Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1924-10-16
MR.. WRIGHT TO THE
DEcNIIE

/ shricked loudly as Ted Billings
lunged forward In some mysteri-
Gus way, strength was given me to
use my legs, which had been quak-
ing beneath me, and tore head
long across the hills toward the
ocean Gaining the beach, | glanced
over my shoulder Ted had not fol-
lowed The heavy sand of the dunes
must have proven too much for him
in his besotted condition. Fright
spurred me on, and l dashed into the
water, shivering as the whitecaps
reached out to me with their icy fin
gers. Soon / was swimming beyond
my depth in the moon-swept ocean.
Then suddenly | felt the steady pull
of the undertow and realized in my
spent condition, l was not able to re-
sist it. l turned nervusly shoreward
and saw a lone masculine figure COM
ing at top speed through the breakers.
I recognized the swimmer. 1t was
Curtiss Wright, and | called to him
in utter exhaustion, feeling the last
shred of my vitality weaken.
whats the matter, trying to drown
yourself he asked with note of
tenderness in his voice When his swift
sure strokes had brought him beside
me, / relaxed in the safety of his
arms and felt secure in his protection.
When we had left the fierce current
behind us, | slipped from his arms as
soon as | was able to touch bottom.
mice way to treat your guest he
laughed pleasantly, sending me off
for refreshments, while you run away
and have our swim by yourself"
why, you poor kiddy' he contin-
ued gently, noticing for the first time
that my arms and shoulders, rising
from the dark depths of the water
were bare. whats the matter Did
you have an accident? he questioned.
Nope, I stammered and made up
my mind that l would not tell him
what had happened. After what Mari
had said about his opinion of flappers
my experience with Ted would only
add to his unflattering conviction
about the younger generation.
I'd tell him nothing, and with this
decision, felt spirit of deviltry re-
turning.
Maybe Mr.. Shark decided he'd like
to have my little suit for an hors d
ouvre and ate it," replied at the same
time opening my eyes wide in mock
and childish amusement, "and then
again. maybe he didn't.
A puzzled expression crossed the
brow OF Mr.. Wright and he started
to question me further, but changed
his mind.
I'm deeply sorry, really" he said
quickly; zone would think that you
had granted me the special privilege
of dabbling in your affairs, which so
far it would seem, have been more
or less of a-er- shall we say personal
nature l assure you l shall be less
meddlesome in the future, and if you
will promise to stay away from the
shark-infested area, I will bring my
raincoat in a jiffy.'
Returning, he walked in silence up
the beach to the bath houses. The
Inn was in darkness. 1t had not oc-
Cured to any of the crowd to look
for me after my disappearance with
Curtis Wright earlier that evening. 1t
is an unwritten code in our set to
permit each person to go exactly
where one pleases.
"a thermos bottle with ice and
| lime juice, as per request, reposes be-
hind yon stately palm tree" Mr..
Wright broke the silence lightly and
for some reason, which l was unable
to analyze, his indifference piqued me
after his former interest. In the short
time l had known him, / had way
cred from one decision no another
in planning the attitude l would
adopt before him. At the Inn had
determined upon role of racy indie
pendence and yet | was now ready to
90 to almost any lengths to keep
hin, from, finding ont the episode with