
an envelope with fashionable adj
dress. Even the waitress was more
deferential as she brought Alva her
breakfast, and the landlady beam
ed when asked to cash the check.
Other checks followed, and almost
before she knew it Alya was being
asked for invitations to her studio.
Her work was good, and soon
real checks came in with orders for
work, and Sally Peterson, who was
using the fact that she was writing
up society women for one Of the
Sunday papers to get the checks, no
longer cudgeled her wits to keep up
the supply. It had been easy to ask
check for cash on the plea that
she had to send some money to a
friend, and checks were easier than
money orders.
Alva was still uncertain. From
Puritan ancestors she had inherited
odd notions of right and wrong,
and it did not seem fair to sell to
her patrons pictures that a few
weeks ago had been regarded with
supercilious scorn by the dealers
to whom she submitted them. I'm
der Sally's assiduous coaching she
was becoming used to it, largely be-
cause there was no way out Of it. It
was not until Godfrey Marsden APP
peared upon the scene that her
protest against the slight deceit be-
came strong.
Marsden was a clean cut Young
fellow, far less aware of the import
ance of his millions than were most
Of his associates. He was doing
squire duty to some of his friends
at one Of Alva's studio teas. There
after the young man became a fire.
quent visitor to the coy studio with
the simple lettering "Miss Vallhall'
in black upon the door.
Marsden was not one to let the
grass grow under his feet, and in
less than three months he had pro-
posed marriage For an ;nstar+