The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1916-07-10

n forlorn shack on the cdE. OF the
lllimitable saltmarsh prairie stretch.
ing westward from Isle Bonnc
woods 10 the Gulf OF Mexico
Doctor Dick. what DO you think
| got sto'ed In that camp1 Two
beds and a cook stove and box of
fishes and six chRlrs-and a baby
buggy. Yea. seh--A baby buggy
Man from Ohio" went on Virgil
gently. "He was the first Of en-.
Got a-hold OF some OF that common
literature they put outline little
books shown girl IN a picture
hat piekin' Safsuma oranges in De-
cembcr-on Isle Bonnie. Sold his
farm and bought fo'ty acres OF
frswgs and water moccasins. and
down be come picturin' his wife
trundlin' that baby wagon under hts
own orange trees. His wife was
aIong-I Amt io'got her face when
I she looked at the swamp they'd
bought Nor hIsi" Tho Texans
eyes grew hard. We'll. Come
close to reslgnin'-I wired the
president OF our company that II
no eve sold another acre OF land
and the man came down here e1.
paictin TO find a home TO- his wife
and babies befo' | got the water
off, I'd come nawth with gun.
Yes. seh--I told EN-
What's become OF your first land
seeker7"
Took one look at his homestead.
and then blowcd his head off I
bought this stuff from the Vida
that's how | got that baby buggy.
Well just you watt
Aud then he stood mp on tho
shell beach trimming Isle Bonne'a
forest. slowly dying OF salty sea
tides creeping in. and spoke with
the fine drama OF a man dcfying
failure:
You see. It's me--pcrsonai and
specified-fo' the sweet land.
against the gulf. the girl and the
King O. Spalnl"
You see. the fellow had been
bred on defeat.
I don't know Just when he came
TO the south coast country: had
met him first In Mary Mason's
| apartments. on 5Tth st.. she had
known him since. as a child. she
rode his saddle In the Panhandle
country. He had loved her, but she
had come East and made good.
and again the silent soldier OF mis-
fortune had stepped aside for an
other.
But I shall have TO go back a
bit TO tell how il was that ] came
south with these two men, VIII
liams and Clell Redfield. and the
hate between them.
/ had retired from our firm OF
manufacturing chemists. that year
Virgil was in the city. called 10 his
annual conference with the direc-
tors OF the land company. facing
their losing faith. complaints that
he had drawn them into the most
daring Of all the Gulf coast reclame,
ton projects.
had met him once; Clell. never
But Clell knew what Mary had been
to the Texan; that Virgil had grown
from boyhood with passion. then,
realizing It's uselessness, had
laid Il away, simply. without resent
ment. when he knew she cared more
for another.
Clells and Mary's affairs were
an open book. For all the six
years OF their engagement, since
they had both graduated, class
mates at the university. not n week
mad passed that had not been with
them, listened TO their hopes and
fears, successes and discourage
mcnts.
II had been queer enough. They
had plunged into the business
world together at the foot Of the
ladder in the same huge utilities
corporation; Clell Redfield with his
electrical engineers diploma In the
drafting room OF the Amalgamated
Electric company, and Mary Mason
In the offices.
And six years OF their engage
ment had come and gone. and Clell
was still craftsman at twenty
five dollars week; while Mary
was now the confidential secretary