Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1920-11-26

she saw a spiral of smoke emerging
from the trees.
She ran along, falling once in her
rush, and stopped. painting, before a
fire over which a young MAI was lean
ing.
Her island! Her sole possession!
Her one loop to freedom!
81 think this is simply outrageous"
Sylvia said, her cheeks flushing with
sudden anger.
The young man lifted a smiling
face: 81 beg your pardon"
What are you doing on my island?'
Sylvia demanded.
'That's just what l would like to
know-what are you doing on my is
land?' the man in the rough suit an
swered, brushing some twigS from his
knees and standing uD.
81 discovered it first. and / do
think"
Sylvia was suddenly aware of two
laughing blue eyes that studied her
with more than a sparkle of
ment. "Of course, ! dent wish to be
rude" he said, but since you find
yourself trespassing and feel that you
are in the way
But Sylvia had stopped down and
hello up her 0 of THE Three Mus
keteers," which she had missed for the
last week.
rs that yours? l neve knew girls
read that kind of thing!"
Sylvia had forgotten everything, n
she sat down and put her arms about
her knees and fell. into a deep discus
sion of the three heroes with this
young man.
whats that?' he shifted.
A blue smoke was rising from he
fire and Sylvia saw with dismay that
some bacon c~leyerly coiled on sticks
was only a crisp black memory of ba-
con.
"Oh, and I'm so hungry" she sighed.
"Never mind, can you come tomoro
row?" he asked her.
Sylvia, with bright eyes, answered
'fYes," and padded away into the SUM-
set with a new warmth at her heart.
The long summer days slipped away
and Sylvia found that the most de-
lightful time of day was in the late
afternoon when a camp fire sent up a
blue plume of smoke into the clear sky
above her. She thought, with a little
ache. that soon her summer of tutor
ing would be over; after this summer,
life looked very tame, indeed.
The last week fed by with the We
locity that happiness seems to give to
time. And Sylvia knew with the GER
tainty of instinct that the young man
with the laughing eyes was going to
let it slip away-intO the limbo or
summer days-without saying those
three words that meant ecstasy to the
girl.
The very last afternoon she padded
to the island and, dragging up her ca
noe, saw that the camp fire was not
lighted. Dickie was not here. He had
not wanted to say good-by to her; he
had known, then, how she felt.
He had wanted to spare her
Sylvia, with chin dropped on her
hand, saw a tiny white arrow at her
| IGGls IL was DlGtC VI BND''NS
pointed to the tree above her. Curl
ously she walked toward it and then
saw the arrow again, this time carved
in deep with a pen knife. She put her
hand into a small hollow and drew out
"A sheet of paper.
Sylvia, my little love, l want to
ask you something very much; but L
haven't dared. 1t is this-wil you
come some time and spend a honey
moon on this little island of ours?
Tonight I am going to paddle over
TO Mink island and introduce myself
to your Worths.
"-Yours-weIl, hat all depends on
you! IL
Sylvia pressed her cheek against he
letter and did not mind even the jeers
that the jay cast down at her.
Fairy godmother forgive me-" Syl-
via sighed; you had the best gift at
the bottom of your basket"