The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1916-07-10
A NOVEL A WEEK.
Next Week
1.-THE LITTLE GRAY SHOE"
BY Percy j. Brebner.
CHAPTER
The Map'S-Size Job.
Blow, San Anton-e!"

us, as we sat In the GOOQ Cnllu.
The south coast sun was April
warm, and the gray forest wall OF
Isle Bonnie invited with it's shad-
ows as we drifted in that morning
calm.
BLOW, San Anton-e!"
And again the three of us in
Allesjandro's lugger stared help
lessly into the cypress jungle
where was she?
For of all places-as my young
friend, Redfield, put 1t when he
arose astride his suit case in the
stern of the Good Child-"of all
places that one would expect to
find girl, and laughing at us, it's
the limit"
Virgil Williams nodded to me,
ignoring the other man, as he had
done these four days now when
their hatred deepened.
II told you, Doctor Dick" he
put In gently. That's the girl,
and that's the island. It's the
last of the sweet lands and be-
yond it run the salt tides. The
sweet land is what I'm fightin' TO-
the Gulf of Mexico, and
a girl"
BLOW, San Anton-e, Blow
San Ignacio. San Pancrasio! San
Pietro! San Barrabo!"
But-on my word-at her elfin
laughter the Good Child lifted
heeled a bit as her red canvas
filled; and the lugger stole from
pool to pool in the opening chan
mel.
Allesjandro was forward when
her bow grated on the shell
beach; he was out and bowling ex-
uberantly.
Then we saw-wide-eyed, silent
curious at us-Allesjandro's wood
saint. She was swinging her
brown foot in the clear black wa
ter about the cypress spikes, and
was looking with an assumption
of grand DANES hauteur at Vir-
gil Williams and the Texan re-
turned her gaze patiently. Then
she arose with careful dignity,
picked her way to the stairs of
Papa Prosper's gallerie and up
them to the house on stills above
the low shell ridge.
She didn't like us, that was be-
yond doubt.
The tall Texan sighed: Its me-
You see we're fightin' her TO- the
land. Laure and the Gulf of Mex
leo, and little old king o. Spain
the three of them is some hard
combination"
THE king of SPAIN" | said.
Virgil made a gesture out to the
wide hot prairies beyond the
swamp isle. He is the worst of
all. Eden dead a hundred and
fifty years, but once he gave a
grant of land to one of these
Drouillots. And here, the last OF
'em sits on 1.-THE last of the
sweet land. TO- most of it's gone
under the Gulf of Mexico"
Then he looked up patiently
again at the suffered house on its
absurd stills above the shell
margined swamp. And | offered
EN- forty thousand dollars once
for their rights to Isle Bonne-
which rights are just none, unless
they find the original grant from
the king O. Spain. Otherwise the
French heirs in Bordeaux hold it
and it's the Bordeaux Drouillot I;
our company bought the title
from. Forty thousand, and Laurie
wouldn't take it-she rather put
faith in that little King o. Spain
than she would in mel"
| knew the mans stuff: he had
got twenty thousand dollars of nv
money into the Prairie Lands &
Development company, just be-
cause once / heard him tell his
story over a directors table.
The directors had spilled money
on impossible campaigns of adj
yertising while the land boss had
pleaded in vain for funds to keep
his dredges from rusting out, and
his drainage canals from choking
with jungle growth. The nearest
ever saw Williams come to an
ger was now when he pointed out
to me forlorn shack on the
edge of the illimitable saltmarsh
prairie stretching westward from
Isle Bonnwoods to the Gulf of
Mexico.
Doctor Dick, what do you
think | got stored in that camp?
Two beds and a cook stove and a
box of dishes and six chairs
and a baby buggy. Yes, seh-a
baby buggy
Man from Ohio" went on vir-
gil gently. "He was the first of
'em. Got a-hold of some of that
common literature they put out
fine little books shown a girl
in a picture hat pickin' Satsuma
oranges in December-on Isle
Bonnie. Sold his farm and bought
fo'ty acres o. frawgs and water
moccasins, and down he comes
picturin' his wife trundlin' that
baby wagon under his own orange
trees. His wife was along
amt o'got her face when she
looked at the swamp they'd
bought. Nor hts" The Texans
eyes grew hard. well, / come
close to resignin'-I wired the
president of our company that II
he eve sold another acre OF land
and the man came down TO- his
wife and babies hefo' i got the