Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-02-01

IL.
II took 200 to the northern half of 30"
"Why?" she asked, surprised.
because" he said, reddening, my cal
culations tell me that this gives me ample
margin.
She looked at him in calm disapproval,
shaking her head but her blue eyes sof-
tened.
'I'm sorry" she said "You have mis-
calculated, Mr.. White
II don't see how | could. worked it
out from the Valdez map"
$50 did |. /"
She had the volume under her arm; he
had his in his pocket.
Let me show you, he began, drawing it
out and opening it. would you mind
looking at the map for moment?"
Her dainty head a trihe on one side she
looked over his shoulder as he unfolded the
map for her.
Here" he said plucking dead grass
stem and tracing the Causeway on the map,
"here lie my lots-including, as you see, the
spot marked by Valdez with Maltese cross.
I'm sorry; but how in the world could
you have made your mistaken"
"Do you know" she said, in voice quiv-
ering with emotion, that a very terrible
thing has happened to US?
"To ns?'
ITO both of us. I-we-oh, please look
at my map 1t is-it is different from
yours'
With nervous fingers she opened the book
spread out the map, and held it under his
Mortified eyes.
''Do you see!" she exclaimed. "Ac- T
cording to this map, my lots include the NAL
tese cross of Valdez! I-I-p-please ex-
cuse me- She turned abruptly and en-
tered her tent; but he had caught the glim-
mer of sudden tears in her eyes and had seen
the pitiful lips trembling.
On his own account he was sufficiently
scared; now it flashed upon him that this
plucky young thing had probably spent her
last penny on the chance that Byng had
told the truth about "The Journal of Pedro
Valdez"
He paused looking around him with
troubled eyes; then somehow the sight of
her pathetic fgure-the soft, helpless youth
of her-suddenly seemed to prop up his
backbone:
Miss Sandys, am going to stand by
you anyway | suppose, like myself, you
have invested your last dollar in this bust
ness
yves
He glanced at the pick, shovel and spade
in the corner of her tent, then at her
hands.
Who, he asked politely, was going to
WELD these?"
She let her eyes rest on the massive i'm
plements of honest toll, then looked con-
fusedly at him.
II was.
did you ever try to dig with any of these
things?"
"N-no But if | had to do it knew
could"
''You are sheer pluck" he said.
II don't know. !. am very poor.
There seemed to be a chance. | took
it Tears sprang to her eyes again, and
she brushed them away impatiently.
eyes" she said, the only way is to go on,
as you say, Mr.. White. Everything in the
world that have is invested here
1t is the same with me, he admitted
dejectedly.
She waited; he reflected for another mo-
ment, then, smiling:
This is perfectly rotten place for you,
he said. "You could not do manual labor
here in this swamp under a nearly vertical
sun and keep your health for twenty-four
hours I've been in Trinidad: | know
little about the tropics and semi-tropics.
Suppose you and form a company"
"What?"
Call it the Valdez Company, or the As
ISOLATION of the Maltese Cross" he con-
tinued cheerfully. "You will do the cook
ing, washing, housekeeping for two tents,
and the r1ending will do the DIGGING and