The Key West Citizen Newspaper, July 21, 1947, Page 3

THE KEY WEST CITIZEN By Caroline Hall. av AP Newsfeatures Chapter 12 | T occurred to him that Steve Gellis might be staying on to ward off possible repercussions in the form of damage suits. Or it could be that Steve was staying in order to prevent possible van- dalism. Mrs. Elton, the house- keeper, had said she would not be responsible for things lost or stolen. “But if he thinks he’s hanging around just to play fast and loose with Susie. he’s nuts. I'll have a 7} with that young lady my- self.” Having settled the problems of Steve Gellis and Susan Brown, John’s thoughts returned to the subject that was still uppermost in his mind—his failure, so far, to get acceptable pictures. Except for the Peyton couple, who had wandered off somewhere soon after their arrival, the guests were eager enough to be photo- graphed. But each had a definite idea about posing and refused to be swayed an inch. For instance, the undersized Frank Gaines had been bent upon posing astride a horse, whereas his wife, Bella, was equally adam- ant about posing on the tennis courts. It was clear from the start that no compromise was possible. It was finally decided, upon Steve’s suggestion, that Frank should sit on the horse, with Bella standing nearby, a tennis racquet _ in_her hand. It was definitely not a suitable pose to illustrate a story on “how to be happy though married,” which was what America Loves really wanted, but John Bates had held onto his temper and made the best of it. He well knew the picture would not be the por- trait of a couple happily married. That glint in Frank Gaines’ eyes as he looked down at his wife was not love-light. It was anger and resentment, pure and simple. And so it went. Later John had encountered Susan in the hallway and they had gone down to the beach for a swim. He had taken his beloved camera along and wasted at least a thousand feet of film making pictures of Susan just because “Modern ‘Gators Lach Vigor ite WILLIAM BARTRAM Compared to its great-great-great grandfather, the modern alligator is a sissy. According to William Bartam, the famous naturalist of the eighteenth century whose Travels has recently been repub- lished by Dover Publications ($3.75), the alligator of early Florida was not only more aggressive, but ac- tually spouted water and smoke at its enemies. “As I passed by Battle Lagoon,” Bartram reported in his book, “I began to tremble and keep a good lookout; when suddenly a huge al- ligator rushed out of the reeds, and with a tremendous roar came up, and darted swift as an arrow under my boat, emerging upright on my she looked so cute in that blue bathing suit. Cheesecake — pure and simple. He could tell by the position of the sun that it was almost noon. He knew that he should be back on the job, taking pictures of the contest winners and whatever ac- tivities they happened to be en- gaged in at the moment. It was doubtful, however, that they would be doing anything ex- cept sitting, while J. Howard Cranston régaled them with choice tidbits out of his experiences as a traveling salesman and inter- minable stories of iife in Lincoln, Nebraska. Their fondness for sit- ting, it seemed, was exceeded only by Cranston’s penchant for talk- ing. It was a good joke on Steve Gellis, John decided, that none of the. guests seemed inclined to take part in the sports which he had planned for their enjoyment. At the dinner table the night before they had confessed, one by one, that they had little interest in outdoor life. Not one of them could swim. Cranston had referred to golf as “a rich man’s game,” which he had no time for. Frank Gaines expressed a liking for indoor pool, then lapsed into a sullen silence when Bella flashed him an accus- ing glance. Bella, while admitting an ability to ride horseback, had agreed with Ellen Mansfield that stren- uous sports were unladylike. And Mrs. Cranston’s timid confession that, as a girl, she had played softball with the boys, and still enjoyed a bit of croquet now and then, was met with a rather hor- rified silence. It was as though a bombshell had exploded in their midst. John grinned at the mem- ory of Steve Gellis’ harassed face and his hasty assurances that a croquet set would be in-|I stalled immediately, if it were humanly possible to find one on Long Island. HE idea that the guests were getting into the young publish- er’s hair was immensely pleasing to John Bates. In fact, he must have fallen asleep on that com- fortable thought, for he opened his eyes a little while later to see Susan standing over him. She was | Announce Engagement Of | wearing the blue bathing suit and had obviously been in the water. Her blonde curls were quite wet, she was carrying her rubber cap in her hand, and she seemed to be breathless, as if’ from running. “Gee—that was a narrow es- cape,” she exclaimed, and dropped - down or. the sand beside John. “Well, well”—he sat up, grin- ning, still not fully awake—“if it isn’t little Susie herself. I was just thinking about you, sugar.” “Liar,” Susan teased him. “You were sound asleep and you know it. I could have drowned too. I did all but drown. I don’t swim any too weil—and the undertow was terrible. I guess I was foolish to go out by myself, but the water looked so cool and—and friendly.” John was all solicitude now. “Sure you're all right, Susie?” “Oh, I’m fine now. J. was just scared. It was a dumb thing to do anyhow. But I wanted to get in a little practice swimming while nobody elese was around. It burns me up to be so dumb about sports. Why, I’m as much of a dud as those—er-ghastly daisy-pickers. All I can do is play a feeble game of tennis. I certainly can’t swim worth a hoot.” She shook her head in deprecation of her poor ac- complishments. John reached out and patted her shoulder, wincing with pain as he did so. He had lain too long in the sand and his flesh was be- ginning to ache from sunburn. Secretly he had to admit that he had been even dumber than Su- san. “I wouldn’t worry about sports, kid.” he told her. ° “You'll get along. I’ve seen a lot worse swimmers, and you do pretty well for yourself in tennis. was watching you yesterday when you played that set with Steve. You didn’t do at all badly —even if you were a little self- conscious on account of you were playing the boss. Gee, vou’d have beaten the jerk, if you'd let your- self go.” Susan’s eyes shone with delight. “Oh,” do vou think so? Do you really think I could have beaten Steve Gellis?” (To be continued) ne ee ee - e George Allen Warren | nnn AM Mr. and Mrs. James E. Sterling, | Miss Edwina Sterling To | | |Residents Of | Cedar Keys Visit | Family Here! Mrs. Itwo children, | Freddie. “Jane, ‘and Mrs: Fred Whitman, | Seidenberg ‘avénue, 1709 Division street, have an- nounced tne engagement of their daughter, Miss V. Edwina Ster- Jing, to George Allen Warren. Miss Sterling is a graduate of ‘Miami Senior High School, and saga ge pee ‘has been empioyed by the Navy are visiting Mr. } ate 3011 jretary -to nate ete sures ) Sautiders, corimandi “Officers at since 1941. She ‘is, at present .sec- Captidin,..Willard. A: | The Whitmans are frdni Cedar “the Rey West: Subitatine Hage: ' Keys, They atrived, Sdturday)’"Mr. Warren 8 tBe, sin Jot Mts. ‘and 4ntend to remain two ‘weeks. ‘Genevieve A. Warren, 511 Eaton | ‘street, and the late Dr. William Wives Club To iR. Warren. He is a graduate of , Culver M.litary Academy, Uni- ) versity of Florida and of the Hold Luncheon Public Health School of the Uni- \ ’ . . . © Hy © >» | The Officers Wives Club will versity of = gpg eee jmeet Friday, July 25, at the Fort ;served as Cap ain a pein ‘Taylor Officers Club. Luncheon | Department of ise - ah e | will be served at 12:30. Final ar- ithree and Rng tng ees 'rangements will be made for the , the time in = ies ~ eae Midsummer Night’s Dream dance | in the last war. He Is at p r |connected with the Florida State 'to be held July 26. rs f the Key West | Board of Health. : — The wedding will i i take place |Players will present a skit to be | = s ‘followed by a monologue. Jack | Saturday, = es pela i English, Maida Lazaroveche and Pp. M™., in the -_ is ag Joseph Lazaroveche will make up ,Church. ‘The Rev. elros : the cast : Avery will officiate. | | 1 ' lee quarter, with open jaws, and belching water and smoke that fell upon me like rain in a hurricane.” Bartram spent many months studying Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas in 1790, when most of the territory was inhabited only by wild animals and Indians. In his Travels he recorded his encounters with Seminole chieftains, Creek Overseas Transportation Company, Tne. Fast, Dependable Freight and xpress Service murderers and Muscogulge bride- | Between grooms. | Weddings took place among some | | d KEY WEST . the pan with a good deal less | MI an uss and bother than they do today: “When a young man has fixed his | Also Serving ALL POINTS on Florida Keys attentions,” Bartram wrote, “and is | determined to marry, he takes a | cane or reed and repairs to the ’ habitation of his beloved. In the presence of his wedding guests, he | sticks the reed down upright in the | ground. Soon after his sweetheart | comes forth with another reed | which she sticks down by the side | of his, when they are married. Then | | they exchange reeds, which are laid | aside as evidences or certilicates of | the marriage.” The Travels of William Bartram is filled with first-hand observa- | tions of the early Southland—the | rivers, swamplands, tropical fish, tortoises, water-hens, wolves, cranes and great hawks. Barbour and oth- er modern naturalists, historians and general readers interested in the South have long found the | Travels to be a thoroughly accu- | rate and fascinating account of that | period. | GOES TO PEARL HARBOR | Edward W. Oakes, chief boat- | swain’s mate at Key West Sub-_ marine Base, received orders to- , day to report to the USS Bush- | ness, a submarine tender, which | is stationed at Pearl Harbor. | Chief Oakes said he and his wife ! would leave in about three weeks Between Miami and Key West hedule: mei 5 En Route) ES KEY WEST DAILY (EX- ae SUNDAYS) at 6:00 P. M. Ar rives at Miami at 12:00 o'clock Mid- night. J MIAMI DAILY (EXCEP’ LEANDAYS) at 12:00 o’clock Mid- night and arrives at Key West st 6:00 o'clock A. M. Local Schedule: (Stops At All Intermediate Points) LEAVES KEY WEST DAILY (EX- CEPT SUNDAYS) at 8:00 o’clock A. M. and arrives at Miami *t 4:00 o- clock P.M. AVES MIAMI DAILY ‘EXCEPT SUNDAYS) at 9:00 o’clocl: A.M. and arrives at Key West at £ 00 o'clock P.M. | ssaninameaandiahiammnniiiaeeiiie SE PICK-UP and DELIV::RY SERVICE weiss FULL CARGO INSU: ANCE ¢ line Street x nones: 92 and 68 WAREHOUSE: i coae talen a. | Francis Streets » 4 + ee ee ae