The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1916-07-12
= A NOVEL A WEEK.
Next Week
1.-THE LITTLE GRAY SHOE"
BY Percy j. Brebner.
CONTINUED from our last issue. }

chO uP ohO houAOo s@A W
Then, at sight of Clell, her sparkle
came.
"Ah, M'sieu! So. already, you
coem to see me. 1t is good-you
have not forgotten"
81 couldn't forget you. was in
tending to try to get through the
swamp this afternoon to call at
Papa Prosper's."
She felt real alarm. Don't you
eve try that. A Yankee fel-lo! The
deep swamp, m'sieu"-she looked
about-"this is nothing to It! This
little cheniere on this side Isle
Bonnie they call John-the-Fool."
"Excellently named" l muir
INJURED, and she disregarded me.
Don't you eve go no farther
than John-the-Fool. You can al
ways see me here. Always come
to see If Allesjandro feed the
baron as he should"
The end of the following week
/ made the second of the reports
to Mary which | had promised.
The week had not made me more
enamored of John-the-Fool.
I wrote her:
That is the name of the place,
apparently. Although there is no
longer any place. l am roosting
between three trees and a lot of
poles thrust into the water on
which is the castle of Baron John
Bernal de Vedrinnes.
You ask me about Clell. My
dear, the disheartening situation
between Clell and Virgil does not
change. They watch each other
across a gulf of hate; and the fact
that Clell has never whimpered
when he worked Vinl's levers
with his hands dripping blood
only made Williams Smile. He
was expecting the boy to break,
and Clell has met every demand
on him.
The only time Clell is himself
is when he comes over here to
this ridiculous boarding house of
nineteen you ought to see him
change. That Creole girl of Isle
Bonnie interests him-he's like
iAe old Clell of five years ago
when he's with us. She comes of
a scandalous line of pirates and
privateers, and now and then it
shows plain enough. | can't un-
derstand Virgil saying once he
loved her. l told Clell of it, and
the way he smiled was not good.
The two of them seem to run to
a clash everywhere. 1t is a sad
mess. Virgil's men have not been
paid for weeks, and only loyalty
to him holds them here-he's
about given up the hope of aid
from the company to finish his
ditch, and If anything happens
now he's wiped out. And the
baron chuckles, and Laure shrugs
and smiles. | do believe she is
trying to win Clell away from
Virgil's job-that's why she CO.
quets with him so outrageously.
Oh, Mary, l wish this abomin-
able thing had never happened!
OLD DICK,
Still loves you.
Our mail goes out by means OF
a pirogue runner, usually tC
catch the Barataria mail boat
which runs down to the south
coast every week, so getting a
letter from Isle Bonnie to New
York is less certain in time than
getting one st. Petersburg. But
Mary wrote me at once.
Very brief 1t was:
What sort of an appearing per-
son is this Mademoiselle Laure
Drouillot? You have spoken OF
her very mysteriously. I'm glad
to hear Clell is making good. OF
course don't expect him to write
to me-the breach between us
was too clear and impossible,
wasn't 1t, dear Dick? Only he
might-or Virgil might Some
how my heart is with the three
of you down there in that dread
full place. Somehow, life and
work seem meaningless of late
1 keep thinking of the three of
you and your madness. Dear Dick,
how good 1t was of you to go.
MARY.
P. S.-Tel me more about this
island girl.
| intended to write back at
once; indeed, l was at 1t when
mademoiselle herself came out of
the watery isle in her green
canoe.
She came up, and, finding no
one except myself, sat opposite
in the dining hall and looked at
my writing portfolio.
"Laure,' said suddenly,
where did you get your educa-
tion?"
All, m'sieu, I have little edu-
cation. / went five years to con-
vent in N'Awlyins. Then Papa
Prosper, he say: Come home to
Isle Bonnie, mademoiselle.' SO
come back to my island and we
very happy until M'sieu Williams
come to destroy our forest and
make smoke-Bom-such noise
and such smoket"
Is that all, modemoiselle, that
Mr.. Williams did,"
ooh, he sit and stare at me